Rotary cutter: the drywall saw's big bad cousin

As a youth, I lived for the wanton destruction of drywall that came with demolition.

I recently upgraded the insulation in my garage and chose to remove the existing drywall first.

This time, though, I didn't use a sledgehammer. Click on the jump to see why.

Because I'm a crew-of-one, I find it easier to cut and take down large chunks of 'rock' and walk them to the dumpster. That's where Ryobi's 18-volt rotary cutter made this job quicker, safer, and less messy.

Part router, part drywall saw, the spinning bit (looks like a twist drill bit) cuts precisely through the panels. I set the depth gauge to just over 1/2-inch and then sliced through the old layer of drywall in manageable sections.

Because of the depth gauge I didn't have to worry about nicking wires or studs, which could easily happen with careless reciprocating saw or sledgehammer usage.

I set up a guide fence on fresh drywall and the rotary cutter made clean, even cuts and never bogged down. To cut denser material (like plaster) you'll have to upgrade to a different rotary bit.

Ryobi's $40 rotary cutter package also comes with a circle cutting gig for lights and two bits as part of the One+ line available at Home Depot.

More:

Here's a step by step on putting up new drywall.