Thread: Cordless Saw no good, or just the blade?

Originally Posted by John G

When I cut up large timber panels, rather than trying to balance the entire panel on the table saw, I prefer to rough-cut the panel into its smaller pieces first by laying the panel flat on a series of saw horses and making the cuts.

To simplify this, a while ago I bought an elcheapo 18V cordless circular saw. While it worked ok for the thin ply and other panels I've used it on, it didn't work very well on 19mm particle board last weekend. The saw would continually grind to a halt midway through a cut. The battery was fully charged but it just did not have the grunt to keep the blade turning. In the end I gave up, and resorted to the jigsaw.

it sounds to me as though the saw blade is jamming in the kerf. This would be more noticeable with the thicker 19mm material than thin ply.

If the saw wasn't up to the job, you wouldn't be able to get into the cut at all


ian

It's a bit hard to say, I do know that most cheaper power saws and even biscuit jointers normally have a crappy blade fitted to them.

I buy a better quality blade when I buy the cheaper stuff and keep the crappy blades for the jobs you know that you might hit a nail or some crud in the timber

Any sort of 18mm board is a good solid cut.
I would be surprised that any battery powered saw would have the balls to rip an 18mm anything down the middle.

The physics just dont add up.

My 240 v hand saw cretainly knows about it cutting 18mm.

I think you are asking tooo much.

I recon battery powered circular saws are the stuff dreams are made of.
& you'll only cut 18mm MDF with a battery in your dreams.

sorry

cheers

G'day John G,

Other than a cordless drill, I wouldn't have anything that doesn't have a cord attached to it. Why? Well you just found out the hard way.

My 2¢ cents worth.

I have a Ryobi cordless circular saw. It does quite well, but as others have said, cutting 18mm board is pushing it a little... however, I have successfully cut 18mm chipboard using the cordless saw on several occassions where I couldn't have been bothered pulling out the extension cord.

You will need a good, sharp thin kerf blade, and you have to take it slow, but it can be done. It is easier and quicker just to use a corded saw though with much more grunt.

I leave the cordless for the 9mm and thinner sheets and for cutting down the odd piece of timber and for this it works great

A mate of mine had a decent 14.4v dewalt that would cut pine studs kind of easily only if the blade was very sharp. It still stalled on some timbers and i agree with soundman .they just dont have the power and most only spin at about 2000RPM. The other day i visited a cabinetmaker mate of mine and he bought the new milwaukee 28v cordless saw.. Bloody hell, spins at over 4000rpm and will cut anything. Awesome machine but expensive.
You need a heap of power for cordless tools and looks like the el cheapo ones just wont cut it.
stef

What Dean said, I have a Ryobi 18v and it cuts quite well, I bought it to construct our kitchen and power was not available, I realise that we are talking 12-13mm but the little beast hammered through without any problem until the battery started to die and it was a rather sudden demise.
I have made some limited cuts on shorter thicker stock without any problems, including some Karri 20mm which is as hard as buggery, but only 200mm wide, admittedly, it did labour a little.
Suspect what others have suggested, the material is closing up and binding the blade.

Have to agree with what most have said. I tried my 18V circular saw on some 19mm ply sheets and had to give it up as a bad job. The material IS closing up and binding, but a corded saw can keep turning through a slight bind, whilst the cordless just gives it up.

Still handy for small, quick cuts though.

Soundman's got a good point. I don't own nor have I ever used a cordless saw but battery drills, now that's another matter. I've got a 14.4v Milwaukee drill that'll drive batten screws if you wanted to (not that I do). Point is, it keeps going. I've also got a couple of elcheapo Ozito 14.4v drills for pilot holes, countersinking, small screws etc. Whilst they're OK for light work, they're not in the same league as the Milwaukee drill and quickly give up the ghost when asked to perform. Horses for courses. They're still useful but I simply don't ask too much of them. I can't see why it wouldn't be any different for saws.

I don't know if Festo or any of the quality manufacturers make such a beast but it would be interesting to hear any comments from anyone who has a good quality battery saw.

I have a Ryobi 18v saw that works great. But they are designed with a thin blade and small kerf to retain battery life, so slow and easy cuts are requires. I always use a square as a guide and have less problem with the blade biinding in the kerf.

My son has a Dewalt 18v and it lasts all day and cuts as well as mine. I have used mine for cutting 4"X4" posts, and many different uses.