Cordless Circular Saws and the Battery Systems That Go With Them

[j44ke]

A 12 Ah battery is a much better idea, reduces the discharge ratio to about 3. What does it cost?

$160 give or take a fiver.

[j44ke]

.... Growing up, I saw my dad build a barn with hand tools, a drill, and a circular saw. You can do anything with a circular saw. Part of the need filled by a good circular saw - one that exceeds my functional needs - is subconsciously holding out the possibility that one day, when the world floods and burns, I'll move back up north and build a barn for my herd. I'd speculate that this second sort of need sells a bunch of pro grade tools. Perhaps what I'm looking for is the Peter Lugers of circular saws.

Get one of these. :-)

[JoB]

Not to redirect even further but are you sure you want a battery? And for my own sake, why?

Reason I ask: I have an electric circ saw that I plug in when i need it. because most of the stuff I cut (sheets of ply, long boards, etc.) is pretty heavy, it's always in or near the shop. Conversely, i would hate to give up my Porter Cable battery powered drill. I take that all over.

[Mark Kelly]

$160 give or take a fiver.

That's actually quite cheap: about 75c per watt hour. Anything under $1 is good for Li Ion.

[Drew]

If you want stuff that lasts... and you can get parts for it... go to the closest electrical contractor supply house and buy what they sell. Service trumps brand, at least for me. If all you need is a skilsaw and a drill, they’ll have that for sure. They probably won’t have boom boxes and table saws... but they’ll have the common stuff and they will know what lasts and what doesn’t.

HD/Lowes/Menard’s are an absolute last ditch resort for me. Those stores are cancer. DeWalt/Milwaukee from those places are NOT the same DW/Mil that you get from a contractor supply. I know those two first hand... I imagine it’s the same for Makita and Bosch.

When I graduated from college 15 years ago, I bought a DW hammerdrill/skilsaw/lamp 18v combo kit. I use the crap out of it, I have had the batteries rebuilt at least 7 or 8 times, I’ve lost count. But the tools seem bombproof. And now that they’re a couple generations old, nobody wants to steal them! HA

Your plan of going to Trade Tools and buying what they say sounds pretty solid. Don’t let them talk you into Festool... I REALLY WANTED a Kapex chop saw... but common sense got the best of me... it was a solution looking for a problem! Also just FYI - a Dyson vacuum works just as good as the commercial dust extractors, if you’re just doing home projects.

Just My $0.02, IANAL, YMMV, AT&T, MCI, blah...

[Drew]

And one more thing! An old pro said I should get two skilsaws. One right hand and one left hand. My battery saw is a compact 6 1/2” left hand saw, and the plug in beast is a 7 1/4” right hand saw. Gives me versatility to make cuts in awkward spots.

[rowdyhillrambler]

“Anything will probably meet my needs. Except DeWalt. Growing up a friend's contractor-uncle had a garage full of DeWalt stuff. Fourteen year old me thought he was a d-bag, so we stole his beer and I've never bought anything” Caleb

Now that is 100% a great reason to boycott-and I mean that.. I can completely get behind this. I am still boycotting The Tomato Head, vegetarian restaurant, in Knoxville. I have been since 2002, simply because they asked a friend of mine to stop coming in everyday just to take a shit in their toilet. He will eat there now-not me though, I’m still boycotting. It’s the principle.

BTW-buy the full size circular saw, full size blade I mean. The 6” job just seems like a kids toy for cutting trim in your puppets fave doghouse.

Porter cable, black and decker, DeWalt all the same company-boycott them too.

I’m thinking about giving my DeWalt stuff away just because I dig your style!

[Mabouya]

Whatever you do, don't ever buy a cheap cordless circular saw, unless you only plan on cutting twigs and 1/4" dowel rods. One of those came in a Skil set I got years ago (18 V) and it's a total poc. The blade bogs down on anything more than an inch or two wide. Everything else in the kit is great, but the circular saw was horrible, and it motivated me to get a "real" corded one.

[sk_tle]

The one and only good (bad?) reason to choose cordless on a circular saw is for bike thieves no ?

Unless you plan to steal bikes or you are the kind of guy to lose the keys of your U lock I guess you'd do better with a powerful corded one. The thing is circular saws can be really dangerous things and I'd rather build a safe setup in a barn that force me to do things rights. With a cordless one I would easily see myself taking shortcuts on safety because it is a 30s job. You know it is bad but hey, I'll be careful right ?

[j44ke]

The one and only good (bad?) reason to choose cordless on a circular saw is for bike thieves no ?

Unless you plan to steal bikes or you are the kind of guy to lose the keys of your U lock I guess you'd do better with a powerful corded one. The thing is circular saws can be really dangerous things and I'd rather build a safe setup in a barn that force me to do things rights. With a cordless one I would easily see myself taking shortcuts on safety because it is a 30s job. You know it is bad but hey, I'll be careful right ?

