What's the Big Deal About Rockwell's Bladerunner
A TV infomercial was part of Rockwell's launch of its Bladerunner electric saw. A bit heavy on the hype, this led shoppers to expect too much, and turned off quite a few craftsmen. So the blade runner got more than its fair share of negative evaluations. This power saw does have a couple of limitations. But if you acknowledge its limitations you are likely to find it's a great addition to your home workshop.
What You Need to Know First
Even limiting our scope to the most widely used power saws still leaves us with several different types to cover. If you're a "home carpenter" you are probably most familiar with a hand-held jig saw. These look a little like a hand mixer, and have a short blade at the front that rapidly goes up and down via a motor.
More powerful types of saws attach on top of a workbench or directly on the floor. In addition, they feature more tightly aligned blades. A table saw has a table as well as a miter gauge just like the bladerunner, but it saws with a sturdy spinning round blade. A band saw often stands 6' high or more. Its blade is a continuous loop, kept taut between two large pulleys, keeping the blade aligned. A scroll saw is most like the bladerunner, but its blade is connected at both ends and is narrower in order to make tighter curves.
Enter the Blade Runner
The bladerunner is essentially a jig saw attached upside down under a table. The table features guides to get straight cutting, and holds whatever you're working on for two-handed curve cutting. An overhead safety guard additionally doubles as a hold-down to help keep your work piece from vibrating.
With this arrangement, you are able to make straight cuts like a table saw much better than you could with a hand-held jigsaw. You can make curved cuts just like a band saw, with both hands free, and make sharp curves getting close to what you'd usually need a scroll saw for. But you will not have as much cutting power - band and table saws have motors of ½ horse power up to several horse power. Since the jigsaw blade is unattached on one end, you can get noticeable "blade wander" for thicker materials.
Within those restrictions, there's a lot to like about this saw. It's particularly adept at handling different materials because it's super-quick at changing blades. It takes a lot more time to change blades on a band or table saw. In addition to wood and plastic, the bladerunner can handle thin metal as well as tiles. You can get significantly better curved and straight cuts than you could with a hand-held jig saw, though you do need to take it slow.
It's also very portable, weighing in at just over 18 pounds and even has a carrying handle. Although many people would rather just keep it on the bench top, this saw comes with wall mounting brackets. Better still, they're fast release so you can easily move it to wherever you might need. As several saws in one, it's really a great space saver. With such a variety of cutting abilities, the Rockwell Bladerunner can be a great choice for home projects.
What You Need to Know First
Even limiting our scope to the most widely used power saws still leaves us with several different types to cover. If you're a "home carpenter" you are probably most familiar with a hand-held jig saw. These look a little like a hand mixer, and have a short blade at the front that rapidly goes up and down via a motor.
More powerful types of saws attach on top of a workbench or directly on the floor. In addition, they feature more tightly aligned blades. A table saw has a table as well as a miter gauge just like the bladerunner, but it saws with a sturdy spinning round blade. A band saw often stands 6' high or more. Its blade is a continuous loop, kept taut between two large pulleys, keeping the blade aligned. A scroll saw is most like the bladerunner, but its blade is connected at both ends and is narrower in order to make tighter curves.
Enter the Blade Runner
The bladerunner is essentially a jig saw attached upside down under a table. The table features guides to get straight cutting, and holds whatever you're working on for two-handed curve cutting. An overhead safety guard additionally doubles as a hold-down to help keep your work piece from vibrating.
With this arrangement, you are able to make straight cuts like a table saw much better than you could with a hand-held jigsaw. You can make curved cuts just like a band saw, with both hands free, and make sharp curves getting close to what you'd usually need a scroll saw for. But you will not have as much cutting power - band and table saws have motors of ½ horse power up to several horse power. Since the jigsaw blade is unattached on one end, you can get noticeable "blade wander" for thicker materials.
Within those restrictions, there's a lot to like about this saw. It's particularly adept at handling different materials because it's super-quick at changing blades. It takes a lot more time to change blades on a band or table saw. In addition to wood and plastic, the bladerunner can handle thin metal as well as tiles. You can get significantly better curved and straight cuts than you could with a hand-held jig saw, though you do need to take it slow.
It's also very portable, weighing in at just over 18 pounds and even has a carrying handle. Although many people would rather just keep it on the bench top, this saw comes with wall mounting brackets. Better still, they're fast release so you can easily move it to wherever you might need. As several saws in one, it's really a great space saver. With such a variety of cutting abilities, the Rockwell Bladerunner can be a great choice for home projects.
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