Circular Saws

This month, I'd like to discuss a tool that up until about four years ago hadn't really gone through much of a change since its inception over fifty years ago. It is a staple on just about every jobsite, as well as being found in just about every garage or basement workshop. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm referring to the circular saw. The most basic of the circular saws is the 7 1/4" model, and that is the one we are going to zero in on for purposes of this month's column, although you will now find circular saws as small as 3 3/8", and believe it or not, as large as 16", and you will find them both in cordless and electric models.

Let's look at the purpose of a circular saw. It is made to cut all sorts of materials, but obviously, cutting wood being its primary purpose. The circular saw needs a powerful motor, with sufficient RPM's to get through the wood as quickly as possible, and you want it to be as light as possible so as not to "kill" your arm after a full days use. For the most part, all industrial quality circular saws are going to be 13 amp motors or higher, and hopefully weigh somewhere in the ten pound range at the most. Now we get to the recent changes that have occurred in these saws. Porter Cable was the first company to play with the idea of making the saw higher amperage, as well as lighter. The way they accomplished this is by manufacturing the entire housing out of magnesium, which is a more durable alloy than steel, but much lighter. This then gave them the ability to increase the motor size to 15 amp, from the standard 13 amp. The difference in weight from the steel housing to the magnesium allows for the larger motor and still gives them the ability to keep the weight in the ten pound range. So what they accomplished is now having the most powerful and one of the lightest circular saws on the market. But they didn't stop there. All 7 1/4" circular saws have the blade on the right side of the tool. If you are a right handed person such as myself, you would hold the saw in your right hand, and to watch the line of cut, you had to lean over the saw , which could be quite awkward.

To overcome this problem, Porter Cable reworked this saw to allow for the blade to be place on the left side of the tool, and the difference for us righties was incredible. It became much easier to watch your line of cut, and therefore you would end up with a much straighter line. If you are reading this and are left-handed, do not fret. Porter Cable makes this saw available both with the blade on the left or the right side of the tool. This gave them, and us, the best of both worlds.

As I stated, Porter Cable was the first, but the other companies quickly followed suit. You can now find 15 amp models in the ten pound range by several companies, such as Dewalt and Milwaukee, with several other models to follow.

The last item to be considered when purchasing a circular saw is whether or not you want an electric brake. What this feature offers you is the immediate stopping of the saw blade as soon as you remove your finger from the trigger. If nothing else, this is a wonderful safety feature, and one that should be looked at seriously. You will pay about more for this feature, but what value do you put on your fingers. Certainly they are worth more that ach!

In closing, I'm sure you'd agree that the recent changes in circular saws have all been made to make our job easier. These are huge strides in an area that has really been overlooked over the years. In the future, look for an article on cordless model, that have also taken huge strides forward in recent years. As always, if you have questions, comments, or ideas for future columns, please feel free to e-mail me at dbarnett@internationaltool.com. And by the way, in case you were wondering which saw gets the guru's nod as the best of the best, I bow to the Porter Cable Model 324MAG. A full 15 amp, lightweight, with the blade on the left side of the tool. I will add that this is my favorite at the time of this column, with many new models on their way.

Till next month,

Dean "The Tool Guru" Barnett, President

International Tool Corporation

Email the Guru.

Read previous months' tips:

Biscuit Joiners
Cabinet Tablesaws
Slide Compound Miter Saws
Mid-Sized Plunge Routers
Cordless Drills
Detail Sanders
Random Orbit Sanders
Brad Nailers
Hammer Drills
Saw Blades