You are thinking of an angle-grinder/cut-off saw.

Angle grinder



Circular saw



The reason I've been looking at some of these tools is because I want to build things well beyond the reach of my extension cords. There are several places on our property that look like a nice place for coffee. Or maybe, a nice place for a tent or a hammock. And while I could just stick a couple folding chairs in the woods, I think it might be nice to have some kind of multi-use platform. Someone built one on part of the property before we bought it, and it is quickly becoming one of the more popular places to stop and sit for a while when people come to visit. It is made of logs with 1x4 decking, so a little rickety but it is warmer than sitting on rocks, usually dry and no worry about sitting on a blackberry bush.

[Mark Kelly]

My son was at the hardware shop the other day and a couple of "obvious meth heads" bought two of those and a bernzomatic torch, paying cash.

[caleb]

After watching way too many YouTube reviews, I finally just walked into my local contractor supply shop today and asked what I should buy. They deal Milwaukee and Makita. Their preference was for the Makita battery system, and I took their word for it.

So, I walked out with starter-type kit of two batteries, a charger, a hammer drill, and a driver, with a circular saw on top. Batteries are charging as I type.

Out of the box, the first impression is that there's a lot of plastic in these things (I realize that's on old school objection), but they feel solid. Time will tell.

[j44ke]

After watching way too many YouTube reviews, I finally just walked into my local contractor supply shop today and asked what I should buy. They deal Milwaukee and Makita. Their preference was for the Makita battery system, and I took their word for it.

So, I walked out with starter-type kit of two batteries, a charger, a hammer drill, and a driver, with a circular saw on top. Batteries are charging as I type.

Out of the box, the first impression is that there's a lot of plastic in these things (I realize that's on old school objection), but they feel solid. Time will tell.

Update in 6 months!

[j44ke]

After watching way too many YouTube reviews, I finally just walked into my local contractor supply shop today and asked what I should buy. They deal Milwaukee and Makita. Their preference was for the Makita battery system, and I took their word for it.

So, I walked out with starter-type kit of two batteries, a charger, a hammer drill, and a driver, with a circular saw on top. Batteries are charging as I type.

Out of the box, the first impression is that there's a lot of plastic in these things (I realize that's on old school objection), but they feel solid. Time will tell.

So how is it so far? I think I might buy this because they have a local dealer who happens to live on my street. "I know where you live!"

Makita USA - Product Details -XSH8Z

[ides1056]

Makita brushless tools are very good. The impact driver is excellent, and I expect the rest of the range is as well. Just don't buy them at HD. The guts aren't the same as what you will find at you local lumber supply store.

[Gattonero]

Not sure has already been said, but you want ot buy the best blade you can afford, German ones with Widia teeth gave me very good results!

[claritycycler]

The reason I've been looking at some of these tools is because I want to build things well beyond the reach of my extension cords. There are several places on our property that look like a nice place for coffee. Or maybe, a nice place for a tent or a hammock. And while I could just stick a couple folding chairs in the woods, I think it might be nice to have some kind of multi-use platform.....

Most decks, especially small ones, are pretty straight forward. Design/plan what you want and cut to length what you need at the house with a your corded saw(if you have one), you have to carry mtls to the site anyway, think of it as a prefab/modular deck to assemble on site.

[j44ke]

Most decks, especially small ones, are pretty straight forward. Design/plan what you want and cut to length what you need at the house with a your corded saw(if you have one), you have to carry mtls to the site anyway, think of it as a prefab/modular deck to assemble on site.

That's an idea.

[claritycycler]

Since we're on the topic take a few minutes and learn a lot.

Skill saw basics


Pro tips

[ZenNMotion]

I'm sure there are many people here with more wisdom and experience with these things than me, but after 2 kitchen remodels, basement renovation, 4 bathrooms and rebuilding a destroyed deck that got smashed by a giant oak tree I'm not a complete newb either. For my purposes my 10 year old Makita has worked well, I prefer corded (lighter weight, not all cuts are like the easy ones on sawhorses, and some are on ladders) and aluminum base (again lighter than steel base), and I'm right-handed. If I were left handed I might consider a worm-drive saw as an alternative as it lines the motor up with the cut line- easier to see. Battery power tools make sense for contractors and (obviously) locations that don't have a power outlet, but despite the inconvenience with power cords across a room, or a yard (or both) it's nice not to worry about recharging, draining a battery mid-job or having to responsibly deal with spent toxic lithium batteries. But then, I still like mechanical shifters and rim brakes, so you kids keep your battery toys offa my lawn...