Of course, probably doing most of your day’s work on a single charge of its whopping 9-Ah battery. The saw is well designed, with a comfortable handle and a magnesium shoe with about as much friction as a melting ice cube; for such an unwieldy saw, it slides pretty nicely. We use each saw to cut across and with the grain, the blade perpendicular to its shoe and at an angle to it. We’re confident of the quality of our products and we’ll repair, without charge, any defects due to faulty materials or workmanship within the specified warranty.
Shaving a couple of pounds off may equate to finishing the house sooner, which could contribute to your bottom line. With manufacturers working so hard to develop cordless tools, you also may wonder if these are the best fit for you. Homeowner-grade cordless saws have enough power to cut 2 x 3 and 2 x 4 lumber, pine planks, and plywood. We don’t see it as a house framing tool where you need a better combination of lightness and power.
In fact, during our testing, this circular saw did just as well cutting full-depth bevels as it did full-depth rips and crosscuts. Its light weight, power, and easy-handling features help to make this a truly productive circular saw. But let’s say that you’re simply a do-it-yourself owner-builder type. This circular saw is a pleasure to use for just about any DIY project. It cuts any typical framing material but also handles the 4 x 6 pressure-treated timber we use to test rear-handle saws, with enough power for full-depth cuts of about 2.5 inches.
It’s brushless motor provides longer motor life and more run time. This cutter has the versatility to cut various different materials, such as wood, metal, brick, and ceramic tile, as well as surface preparation on concrete. A dust collection outlet can easily be connected to vacuum cleaner to keep your work surfaces clear of dust and debris. V20 Cordless Circular Saw (Tool Only) has a high performance motor allowing the user to complete everyday cross and rip cuts. The compact and lightweight design helps reduced user fatigue and the contoured over-molded handle is optimized for comfort.
That means you can use it for breaking down plywood sheets or lengths of hardwood lumber for that furniture you want to build. The latest and lightest Worm Drive continues the long tradition of SKIL dewalt drill quality, rugged durability and consistently exceptional cutting performance. Weighing in at just 11.5 lbs, it’s 4 lbs less than its predecessor and the lightest Worm Drive SKILSAW on the market.
If cutting industrial material is your game, consider this Flex. Since Stanley Black & Decker (also the owner of DeWalt) bought the company in 2017, Craftsman tools have been improving. We’ve always liked the brand, and we were very pleased to find this saw carrying on a capable tradition of high-quality power tools. Next, we did some hairsplitting crosscuts, guiding each saw along a square held across the wood. If the saw held true along the cut, that told us that its shoe edge and blade are parallel.
Alex Rennie is a freelance writer who specializes in the Home Improvement, DIY, and Tool space. As a former residential and commercial carpenter, Alex uses his hands-on experience to write practical buying guides, how-to articles, and product reviews. His work has also appeared in Business Insider’s Insider Picks, and before his writing career, he was dewalt drill a full-time carpenter living in New York City. There, he worked as part of a team designing, building, and installing large furniture pieces, as well as performing a variety of home repair and maintenance projects. Alex currently lives in Los Angeles, CA, and spends his free time exploring the beaches and mountains with his fiancé and their dog Louie.
To those attributes, we would also add that it’s well balanced and easy to handle. While anyone can appreciate those features, it’s especially nice if you use the saw only on weekends for home projects. Its balance and geometry help you settle it quickly on the cut line, and it has more than enough power to see the cut through to completion. Since this type of extra-heavy-duty work is typically done in poorly lit conditions, the Flex’s work light is a huge help.
And with the 4-Ah battery, this saw does a significant amount of work before you need to swap in a new one or give it a recharge. But a contractor-grade saw may not help you get the job done faster, believe it or not. While it’s true that pro saws cut faster compared to homeowner saws, their most important attribute is durability. A homeowner working with a pro-level circular saw may find it too heavy and be unable to take advantage of its speed and power. It is a part of the new ATOMIC line of tools that DeWalt is pushing this year. For those who do not know, DeWalt has a line of XR tools that are 20-volts and normal-sized.
Whether you are a professional carpenter or a hobbyist, a circular saw is an essential tool that can help you achieve your desired results efficiently. Blain’s Farm & Fleet carries quality power saws from DEWALT, Milwaukee, FESTOOL, and other trusted brands. The Makita’s combines light weight, robust cutting power, and outstanding industrial design—ideal if you need a lot of cordless muscle, but don’t want to compromise accuracy or stability. Everything about this saw is comfortable and easy to handle, from the well-shaped trigger to the push lever of the spindle lock.