Sawzall Cutting Question

[comadreha]

For you Gentlemen & Ladies who have used a reciprocating saw to cut out your Lower Suspension Arm Alignment Cam Bolts, what type of blades did you use?

I am in well-known predicament of having all my bolts being seized in the bushing inner sleeves and have had no luck in getting them out any other way. I am going to give the mighty sawzall a try for the first time. They are available to rent from Home Depot. Initially I tried the 6" 18 TPI Bi-Metal Cobalt blades based on the recommendation of a customer service rep. Each blade was chewed up within 20 seconds. Back to Home Depot I went and picked up a 10" 8/12 TPI Bi-Metal. These only lasted only 10 seconds more then the first set.

Damn, I know it must be something I am doing wrong, but cannot figure it out right now. I was thinking that maybe it is the angle which the bolt is being cut at. 45 degrees is the best I can get, because the car cannot be jacked up any further to get the sawzall vertical.

Can I trouble some of you sawzall veterans to share some of your operating techniques for cutting in this situation?

 

[soup]

old old post, but it's worth a reply.

-Turn OFF the OSCILLATING setting. you want a straight blade motion.
-an 18 tpi blade is good, i prefer more teeth
-cut in a downward direction if possible
-let the saw do the work, don't push on it.
-change out the blade/cut it back when the chips stop flying off.

- use a grinder with a thin disk where possible. it takes one minute vs twenty on a sawzall.

I just went through this and it blows. HTH.

 

[planemos]

I would use an angle grinder because I am good with it. I haven't ever had to do this though so I can't tell you exactly the best way. Also did you know that you can turn the sawzall blade around in the sawzall? Driftmotion has replacement bolts for this issue.

 

[ycode90]

An angle grinder is always a better bolt cutter than a sawzall.

 

[roadboy]

some people actually prefer using a torch to cut bolts ect. thats what i saw him do when he had to cut something even though we have other proper tools to cut them

 

[te72]

Long as you have the space, an angle grinder is my preferred method in cases like this.