Choosing a circular saw Corded or Cordless?

[mzancz]

I'm looking for a good all around 7 1/4 circualr saw. How do todays cordless saws compare to the power of the corded? I like how the craftsman ones have the laser trac feature. Is there anythign else should look for?

[DaveW]

I'd say it depends on what you need to cut - if you're cutting sheet goods a lot with it, I'd say stick with a corded one - the cordless ones don't last very long (I have the Ryobi 18v - maybe the Dewalts etc last longer). The cordless ones are great for quick and infrequent cuts.

[steve-u]

A corded circular saw is a very versatile core shop tool. I don't own a cordless one but from what I understand you would need a higher end cordless to get decent performance and cuts before the battery goes dead. Such saws from Bosch, Porter Cable, Dewalt, Milwaukee are not cheap.

If you are near a Lowes take a look at the Bosch CS10 corded model as they now have a $25 gift card with purchase after mailing in the rebate form. My Lowes sells it for $110. If that does not interest you look at the Milwaukee Tilt Lok or the Porter Cable Mag saw. If you want to save a few bucks the Hitachi circular saws are well thought of and the model with the electric brake is very reasonably priced. The link below is a review on some cordless circular saws and I also suggest you search the forums for circualr saw for past posts on discussions about circualr saws.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home...tml?page=5&c=y


http://www.canadianhomeworkshop.com/...ess_saws.shtml

[steve-u]

I should also add that having a laser on a circular saw is not big deal and could add weight and get in the way of the "sight line". Also the Bosch CS10 is the same as the Bosch CS20 but has a fixed power cord and both have an excellent line of sight and I see that Bosch also offers a dust collection adapter to use with a vacuum similar to what is built into the Porter Cable Mag saws which can be important for indoor use.

Fellow forum member Tom Hintz has some excellent reviews on circular saws discussing what he looks for and thinks is important in a circular saw along with his impressions of what he has reviewed at the link below. --- Steve

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/index.html

[jking]

I know that all of the hype about lasers on various saw types sometimes gets a bit crazy. For finish carpentry or fine woodworking the lasers are probably just that...hype. For rough carpentry, though, they can be useful. I have used one of the Craftsman circular saws with the laser on them & was pleased. Cutting plywood sheets was where I found the most use. I was able to make four or five pencil marks along the length of the sheet and then cut using the laser to line up the cut. Normally, I would use a straightedge & connect the lines. You could also use a chalk-line to mark the cut line. Some of it becomes personal preference. Do you need it? No. Can it be useful? In certain circumstances, yes.

[burrellski]

I have a Dewalt 18V 6 1/2" saw that I couldn't be happier with. It's super handy and I find myself reaching for it all the time because of that. I built a picket fence last summer and cut every wet, pressure treated, 4x4 post with it on about 1.5 batteries. I've never felt like it was under-powered. I just make sure to keep a good sharp blade on it and I've gotten along fine, but that goes for a corded model as well.

I find that nine out of ten times I pick it up, its to cut sheet goods down to size. For this I use a clamp on guide, and thus a laser would be useless. As mentioned earlier, I could see some merit for general construction I guess.

Along those same lines.....
Does anyone have a clue why Sears would put a laser on a jigsaw?

[mschrank]

Does anyone have a clue why Sears would put a laser on a jigsaw?

Cuz lazers are cool! Seriously...Sears has a jigsaw with a laser?

Regarding the original topic: I am also researching a new circular saw. Here are my random thoughts for what they are worth (i.e., $0.02) I had pretty much decided on the corded Porter-Cable Sawboss 6". My reasoning is
-I primarily use a circular saw for rough-cutting sheet goods, so don't need the bigger blade
-I've read some not-so-great reviews on the battery life of the PC cordless model of the Sawboss (just a few Amazon customer opinions, but still...)
-I assumed the 6" would be lighter than the 7-1/4"

Just yesterday, I found specs that contradict that last point. Appears the P-C Mag (7-1/4") is a pound or so lighter...depending on the source.

A dust collection port is another big bonus to me...but then again I can't imagine it being very convenient to have a vacuum hose attached to your saw while reaching 4' across a sheet of plywood....?

