The new Black and Decker LPS7000 Compact Saw uses a built in 7V Lithium Ion battery, accepts standard T-shank blades and is ideal for quick cuts in many materials that are up to one inch in thickness. The battery is designed to hold a charge for up to 18 months, a feature that will help make this tool be ready for when you need it.
When we first heard about this tool, we were excited to get it in for review. The Black and Decker LPS7000 Compact Saw was interesting to us because recently there have been a few other varieties of compact saws that have come to the market, but none of them really fit the needs of home owners and DIY-type people. Let’s face it, not everyone needs to shell out some serious cash for a cutting machine that will only be used intermittently and on smaller projects.
Our test tool arrived in an orange colored box that advertised all the features of the tool. Inside the box came the LPS7000 Compact Saw, charging cord, sample blade and the Instructions manual. The main body of the compact saw is made of orange colored ABS plastic. There are black rubber overmolded grips on the handle and the front portion of the saw is made of black ABS plastic. The overall build quality of the saw is very sturdy and with very rigid plastic parts. The foot plate is made of stamped steel. The battery is housed inside the handle and is a non-removable model. There is no charging cradle or anything – just insert the charging plug into the base of the handle, plug it into the wall and you are all set. The trick is, don’t lose the charging plug because it uses a proprietary end that fits into the base of the tool so you would probably have to look for another from Black and Decker should something happen to it. The good news is that this tool uses a 7-volt Lithium Ion battery and the claim is that it will hold its charge for up to 18 months so that the tool is all ready to go when you are (of course we did not test this 18 month claim out so we will have to trust Black and Decker on this one). Our experience so far with Lithium Ion is that they really do hold their charge for a long time and it is a very reliable power source.
Blade changes are a piece of cake with the Compact Saw and its tool-less blade change system. Just reach inside the back of the saw with your finger, and depress on the lever that holds the blade securely in place. Another feature that we appreciate is that this saw uses the T-style jig saw blades. In all our tests, we never had a blade come loose or fall out. The blade retaining system works great!
One of the other nice touches that we had on our test was the LED work light that helped illuminate the area directly in front of the blade. This little light really aided us in ensuring that we had a good view of where we were cutting.
To test the saw we used some 1×2 material and see what we could do. Both straight and curved cuts were easy to do in the 3/4″ thick pine material. To further test the saw, we also cut some oak threshold material and again, we were able to make the cuts easily and with little effort. Even though this tool felt much like a small size jig saw, there are a few features that the compact saw does not have, such as orbital cutting action or the ability to do bevel cuts by pivoting the foot. If you need these kinds of features in your saw, then you might be better off getting a small corded jig saw. The whole concept of the Compact Saw is ease of use and convenience, and we think that Black and Decker did a pretty good job.
Conclusion
We think the Black and Decker LPS7000 Compact Saw will fit the bill for many homeowners, DIYer’s and craft people. With its simple to operate features and reliable power source, we think this saw should be pretty popular. For our performance rating we gave this saw a 8/10 because it does exactly what it is supposed to do and it does a good job doing it. For those that will need some pro features like Orbital action, bevel cuts and cutting thick material, you should think about getting a real jig saw. For our value rating, we gave the saw an 8/10 because it combines good battery technology and useful features at a fair price.
