Power Tools You Need: Saws
October 16, 2011, By Andy Hinds 0 comments
Unless you are super-retro (think Noah), you probably don’t want to spend all your home improvement time and energy laboriously gnawing through lumber with a handsaw. Here’s a rundown of the most useful power saws for working on your house or tackling other woodworking projects.
Must Have
Circular Saw
Often called a “Skilsaw” because of the ubiquity of the Skil brand in the market, this is the one tool you’ve got to have for any project that involves cutting more than a couple 2x4s. Journeyman carpenters are typically expected to show up on the jobsite the first day with their nail bags, a circular saw and a power cord. Armed with just those tools and a 4’ level, you could do 90 percent of the rough carpentry in most home improvement projects.
There are two main types of circular saws: the “sidewinder” and the “worm-drive.” There’s plenty of mythology and debate surrounding the relative merits of these tools, but generally the camps are divided geographically. The sidewinder is more prevalent east of the Mississippi, and the worm-drive is used more in the West. I’ll spare you the details of the controversy and just run down the basic differences.
Sidewinder
- Has the motor on the left, the blade on the right, the handle on the top
- It’s up to five pounds lighter than a worm-drive
- Ideal for cutting material on a horizontal plain, such as a pair of sawhorses or a workbench
- Not as powerful as a worm-drive
- Because of the position of the blade to the right of the motor, some right-handed people find it awkward to look over their own arm to see the cut-line
Worm-drive
- Motor on the right, blade on the left, handle in the rear
- More torque makes it less likely to bind or kick back, allowing it to power through dense, wet or dirty wood
- Extra weight and rear handle make it ideal for cutting in a downward direction while bending over the material and propping it up on your foot (sounds dangerous and uncomfortable, but it’s actually a very efficient technique)
- Right-handers can easily see the blade as it moves along the cut-line.
In choosing between a worm-drive and a sidewinder, you should think about what kind of projects you might tackle. If you’re going to be in your shop, working on a cut station, a sidewinder will be perfect. For projects like decks or additions, a worm-drive might be faster and more practical. I switched to a worm-drive when I moved from Virginia to California ten years ago, due to peer pressure and the dynamics of my work environment, but I still break out the sidewinder from time to time. Honestly though, for a home handyman who isn’t planning any huge projects, the sidewinder might be the best all-purpose choice. It can do almost everything a worm-drive can, but the technique is a little easier to learn, and the light weight is easy on middle-aged joints.
As far as what brands to get, Skil is the industry standard, especially for worm-drives, and I haven’t heard many complaints about that brand. I use a Bosch worm-drive, which is pretty much the same as the top-of-the-line Skil Mag 77 (Bosch owns Skil), but has a couple extra features that I like. I’ve had a number of Makita sidewinders that I really loved. They’re solid, affordable, tough tools. Whatever you do (this goes for any tool), get your hands on a saw before you buy it, and if possible make a few cuts with it. Get something that is comfortable to use, and where the controls feel natural to you. And keep in mind that you get what you pay for. You can get a circular saw for as little as $40.00, but I recommend strongly against doing so. Expect to pay about $120.00 for a good sidewinder or $160.00 for a worm-drive. These are tools that can serve you for decades.
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