Air body saw vs reciprocating saw
Updated: 21 October 2026
You already own a cordless reciprocating saw, or you do not own a compressor. The choice is the hose. Use the air saw in the workshop, on thin sheet inside the listing, when the compressor is already there. Use the cordless saw when there is no air, or when the cut is away from the hose. The five air tools are on the [body saw comparison](/hub/power-saws/body-saw). We did not run a lab comparison against a named cordless saw. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You already own a cordless reciprocating saw, or you do not own a compressor. The choice is the hose. Use the air saw in the workshop, on thin sheet inside the listing, when the compressor is already there.
You already own a cordless reciprocating saw, or you do not own a compressor. The choice is the hose. Use the air saw in the workshop, on thin sheet inside the listing, when the compressor is already there. Use the cordless saw when there is no air, or when the cut is away from the hose. The five air tools are on the body saw comparison. We did not run a lab comparison against a named cordless saw. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Weight | Capacity | Strokes | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Blue Spot Tools Bluespot 07948 | 730 g | 16 gauge (1.29 mm) | 9,000 /min, 10 mm stroke | 7.9 | about £20.46 | View offer |
 Draper Draper 70833 | 640 g | 1.2 mm mild steel | 4,500 /min on Amazon | 8.3 | about £34.95 | View offer | |
 ORIENTOOLS Orientools air reciprocating saw | 750 g | 1.6 mm steel or 2 mm aluminium | 8,500 /min | 7.6 | about £23.99 | View offer |
On this page
Two different saws
These air saws weigh 640 g (Draper), 650 g (both WorkPad tools), 730 g (Bluespot) and 750 g (Orientools). The Bluespot stroke is 10 mm. Amazon stroke rates run from 4500 RPM on the Draper cell to 9,000 on Bluespot and WorkPad, and 8,500 on Orientools. A cordless reciprocating saw carries a battery. UK pages for a Worx, Bosch or Hilti one-handed saw describe about 1 to 2.3 kg with the battery and stroke rates nearer 3,000 a minute. Bluespot and Orientools print corded electric. That is not a 230 V motor or a BS 1363 plug. Believe the inlet and the pressure.
When the air saw is the one to use
Use the air saw when the compressor is already plumbed and the cut is thin sheet. Draper stops at 1.2 mm, Bluespot at 1.29 mm, Orientools at 1.6 mm steel or 2 mm aluminium. WorkPad states no millimetre. A WP01118 review calls the air saw more agile than an electric saw, and limited by the hose. Seat rails, belt anchors, airbags, fuel and brake lines stay with a bodyshop, on air saw for car bodywork. HSE puts air saws up to 107 dB(A). Bluespot wants 4 CFM at 90 psi. Draper’s page states 2.5 cfm. If the receiver cannot feed that, the saw stalls.
When the cordless saw is the one to use
Use the cordless saw when you have no compressor, or the cut is a driveway, a car park or the far side of a van. The WorkPad review says the battery tool is more portable and much larger, and that the hose keeps the air saw in the workshop. If you already own the cordless saw, one exhaust clamp in the drive does not justify a regulator, oil and a coupling. A French Orientools review hit a wrong air fitting. A short metal blade does not turn a sabre saw into a body saw. Do not finish a seat rail the air saw refused by continuing into structure. Thicker pipe and timber are where the longer stroke earns its place. Logs are why one Orientools buyer sent the air saw back.
The nibbler, only as a pointer
An air nibbler punches a strip out of sheet. It is not a quieter body saw. SIP’s UK line is a pointer only: tight curves up to about 1.2 mm. The punch can eat a kerf several millimetres wide. A body saw leaves a sawn kerf. Draper sells a nibbler, model 70835, beside the 70833. Read a nibbler listing on its own terms when you care about not distorting thin sheet. For an exhaust or a rotten arch, you are still on the air saw if the compressor is there and the thickness matches. Air saw when workshop air is already there and the cut is thin sheet. Cordless saw when there is no compressor or you leave the hose.
Common questions
I have no compressor. Can I still use a body saw?
No. Every saw in this set is pneumatic. The corded-electric cell on the Bluespot and the Orientools listing is a bad label, not a mains motor. Without air you use the cordless reciprocating saw you can carry, or you do not make the cut until you are in a workshop that has a compressor. Buying a receiver only for one blade is a larger decision than the saw.
I already have a cordless reciprocating saw. When is the air saw worth it?
When you are at the bench, the compressor is already running, and you want a 640 g to 750 g tool in a wheel arch or under a wing for thin sheet. The WorkPad review calls that more agile than an electric saw, and limited by the hose. It is not worth it for a one-off cut in the drive that the cordless saw can already reach.
Which is smaller in a wheel arch or under a wing?
The air body saw. These listings weigh 640 g to 750 g with a short blade. A cordless one-handed sabre saw is often about 1 to 2.3 kg once the battery is on, with a longer stroke. The air saw still only cuts inside its millimetre claim. Smaller does not mean it will take a rail the cordless saw should not take either.
Will the air saw cut thicker steel because it strokes faster?
No. Listings here show about 4,500 to 9,000 strokes on the Amazon cells, and maker pages in this class often say 9,000 to 10,000. The thickness claims stay at 1.2 mm, 1.29 mm, or 1.6 mm steel. A faster stroke on a short blade is how it cuts thin sheet quickly. It is not a chassis rating. Raising the pressure does not add that capacity either.
Is an air nibbler the same purchase?
No. A nibbler punches out a strip and can eat a wide kerf, which suits tight curves in thin sheet. A body saw uses a reciprocating blade and a narrower kerf. Draper sells them as neighbouring tools, the 70835 nibbler and the 70833 body saw. Buy the nibbler only when the punched strip is the cut you want.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources, the Draper 70833 page and manual, and the amazon.co.uk listings compared here. Listings captured on 20 October 2026.
- HSE: Noise in motor vehicle repair (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE: INDG291 Providing and using work equipment safely (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Draper Tools: 70833 air body saw (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Draper 70833 manual extract (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, Part 1 (retrieved 20 October 2026)