Thread: Which circular saw to buy?

Tiger
I have a bosch circular saw it didnt break the bank and put a good blade with it and bobs your uncle
good luck with the mitre 10 sale
greg

Makita

or hitachi (excellent tools)

Tiger

You cannot go past Makita or Hitachi in the cheaper range.

Regards Mike

I have the Hitachi with the alloy base plate. Used it professionally for boat fit outs, shopfitting, cabinetmaking etc etc. With a aluminium cutting (triple chip) blade and a stright edge or saw guide you can make near perfect cuts in laminated board. I own both the Hitachi 7" and 9" and would buy the same again. I'm not a brand follower and have plenty of Makita and other brands as well.

Mick

I bought a Makita last year and I am extremely happy with it. Its handled everything that I have run through it.

I'd prefer a 230mm to go through a 3" bearer, and a little 185mm lightweight Makita for ease of use and for 4 X 2s, but I've got a rather heavy 5007NB with an alloy base plate that doesn't distort like the pressed metal base plates. They should put them on all their saws as far as I'm concerned. I've had this saw for yonks and I just can't kill it no matter how much punishment I've given it over the years. The base plate is as true and accurate as the day I bought it.

If you've got pockets full of dough then I suppose the Festool has the best features. I've never owned one so I don't know how it stands up to a bit of punishment though.

There's another old thread on power saws here.

I have a De Walt with a solid and accurate cast allot base which helps hugely with accuracy.

I also have a UHMW base that accommodates the saw and runs in a rail with clamp ends.

Get the heavy duty makita 184 or 5?? mm with the heavy base and slightly larger motor.

Originally Posted by TermiMonster

Get the heavy duty makita 184 or 5?? mm with the heavy base and slightly larger motor.

Yeh that's the 5007NB. It's the only one with the alloy base as far as I know. You can't kill those large motors and I give mine a hiding with renos and framing ripping all sorts of stuff. They get bashed around heaps as well. The small ones blow up eventually but don't buy a cheapie. I've had two of those and they never last more than a month. It's different with cheap $20 screwdriver/hammer drills. They'd last almost as long as a more expensive makita or hitachi, so I just save some money and throw them away when they blow up.

Originally Posted by Auld Bassoon

I have a De Walt with a solid and accurate cast allot base which helps hugely with accuracy.

I also have a UHMW base that accommodates the saw and runs in a rail with clamp ends.

What is a UHMW?

Hoppoz

Hope I'm not too late .IMHO
A circular saw is such an important tool ---dont buy crap.
Preferably Bosch Hitachi Makita with a big motor for its size ie 7.25 inches, a good baseplate and a good fence ---check the adjustment of the depth guage + bevel feature is it easy or stiff??
you can get the blades professionally resharpened easily so dont use blunt ones + watch the safety guard some are slow to return when putting the saw down.

Originally Posted by rowdyflat

you can get the blades professionally resharpened easily so dont use blunt ones

I use blunt ones often for reno work or ripping something that might be full of nails. The timber smokes away like crazy sometimes whilst the saw is straining away, but with the big Makita, I never get any of that tell tale electrical smell that you usually get before the saw blows up.
I had a planer one time that almost burnt my arm of when it went up in flames.

Goodluck cutting nails.
Perhaps we need to start a thread on cutting difficult stuff in difficult places common in renos.
I have been known to use a small Stihl pruning chainsaw where nails are suspected cos I can easily sharpen the chain.
The alternative is an Australian rotary hacksaw [designed to cut everything metal ,ac sheet + timber] on an angle grinder .
It is nicknamed 'killer' for obvious reasons.