Also, I'm thinking blade selection may be a bit limited in the 6" size?

[Tarheel]

I have a Dewalt cordless circular saw. It's only 14.4 volt - came as a combo with a drill. Received it as a Xmas gift. The saw is nice and light but it can't cut very much before the battery is ready for a recharge! Sounds like from a previous post that if you are going to go cordless, you need at least 18 volt!

I also have an old (20 YO) Skil 7 1/4" corded saw that never has failed me! It is heavy, but I have built three decks, finished a basement and built about 200' of pressure treated fencing and all I have done to the saw is replace the blade! Great saw!! I also use it more these days for cutting down sheet goods with a Tru-grip guide. A lot easier than man handling a 4 x 8 sheet on the TS.

Just my $.02,

Wayne

[scorrpio]

Batteries hate me - it must be my magnetic personality or something. I always try to do recharges as prescribed by the instructions, but batteries just keep losing their zero point in a hurry. Phone, PDA, camera, powertool, iPod - none seem to last. Additionally, I usually remember that batteries need recharging about at the same time as I press the 'ON' button and nothing happens.

Which is why I invested in several quality extension cords with reels, and my active toolset is entirely corded. I rarely work far from an outlet anyway.

My own saw in an ancient Rockwell that still works like new. It is quite heavy, and very solid. I like the heft cause it adds stability.

[RayintheUK]

Cordless circular saws should be sold alongside chocolate firescreens and motorcycle ashtrays, because they're about as much use. A corded trimsaw will beat a cordless hands down. Sorry for sitting on the fence, here - I'm not usually this indecisive!

Ray.

[RmeDad]

Don't hold back Ray, tell us exactly how you feel! LOL!

Good on ya!

[lkazista]

Corded.

IMHO...You should never own a battery powered tool, unless you already own the corded counterpart.

Lee

[sacherjj]

Corded.

IMHO...You should never own a battery powered tool, unless you already own the corded counterpart.

Lee

OK, I need to get a power planer then, to go with my hand plane. I think this is a good rule that might be broke with a drill. I use my DeWalt battery drill for almost everything. I don't know the last time I've unwrapped the cord from my regular one.

OH, and I forgot to vote. Get a good corded 7-1/2" saw. If you go cordless, make sure you have two batteries and a fast charger.

[kmbanes]

I agree with Ikazista...

...to a point.

I bought a Craftsman 19.2 kit a couple of years ago. It came with the drill, circular saw, reciprocating saw, and flourescent light. Since the purchase, I have not plugged in my corded drill, and I have used my corded circ saw twice.

To be fair, I am not a HEAVY user. But as an example, I am in the process of redoing kitchen cabinets for my parents (150 miles away). On my road trip last week end to rebuild the double oven cabinet, I took only my cordless tools. The circ saw ripped the full plywood sheet for the side, and made 3 25 inch cuts on each of three shelves. It was cutting as fine at the end as the beginning. The same battery was used in the recip saw for what little demo work I had to do the beginning. The drill was used to drive approximately 50 screws. ( I have 4 batteries, but only took 2 for the weekend.)

I wouldn't trade my cordless tools for anything. I will readily agree that there are times that a corded tool is best, I must admit that it is kind of rare for a light duty user such as myself.

As a side note, I will tell you that I am pretty bad driving a circ saw (corded OR cordless), so anytime I cut ANYTHING, I try to use a straight edge of some sort. I have a 'clamp and tool' guide, two sawboards and a Speed Square. I don't pick up a saw without picking up one of those 4 items. As a consequence, I have little use of a laser.

I did just get the Delta 12 inch CMS with Dual laser, and I love it. The laser is really handy.

I dream of being able to freehand cuts as square as my father can.

[jking]

Looking back at my earlier post, I guess I forgot to vote on corded vs. cordless...I have both. For rough cutting of one or two boards, I will use my cordless. It's a Ryobi 18V that is part of one of their kits. For anything else I will use a corded. Current corded version is a Craftsman 7 1/4" w/ the Lazer. This one was a Christmas present, I haven't actually used it yet, so, I can't comment. My previous saw was a P-C 7 1/4" (743 or 347??). Great saw, but, sprouted legs one night along with some other stuff.