Help! Need to buy a 7-1/4" Circ Saw quick

Doug Shepard

In Memorium
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772
Location
Waterford, MI
Discovered to my consternation this morning that my Craftsman Circ Saw doesn't cut perpendicular to the base plate. Never noticed it before as it pretty much just gets used for breaking down sheet stuff into oversized pieces for cutting on the TS. The angle isn't all that obvious on something only 3/4" thick. But started rough trimming 2" layers of my workbench top glue up and the non-90 deg angle was pretty evident. Got it to straighten out a tiny bit more, but the base plate is bottomed out on the saw housing and no amount of adjustment will make it go the extra 3-5 degrees it needs to get perpendicular to the plate.
I'd like to pick something up tomorrow. So what's a good 7-1/4" accurate saw that Lowes, HD, or my local tool store is likely to carry? The deeper the max cut depth, the better. I think my Cr##man goes to 2-3/16"(?).
Thought about Festool, but I'd need the bigger one for this particular job, whereas for the stuff I normally use one for, the smaller one is a better choice. So I dont think I'll go that route for now.
 
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I had a Milwaukee for years when that one died I bought a Makita....currently using a Bosch.

I use the heck out of circular saws and they get a lot of abuse on my jobsites, I am very impressed with the Bosch I am currently using....when it dies I'll more than likely get another Bosch.
 
I tossed a B&D for that same reason. I ended up with a DeWalt. Haven't seen one like it in the while though. It has an adjustable shoe. It's heavy but I love that saw. Weight is my only complaint. I am sure there are other goods ones too.
 
When we built, the frames would only use Mikita circular saws. They claim they outlasted any other brand they had tried, including the Milwaukee. They used the dickens out of a saw everyday. They also used Marathon blades because they lasted, and when they needed a replacement, they could just stop by HD,
 
I have a Porter Cable 325Mag that I really like. They did have an early recall (Nov 2005) regarding the blade guard but I would not think that any affected saws are still out there for retail. Mine is one of the affected models (Ser #s 10001 through 108962) but have not had any problems with it so did not go to the trouble to take it in. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06040.html
 
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Porter-Cable & DeWalt Circ.Saws

I have a Porter-Cable 743. If had it for several years and have no major complaints. Wish it was a little lighter, but you sure know that you have a real power tool when you pick it up. I've cut wood,synthetic decking, and masonary, and it had done a great job.

I don't think they make this model any longer. I believe that it was replaced by their Mag model, which is probably a bit lighter.

As a note, they didn't include the edge guide. I had to buy that seperate.


I also have a DeWalt DC390 XRP 18V circular saw with a 6 1/2" blade. It can can cut 2x4's at a 45 degree angle in a single pass. It also comes with an edge guide. Even with the heavy 18v battery, it is still lighter than the P-C. It has much better run time than I would have expected. Since I got this, I tend to reach for it before I reach for the P-C when breaking down sheets of plywood. Mostly because its cordless and is lighter.
 
Thanks everybody. Just got back from picking China up at the groomers. I went straight there from Performance Tool (a local 2-store outfit) where I ended up walking out the door with a Makita. The chore I had planned for this afternoon got delayed to tomorrow AM so my saw buying excursion had to get squeezed in today. I took a 4" Engineers square along, and mental notes of the comments I had gotten from folks to that point. There were a number of Bosch positives either here or that other site and I kind of thought that's what I'd get if they had one. Amazingly the engineers square revealed the same flaw on supposedly better saw, although the Craftsman certainly had it worse. I looked at the Bosch CS20, a Hitachi, Milwaukee, Porter Cable, Dewalt, & Makita. The Bosch was about half as bad as the Craftsman but was definitely the worst of the ones I looked at. Shame, because I liked a number of other features though I wasn't crazy about the plate. The best for perpendicular to the plate were the Milwaukee, Porter-Cable, and Makita. The Dewalt and Hitachi were pretty good, but not quite as square. Either the Milwaukee or PC (I cant recall which) I initially thought was as bad as the Bosch but then realized the big gap was at the opposite end of the square. This one let you go a fair bit past zero which was nice, so you could actually set it to a sqaure. Anyway, it then became a contest of balance, weight, plate construction and other features. At the end I had it down to the PC and Makita and finally chose the Makita. I'll have to get a pic later. Also grabbed a 6 ft Irwin Alum level as I needed a longer straight edge.
 
I love my Dewalt worm drive saw and for three reasons...

The first is that because it is a worm drive, the configuration is different. The weight distribution is a bit different too and cross cutting a sheet of plywood is very easy with this saw. I get a little longer reach and there is no stretching to make the 4 foot cuts on a sheet of plywood. Its quite comfortable to do.

The other reason is quite controversial, at least it has been on other forums. My saw is a left-handers version even though I am right handed. With the blade on the left I can see the blade hitting the line without having to lean over the top of the saw. It really makes it nice and I recommend getting a left-hand version to right hand people and right hand version for the left-handers. After having a left-hand version, I will never go back to having a right hand version again.

The third reason is power. This saw has plenty of omfff and for sawing the thick, rough lumber that comes off the sawmill, this is a must for me.
 
Chevelle pics???

Hey, how about some pics of the Chevelle you're restoring???

I had a 1969 Chevelle "Malibu" in high school. It had a 307 short block with 2-speed "power-glide" transmission.

I felt quite sexy in that car! It didn't have quite the desired effect on the ladies, however. :huh:

I had a Milwaukee for years when that one died I bought a Makita....currently using a Bosch.

I use the heck out of circular saws and they get a lot of abuse on my jobsites, I am very impressed with the Bosch I am currently using....when it dies I'll more than likely get another Bosch.
 
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