Patent ID: 8621967

Claim:
A reciprocating saw, comprising: a housing; a reciprocating shaft supported within the housing, the reciprocating shaft having a longitudinal axis, a first end, and a second end opposite the first end; locking assembly supported by the housing at the first end of the reciprocating shaft and selectively moveable between a first position and a second position; a cutting blade provided at the first end of the reciprocating shaft; and a drive mechanism provided at the second end of the reciprocating shaft and configured to drive the reciprocating shaft in a substantially reciprocating motion relative to the housing while at the same time allowing the reciprocating shaft to substantially rotate about the longitudinal axis of the reciprocating shaft independent of the housing; wherein the drive mechanism comprises a drive bushing configured to provide reciprocating motion to the reciprocating shaft when driven by a drive fork; wherein when the locking assembly is in the first position the reciprocating shaft is configured to substantially reciprocate relative to the housing but remain substantially rotationally fixed relative to the longitudinal axis of the reciprocating shaft, and wherein when the locking assembly is in the second position the reciprocating shaft is configured to substantially reciprocate relative to the housing while at the same time substantially rotating about the longitudinal axis of the reciprocating shaft independent of the housing.