Thoughts on the Circular Saw

The circular saw is a simple yet integral part of any woodworker’s arsenal of tools. We recently reviewed two of these staple tools, but we had some additional thoughts.

Head To Head
After reading my review of my Skilsaw 5750-01 and Brit’s review of his Porter-Cable 347K you will see that we both like our respective circular saws. Brit and I have also had the opportunity to use the other guy’s circular saw on occasion, and it would be safe to say that we each like the other guy’s saw as well. We both agree that if you are going to be like Brit and use your saw for something as taxing as cutting stone than you probably should pony up the extra cash and get a saw with the biggest motor. On the other hand, if you are going to use your saw more conventionally, meaning cutting wood and composite materials, than save some money and go for the Skilsaw. You can use that extra $50 to $75 to buy a good blade or invest in another tool.

Sidewinders & Worms
Circular saws fall under two main categories, direct drive and gear drive. A direct drive saw, commonly called a sidewinder, is the standard circular saw that you see everywhere. Both my Skilsaw and Brit’s Porter-Cable are sidewinders. These saws have the motor mounted on the side of the blade, hence the sidewinder moniker. Also, the blade is mounted on shaft which is part of the motor, so every revolution of the motor equals one revolution of the blade. This is where the direct drive part of the name applies.

Gear driven circular saws are known by many names: worm drive, worm gear, and hypoid. Gear driven saws are the heavy-duty workhorse of many professional framers and carpenters. These saws feature a transmission between the motor and saw blade consisting of a series of gears. A quick way to spot a gear driven saw is by noticing that the motor is placed behind the blade rather than to the side of it. Also, a worm gear saw requires regular lubrication of its gears, while a hypoid saw has a sealed transmission that is permanently lubricated.

So what is the real difference? Sidewinders are generally lighter and less expensive than gear driven saws. That being said, they are more prone to kickback as well. Gear driven saws are heavier (not always a bad thing), have more torque, and have a longer lifespan. Although they are less likely to kickback, gear driven saws are prone to a sharp twisting motion when the saw is started. Pros call this saw buck, the powerful torque of the motor causes it. Which saw should you get? If you are going to be using your saw frequently and on a daily basis then get a gear drive, otherwise a sidewinder should suit you fine.

Circular Saw Safety
I have read estimates that circular saws are responsible for the vast majority of serious home improvement accidents. I have no idea how true this is, but it is logical considering how common these tools are. Besides my mantra of always using common sense and good judgment, here are some solid safety tips. Always wear safety glasses as circular saw can kick up quite a bit of dust. Using hearing protection and a dust mask is also a pretty good idea. Always be aware of where the power cord is so that you do not cut it with the saw of trip over it while cutting. Never remove or disable the safety guard on your saw. Just like a table saw, a circular saw can kickback. Kickback will cause the saw to jump backwards rather violently. Hold the saw tightly and keep both hands on the saw as frequently as possible. If both hands are on the saw and kickback occurs neither hand can be cut. Always support large sheets of material, such as plywood, to prevent the material from bending or sagging as you make a cut. This will reduce the possibility of kickback.

Cutting Tips
Before making a cut set the depth of the cut so that the bottom teeth on the blade just barely stick out past the face of your material. This exposes less of the blade for safety and it will help to reduce tear out.

When ripping longer boards or sheets an aluminum cutting guide is a great way to get a perfectly straight cut. Some cutting guides have integrated clamps while are just a flat piece of metal that you can clamp to your stock with spring clamps or c-clamps.

When cross cutting, a rafter square or Chopshot makes a quick guide for a perfect cut.

Skilsaw 5750-01 Circular Saw Review

A good circular saw is a loyal companion to every carpenter, woodworker, and handyman. They are found on thousands of jobsites and thousands of shops, cutting every type of material imaginable from a myriad of sheet goods to boards of all sizes and species. They are the poor man’s table saw. They are a somewhat iconic image that is closely associated with carpenter, much like the chainsaw is associated with the lumberjack. Parallel to this relationship is the association between the circular saw and the brand Skil. Skil has been making the famous Skilsaw since the 1920’s. Like Kleenex or Q-Tip, Skilsaw has become a synonym for the circular saw itself.


The Skilsaw 5750-01 is a 7-1/4” circular saw with a street price around $75. It comes with a carry case, 18-tooth carbide tipped blade, blade wrench, and manual. The Skil 5750-01 is a large saw with a powerful 13-amp motor, which has a maximum output of 2.5 horsepower. The saw weighs just over 12lbs. however its comfortable handles offset much of that heft. The rear handle is rubberized while the top handle is plastic. Both are textured to improve grip and they are sized well. This circular saw features a laser guide, which is easily activated when depressing the safety switch. The saw body is a combination of metal and plastic. The base plate is sufficiently thick unlike cheaper stamped base plates. Blade changing is easy with the spindle lock feature. On the negative side, the blade guard lift lever is plastic, which raises concerns that such a frequently touched part may break off. Also, the power cord is only 6’ long, so grab your extension cord, especially when ripping a sheet of plywood.

