Rockwell International launched its Bladerunner electric saw as a commercial product, and even produced an 8-minute infomercial for television. This put off many artisans and led more people to wait too long. So Bladerunner received more negative reviews than its fair share. Yes, this saw has some shortcomings. But if you recognize its limitations, you will probably find it to be a great addition to your home store.
What you need to know first
There are at least half a dozen different types of power saws. If you are a “home carpenter,” you are probably more familiar with a hand jigsaw. They look a bit like a hand mixer, with a short blade at the front that goes up and down quickly through a motor.
Other power table and floor saws have much more powerful motors and stiffer mounting blades. A table saw has a table and a miter gauge like the Bladerunner, but cuts with a strong rotating circular blade. A band saw is often 6 feet tall or more. Your blade is a continuous loop, taut between two large pulleys, keeping the blade aligned. A jigsaw is more like the Bladerunner, but its blade is attached at both ends and is narrower to make tighter bends.
Enter the Bladerunner
The Bladerunner is essentially a jigsaw mounted upside down under a table. The table includes guides for straight cuts and supports whatever you are cutting to saw curves with two hands. A top safety guard also functions as a clamp to help prevent the workpiece from vibrating.
With this arrangement, you can make straight cuts like a table saw much better than with a manual jigsaw. And you can make curved cuts like a bandsaw, with both hands free to handle your work, and sharp curves that are close to what a jigsaw would normally need. But it won’t have as much cutting power – band and table saws have ½ horsepower motors up to several horsepower. Since the jigsaw blade is loose at one end, noticeable “blade offset” can occur for thicker materials.
Within those limitations, there is a lot to like about this saw. It is particularly good at handling different materials because it is super fast to change blades. Switching, say, from a blade for cutting wood to one for metal can take a long time on a table or band saw. In addition to wood and plastic, the Bladerunner can handle thin metal and even tile. You can get much better straight and curved cuts than with a hand saw, although you should take it easy.
It’s pretty portable too, weighing just over 18 pounds, and it even has a carry handle. Although many people prefer to keep it on top of the bench, this saw comes with wall mount brackets. Better yet, they are quick release that you can easily move to where you need it. Like multiple saws in one, it can be a huge space saver. With such a variety of cutting capabilities, the Rockwell Bladerunner can be an excellent choice for home projects.