Toolbox: Orbital Recip Saws

I've been using the same recip saw for 15 years, so I welcomed the opportunity to try out newer models from Makita, Bosch, and Porter-Cable. The biggest improvement in these new saws is the addition of a lever or knob on the gear housing that lets you switch between orbital and straight cutting. In orbital mode, the blade movement traces a small circle, swinging forward and backward as it moves up and down. If you spend most of your time cutting metal, there's no advantage to orbital action, because the circular motion strips the teeth off the blades too fast. But orbital action greatly increases the speed with which you can cut wood. My old Milwaukee Sawzall has been