Thoughts on RSC 18?

onocoffee

onocoffee

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Today, I was breaking down oak pallets (gotta save money somewhere to buy more Festool!) and using my old school 18v DeWalt reciprocating saw, which has served me well for the past 25 years (I don't use it a lot). There were moments when it was getting bogged down a bit which made me wonder about the RSC18. When the DeWalt is ready for pasture, would the RSC be a good replacement? I've picked it up at my local dealer and it is a beast. Heavy and solid. I know Festool does elegance and finesse, but how is it with brute force and demolition?
 
The RSC is my next "must have" when Festool next has them on a promotion! Along with the SYS 50 the planned RSC purchase was part of why I was happy to finally buy into the Festool battery platform!

Mates I know that have the RSC love it.
 
I’ve used it a bunch and it’s fantastic. Super smooth, well thought out design. The dust collection works surprisingly well. I loved my old dewalt, but this is a much nicer saw.
 
My DeWalt saw died yesterday in the middle of a project. I decided to buy the RSC and was concerned at first at how heavy it was in the store. As soon as I turned it on and started sawing, my regret of spending $650 quickly disappeared. It cuts like butter and more importantly the reduction in vibration was significant. I usually don't spend this kind of money on a construction tool but this is making me consider other items like the HKC in the future. I hope it holds up like all may other F tools.
 
MMCO said:
My DeWalt saw died yesterday in the middle of a project. I decided to buy the RSC and was concerned at first at how heavy it was in the store. As soon as I turned it on and started sawing, my regret of spending $650 quickly disappeared. It cuts like butter and more importantly the reduction in vibration was significant. I usually don't spend this kind of money on a construction tool but this is making me consider other items like the HKC in the future. I hope it holds up like all may other F tools.
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I'm glad to hear that, I've been lusting after the RSC for a while and plan to get it in a week or so! Reviews have all been very positive I've found.
 
Found a gently used one on eBay for $240. Used it to demo our guest bathroom. Amazing tool. Very little vibration compared to the old Craftsman I bought a few years ago.
 
So, I consider the Milwaukee Sawzall as the Cadillac of reciprocating saws. They were the first to the market and they excel over all the other contenders in so many areas and have for the last 60 years.

Has anyone actually compared the RSC to the latest Milwaukee offering? I played with a RSC and it weighed a ton for a 76 year old guy. I get that 40 years ago I wouldn't have felt that intimidated with the saw but at my age, sawing 2x material with a RSC, one-handed, out-stretched, seems to be problematic. Am I missing something here?
 
I did briefly consider the Milwaukee myself as my son has a bunch of their gear, but in the end the choice came down to the battery platforms I've committed to, either Makita or Festool. I love my Makita drills and impacts, but the rest of the range I've found a bit lacking in one way or another, so despite the weight it's the Festool for me, and the dust control is just a bonus on top.
 
luvmytoolz said:
I did briefly consider the Milwaukee myself as my son has a bunch of their gear, but in the end the choice came down to the battery platforms I've committed to, either Makita or Festool. I love my Makita drills and impacts, but the rest of the range I've found a bit lacking in one way or another, so despite the weight it's the Festool for me, and the dust control is just a bonus on top.
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Thanks for that... :) ...I was thinking about adding the RSC to the grouping just because I assume it's much smoother than the Milwaukee offering. Certainly, the AGC 18 is much smoother than the Milwaukee cordless RA grinders and I'll probably be picking up another one as a cut-off tool. However, the weight of the RSC just stops me in my tracks.
 
The Makita recip saws, especially the XGT models, are wonderful as they have incredible vibration reduction, where the Milwaukees seem to be designed to transmit as much vibration into your wrists as possible.

I don’t know how the Festool feels by comparison and have never had a need for dust extraction with a recip saw.
 
COBill said:
The Makita recip saws, especially the XGT models, are wonderful as they have incredible vibration reduction, where the Milwaukees seem to be designed to transmit as much vibration into your wrists as possible.

I don’t know how the Festool feels by comparison and have never had a need for dust extraction with a recip saw.
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Thanks Bill. Kinda had forgotten about this thread!

I ended up getting the Flex FX2271 recip saw when Lowes was clearing them out last month at a great price. Turns out that the RSC is a clone of the Flex Germany RSP DW 18, but the FX2271 is like the "little brother" to the RSP and RSC. And the interesting thing is that you can take the RSC shoe and it will mount in the FX2271 - meaning the Flex can be setup with Festool dust extraction.
 
COBill said:
..,.where the Milwaukees seem to be designed to transmit as much vibration into your wrists as possible.
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Really...? a manufacturer of a hand tool that purposely designs the tool to introduce a larger shock load to the operator rather than to minimize the shock load to the operator? I'd be very interested in you posting your sources for this declaration. 😵‍💫
 
Even way back when Milwaukee was King, I preferred the lighter, corded Makita. As with so many tools, a sharp, quality blade is the great leveler. The PC Tiger Saw was another great saw. IIRC it was the first to have tool-free blade changes.
 
Cheese said:
Really...? a manufacturer of a hand tool that purposely designs the tool to introduce a larger shock load to the operator rather than to minimize the shock load to the operator? I'd be very interested in you posting your sources for this declaration. 😵‍💫
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Seem to be.

In reality they simply don't care about vibration reduction at all.

I also want to say that after the previous post I looked at the new lower prices, and well…

IMG_5250.jpeg
 
@COBill Congrats! I love my RSC. If you plan to cut trees down with it, I'd highly recommend the 8ah batteries. I also bought a bunch of TCT blades from Temu ridiculously cheap that have proven fantastic on green timber:

1pc steel reciprocating saw blade universal 10 12 - Temu Australia

deals on 1pc steel reciprocating saw blade universal 10 12 18 20inch concrete cement composite panels masonry cutting saw blade on Temu. Shop on Temu to start saving.
www.temu.com www.temu.com
 
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