Circular saws are made for one thing: cutting wood, the Skilsaw 5750-01 does just that. Powering the saw up for the first time and pushing it into a sheet of plywood, I found that the saw cut smoothly and with plenty of power. Like most circular it was easy to control and follow my pencil line. The blade guard functions well and quickly slides into place after completing a cut. The laser guide is about as useful as any other out there. After a slight adjustment, following the laser got me fairly close to my pencil line, however greater accuracy was achieved by sighting the saw manually. Of course, this is true of most laser-guided tools. Bevel angle adjusts easily, although I would prefer the thumbscrew to be metal instead of plastic. The depth of cut can be adjusted to a maximum of 2-7/16” by lifting a plastic lever. Releasing this lever requires a bit too much force and that fact that it is plastic causes a concern of breakage. There is an easy to read scale on the back of the saw to measure the depth of cut. A nice little touch is that the blade wrench stores inside of the base plate so that it cannot be lost. Conversely, while the carry case is a solid and comfortable way to tote the saw around, it takes a little trial and error to learn the very exact way the saw must sit inside the case. You should be able to simply throw the saw in the case when done, not fiddle with it for a minute or two.

To some degree a circular saw is a circular saw as long as it has enough power, and the Skilsaw 5750-01 has plenty of power. The real question is whether this $75 saw can compete with those grey, yellow, and other guys whose brands have a bit more clout. While some of these other brands have 15 amp motors and heftier price tags ($100 to $140), the Skilsaw can go cut for cut with them. While there is a little too much plastic on the Skil's adjustment knobs and levers, many of these other brands suffer from the same thing. Save your money and buy the Skil, then spend that cash on another tool. Because it is a strong performing tool, but does not do anything revolutionary the Skilsaw 5750-01 gets an average 3 hammer rating, however it also wins a Shallow Pocket award for its great value and The Beast award for its ample power.



Pros:
Lots of power
Great price
Comfortable handles

Cons:
Some plastic parts
Depth of cut level hard to release
Short power cord
Confusing carry case

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Porter Cable 347K Circular Saw Review

Recently I had several small projects that needed to get done. Ideally, a large part of the cutting required for these would have been done with my table saw. Unfortunately, my table saw is still in the box it came in, hibernating in the garage. Matt really gets a kick out of that since I went on and on about buying the darn thing. I can't say I blame him - it's pretty pathetic. Anyhow...

Out comes my Porter Cable 347K Circular Saw. I've had this saw for a few years and until now never realized how versatile it is (or for that matter, any circular saw is). It's primary duty had been cutting blue stone and concrete blocks for the 750+ sf of patio I built in the yard. Seriously, I cut a lot of stone with it, and it worked really well. I also used it for a couple of demo projects and some rough cutting of wood for various other exterior projects.

What's in the box? The saw comes packed in a handy plastic carry case with handle and includes a general purpose 7 1/4" 18T carbide tipped wood blade, dust exhaust nozzle (chute) and a blade wrench conveniently tucked up in the handle for ready access. This circular saw is very solidly built, I own a number of Porter Cable power tools and haven't had much bad to say about any of them. It weighs about 11lbs. Only the motor housing and the handle are plastic, the rest of the saw is solid metal. This saw features a magnesium base, the manufacturer claims this accounts for it's light weight(for a heavy-duty circular saw). The base edges are 1-1/2"(1 7/8" from outside blade edge) and 5" from the the blade. A great feature is the 9' long power cord which is flexible and easy to roll back up when storing the saw in its case.

Using the 347K Circular Saw. When I first plugged this puppy in I was a little intimidated because I had never used a circular saw as hefty as this one. Since I used it to cut a difficult material like stone initially, I got very comfortable with it quickly. This saw has plenty of power and never had trouble cutting stone up to 2" thick. When I finally used this saw for some 'finer' work, actually cutting wood, it didn't disappoint there either. When teamed up with an inexpensive aluminum cutting edge this circular saw proved the perfect tool for building my bookshelf. It buzzed through sheets of 3/4" MDF and 1/2" plywood with ease. My cuts were nice and square, no tear-out to speak of. I should note that I did switch the blade out for this project. I used a cheap-o $7 plywood/composite material blade to ensure the cuts were cleaner.

Swapping out blades is not a problem on the 347K. There's a spindle lock that when depressed prevents the blade from spinning so the switch is quick and painless. The saw also features a depth adjustment so the blades can be lowered to 2-1/4" below the base. One complaint here, the blade adjustment lever is difficult to unlock when in it's extreme position. Lastly, there is a bevel cutting adjustment (up to 45 degrees) which I don't use - I use my mitre saw for those cuts.

Final Cuts. There's no way I wouldn't recommend this saw. It's not the cheapest choice (retailed around $120) but, I have absolutely no complaints. It's well built, problem free after some pretty serious use and believe it or not, made here in the USA. If shopping for a circular saw I encourage you to check out Matt's review of his Skilsaw Circular Saw which he loves. It retails around $75 - so some cash could be saved. I'm giving this saw 4 hammers - It cuts stone!

Pros:
Tank-like construction
No unnecessary or gimmicky features
Plenty of power
Easy to adjust

Cons:
Pricey


manufacturer: SPECS
* Power: 120 VAC, 25-60 HZ/120 VDC
* Motor Amps: 15
* Speed: 5,800 RPM
* Blade Size: 7 1/4"
* Arbor Hole: 5/8"
* Capacity: 45°: 1 13/16" 90°: 2 5/16"
* Length: 13"
* Height: 7 3/4"
* Net Weight: 10 3/4 lbs.

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