Replies

1. 
   gdavis62 | Feb 13, 2005 05:53pm | #1

   The Bosch is highly rated.  I think you can pick one up at any bigbox store for around $139.

   There are many circular saws you can get for less. 

   Remember, most of the folks on this forum are pros, and pros pay for the reliability, toughness, and features, that pay off in everyday use.

2. 
   hammerhead1 | Feb 13, 2005 05:55pm | #2

   I AM A WOOD BUTCHER AND KNOW SLILL SAWS THE BEST ON THE MARKET IS 7.25 MILLWALKEE IT HAS THE MOST POWER PER POUND USE A THIN KERF BLADE AND A RIP FENCE AND YOU CAN RIP ANYTHING UP TO ABOUT 5'' WITH EASE AND NOT HAVE TO USE A TABLE SAW MUCH FASTER AND ONLY REQUIRES ONE MAN REMEMBER COMPANIES DO THEIR OWN TESTING AND RATING FOR AMPS MOST ARE OVERRATED BUT NOT THIS ONE

3. 
   bayviewrr | Feb 13, 2005 06:14pm | #3

   Stick with the Bosch.  Great product and the best customer service you can get if anything goes wrong.  Don't scrimp on a few bucks.  If you have to pay $30-$40 extra to get a great product, spend it and it will last you a lifetime (unless you are a pro and you beat the s#%t out your stuff! LOL)

    

   Good luck.   Brian....Bayview Renovation

4. 
   Timuhler | Feb 13, 2005 06:22pm | #4

   If you are looking at an inline or "worm drive" style saw, then get the new Ridgid.  It is far and away the best inline saw out there. 

   If you are going to get a circ saw, I have no idea what to get :-)  But that new Ridgid is great.

1. 
   Nick25 | Feb 13, 2005 08:59pm | #8

   How tough are the foot plates of these ridgid saws? are they magnesium or steel or what? I'm curious. I would say the skilsaw wormdrive, not the mag is my favourite right now. Have the dewalt but find it's a little on the fragile side. The Mag77 is a little lighter and a little more expensive than the grey model, but not as tough. The grey one has a steel footplate which I find to be much stronger. I burn out motors on these things like crazy, it's no fault of the saw, the sites I work on are often poorly powered. Thats another thing what kind of amp is the Ridgid?

1. 
   FramerT | Feb 13, 2005 10:57pm | #9

   I had a custom rip-guide made that'll rip a 4x8 sheet of ply in half.Comes in handy ripping ply to fill TJI webs.
   I didn't do it....the buck does NOT stop here.

2. 
   bhackford | Feb 13, 2005 10:58pm | #10

   Poor power from generators? To long of extension cords?

1. 
   Nick25 | Feb 14, 2005 01:24am | #12

   no, we have temp. power poles on site so the futher you are from the main feed the weeker your power is. So when theres 50 60 other homes before the one youre working on there is not much power left for you.

3. 
   Timuhler | Feb 14, 2005 01:10am | #11

   The Ridgid has an aluminum baseplate and so far it has faired very well.  It's been dropped a few times and no worse for wear.

   It has a 15 amp motor and feels like it spins faster than the Bosch or DeWalt.  It acutally feels like the 15 amp Makita hypoid.  This is a great saw.  It has blown away the Bosch and DeWalt for power.  It eats LVL :-)

1. 
   Nick25 | Feb 14, 2005 01:26am | #13

   What types of blades do you run. We generally run the dewalt fast cutting framing, but we tryed out a diablo which was pretty impressive. I've never tried a marathon

1. 
   Timuhler | Feb 14, 2005 06:49am | #19

   The Ridgid came with a Diablo blade that was really nice.  I usually just get what's on sale.  Check Amazon for 10 pack deals.  I had some Bosch blades, marathon, Makita and ####.  It seems like the marathons last the longest for us, but that Diablo was really nice.

   I have a 10 1/4" Diablo on the Bigfoot saw and that is a very nice blade.  I will continue to buy them for the Bigfoot.

5. 
   reinvent | Feb 13, 2005 06:26pm | #5

   Get an 8.25" saw so you can use it with EZ guide. You will want to get one of those someday.

