ARBORTECH ALLSAW AS175 | Masonry Restoration Kit incl. Saw Blades and Bag | ALL.FG.175110.20

I would recommend the Arbortech Allsaw AS175 to anyone involved in masonry renovation, repair and/or restoration. It's a very versatile tool and user friendly.

Used this to cut quickly into a 9" double wythe brick wall from each side approx. 42" wide x 28" high. Each cut took approx. 30 seconds and corners were cut square (no cross hair cut like from circular saw) The blades penetrated full depth of each brick wythe. Shop vac. hose attachment keeps brick dust to a minimum. Expensive at $1025. It is up to operator skill to perform straight and perpendicular cuts, tool will cut where pushed.

If you get on here and post about being a 25 year mason, and list Type N as soft and weak mortar, you are a hod, and not a mason.Anyone with a brain knows that type n, or any mortar mix with portland is extremely hard and will only be cut by diamond blades.THIS SAW IS FOR LIME MORTAR. NO PORTLAND MORTAR IS SOFT. PERIOD

The AS175 Allsaw is a great saw for restoration work it will chew through mortar and brick like butter. The only downfall to the saw, is it does not like new mortar and bricks it will cut them but it wears on the blades quickly. The dust that comes from the saw is extremely minimal, almost none. That part I really love. Overall it is a great saw they just need to come down in price a good bit. Selling point is a little too high.

Doesn’t work well on hard mortar

I'll be honest my expectations were not very high for the product knowing that it had carbide blades and it would have limitations but.... I don't even know where to start . I will honestly say that this is the worst money I've ever spent and this is coming from someone who up until about 8 years ago had a 350$ a day heroin and vodka habit. I am not saying I'm the best I'm sure I'm not but I am a fifth generation mason with 25 years of experience, I started out tending for my dad and uncle in the summers at 13 so I'm not necessarily new. So I've got a job in a finished house putting a fireplace in an existing chimney and thought that this would be a good tool for the job and a nice addition to my collection of tools, boy was I wrong. First off this tool is the same dewalt grinder motor and housing that I got at tractor supply on sale for 79$ which I use for a back up because the thing is junk. I asked if it was in the forum but no answer, after I bought I called arbortech to try to acquire a rubber hose that was recommended by another arbortech person and the guy I talked to had been there 20 years and confirmed my suspicions that yes it is a mass production cheap dewalt motor and housing. I also asked if I could cut 4" cmu block and he said no problem but could not use on type s mortar which was alarming. I asked if I could use the same green wheel I use to sharpen my stone chisels because in the ad it says blades can be resharpend well he chuckled and said most people just run em down and toss them out. I soon was to find out why he chuckled at the question. I made 3 - 8" inch cuts in type N "soft and weak" mortar it took at least a half hour and when I was done there was not a speck of carbide left on those blades. I started out with the general purpose blades but in the ad it says cuts 4 3/4 well not with the dust boot on so off that went and talk about slow I mean agonizingly slow they say it is safer than diamond blades because there is no dust but I guarantee you that per inch of cut it puts out the same dust it is just 1/1000 as fast at cutting so ofcourse there is going to be less dust floating around. Let's talk safty now. This thing will give you nerve damage from the vibration and rattle the fillings out of your teeth by the time you have a whole 8 hour day cutting through one block , they say it will cut brick trust me when I say IT WILL NOT not a chance. It's funny I did my due diligence looked at every video on YouTube and it shows them cutting out old lime mortar and then shows a guy in every video put the saw up to a brick or block wall and then skips to him pulling out a perfect square to put in a window. Ofcourse they can't show it live it would be a 3 day video and would go through thousands of dollars worth of blades . Please I know it seems great but don't be dumb like me stay away this thing is worthless it is not replacing a single tool you already have I am actually ashamed of myself for falling for this gimmick. My dad said just drill out the brick "with one of my 5 hammer drills" but ofcourse I didn't listen " oh he is old school, get with the times , embrace technology , stop living in the past, I'll do it my way" guys been doing it for 50 years what do I have rocks in my head what was I thinking , if it was a real game changer I would have heard about it everyone in my family would have one like a power ladder and I would have already owned one or 3. I have never taken the time or felt compelled to write a poor review I'm just not that guy but this thing is just the biggest pile of s... I have ever used I mean I bought a sds max rotary hammer and the same part went twice back to back and never said a peep but please please please listen when I say the only thing this thing can cut maybe is 200 year old turned to sand lime mortar and at that point take 15$ go to any hardware store and get a tile grout blade for your sawsall that you already own it will work better and save you thousands of dollars. Once again don't be dumb like me. I'm going to try to post pictures of the three soft joints I was able to cut before the 80$ blade went and a picture of the blade also a picture of my junk dewalt grinder next to this 1000$+ scam. They could have at least went with a metabo or even a made in Japan makita but nope. The first picture is as far as I made it with the arbortech and the rest I did with a hammer drill and grinder in the same time it took to cut out those 3 joints. Look at how light in color the mortar is that is 100% N mortar. Look at the comparison between grinder and arbortech same exact unit every screw right down to the lines in the grips to the vents .

I specialize in masonry repair and restoration and have thoroughly tested this Arbortech as175 on many projects old an new for two years. It’s by far the worst investment I’ve ever made on a tool. Every time I use it I get so aggravated that I just toss it aside. A rotary hammer will work circles around this thing. Unless they start making blades with diamonds this thing will always be useless. This will not cut brick, block, or mortar easily, not even type n. Perhaps it would be fine for cutting uncured mortar that was laid a day or two ago(I suspect this is how they make the promotional videos), or even old lime mortar that could be removed easier with a multi tool.

Complete and total rip off. Amazon should get rid of this seller. The saw itself is useless. That should cover it. If you’re thinking maybe this...... get a grip it doesn’t. You would have a hard time cutting lines on a beach with this POS.