6. 
   nikkiwood | Feb 13, 2005 06:31pm | #6

   You have dipped your toe into a contentious issue -- right blade/left blade, worm drive/sidewinder, and the whole issue of brands.

   For a starter saw, I guess I would argue for a relatively inexpensive model -- Skil makes many. This will get you through the task at hand, and it is always useful to have a second saw for nasty stuff (e.g. cutting Durock) if you move on to a better, more expensive model.

   At the higher end, Porter Cable, Bosch, Makita are some of the brands that seem to be favored most around here. Personally, I like the PC Saw Boss as a good, all-purpose utility saw. It is small (yet big enough to handle 2X material), light weight, easy to maneuver, and has good dust collection capability.

   Maybe the most important thing is buy a saw from a store that has a wide selection. That way, you can pick one up, heft it, see how it feels in your hand. The saw that seems right for me may not feel right to you.

7. 
   Framer | Feb 13, 2005 06:48pm | #7

   Your going to get a million different opinions on this whether you should use a wormdrive or sidewinder if your left handed or right handed, blade on the left blade on the right. You will be totally confused when this thread is done. You should go to where ever you buy tools from and pick up a wormdrive and a sidewinder and see what feels comfortable because there's millions of people using both sidewinders and wormdrive with great success because they're both good saws but the ultimate decision lies on you and how comfortable the saw feels.

   Will you be doing a lot of framing?

   Joe Carola
8. 
   DonCanDo | Feb 14, 2005 02:15am | #14

   I happen to have a Porter-Cable which I like very much, but here are some features that I would look for if I was buying another saw (the PC has most of them).

   -Stable base with with nice square edge for following a rip guide

   -Laser (I have one on my miter saw and I love it. I'm not sure how useful it would be on a circular saw, but I would want to find out)

   -Sensible safety switch: no stupid button that you gotta push with your thumb before the trigger will release.  I just want a simple cam-type trigger.

   -Case: you gotta have some place to store the thing for transport and when not in use.

   -Quick blade change: I would be much more inclined to use the proper blade if I could change it quicker, even though my blade wrench is stored in the handle.

   -Weight: pick light over heavy, these things get heavy when working in less-than-ideal positions

   Hope that helps,

   Don

1. 
   scooleen | Feb 14, 2005 02:44am | #15

   I have em all, the skil 77 the bosch worm drive top handle, porter cable, milwaukee tilt lok, If I got a sidewinder, it would be the Milwaukee
   If it were a worm drive, Bosch.The lowes at my town uses the skil 77 on it's panel saw fwiw.

1. 
   dukeofwsu | Feb 14, 2005 06:13am | #18

   gotta vote skil 77 as well. I've literally had mine since I was 10, (I'm 26 now) it sees five or six jobsites a year, still chews through anything I ask it to, and is heavy enough to cut a perfect line freehand on melamine. not bad for $160.

9. 
   Pierre1 | Feb 14, 2005 02:49am | #16

   All of the above, plus make sure the ergonomics suit you. I bought mine from a pro tool store, so they let me try out different models in the backroom. Make sure that:

   • the saw feels balanced in your hand;
   • the trigger is simple and comfortable (like DonD said); 
   • the front knob or handle is the right shape and location for you;
   • when you extend your arm and body to make a long cut the saw still feels comfortable;
   • it isn't too loud;
   • you can follow the cutline easily off the baseplate notch;
   • the saw doesn't throw sawdust ahead onto the line;
   • the blade doesn't throw stuff in your face when you peer over the saw to look directly at the line;
   • the saw does not easily wander from the cutline. You want it to feel 'neutral' and true to the line as you push it forward.
   • the blade guard retracts easily for a bevel or angled cut, and can easily be fingered open for plunge or other weird cuts.
   • you can easily read and 'zero' the depth and bevel scales, and the adjustment knobs do not bind.

   
   

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   Edited 2/13/2005 6:59 pm ET by Pierre1

1. 
   riseoverrun | Feb 14, 2005 03:33am | #17

   hitachi all the way milwauke's table to light to stay square to blade tilt lok not very practicle in the field.