Starting from nothing, what is your priority list for saws?

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d000hg

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I've realised as I start to do more more projects, how little I know about tools and particularly about saws. I never realised how many different power saws tradesmen use (circular, plunge, bench, chop, ...)!

I don't want to buy things I will hardly use so if you could only have 1 saw, or 3 or 5... what is your priority for general DIY use?
Power, hand tools, fixed/mobile, all welcome with as much justification as you can be bothered with. I'm sure other newbies will find it useful.

If you know a good resource that covers all this, do share.
 
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Start with a quality corded jigsaw and a mix of rough and fine cut blades. Depending on which jobs you are doing you will find it's limitations - the main ones being speed and accuracy - but you can do a lot with a decent jigsaw and the right blade.
 
Tilt and slide chop saw has had the most use over the years. But my circular saw and jigsaw have also seen plenty of use.

My latest acquisition is an inexpensive table saw, but it remains to be seen how much i'll use it.
 
I hand hand tools for a while
Good quality Panel Saw, Tenon Saw and coping saw.
Then a corded Jigsaw
More recently a cordless Jigsaw and a Circular saw
and a corded Mitre Saw
all have there uses and have been used in the last few months

In order i would say something like
Jig Saw
Tenon
Panel - these are often on offer at screwfix/toolstation
Coping
Circular
Mitre - i tend to use this a lot more now i have it, but no good for sheet material

if metal then Hacksaw , small and large
 
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Lower said:
Tilt and slide chop saw has had the most use over the years. But my circular saw and jigsaw have also seen plenty of use.

My latest acquisition is an inexpensive table saw, but it remains to be seen how much i'll use it.
Click to expand...
One question I have is: which saws can - maybe not as well but adequately for rare use - do the job of others?
 
A jigsaw could be used instead of a circular saw and the chop saw, but not accurately.

I generally use my jigsaw for cuts that need to follow a line that isn't straight or cuts that start inside the perimeter of a piece of wood, neither of which could be done by the other type of saw. You could use the jigsaw to replicate the cuts that a chop saw could do, but getting a perfectly straight cut with a jigsaw is very, very hard.

They're all different tools designed with different purposes. I wouldn't take on the DIY jobs that i enjoy doing without all three.
 
A chop saw looks really useful but takes a lot of space; I guess you can do straight (vertical) cuts using a circular saw reasonably well? I currently have a nice cordless jigsaw (as well as chainsaw and reciprocating) and circular is the one I've been considering for flexibility. But then a chop-saw is probably a lot safer?
 
eta said:
I would get a circular saw before a chop saw, and a Sliding Mitre saw rather than a chop saw. I don't have a chop saw
Click to expand...
I should have said mitre, tilt and slide saw rather than chop saw as that’s what I’ve got.
 
d000hg said:
I've realised as I start to do more more projects, how little I know about tools and particularly about saws. I never realised how many different power saws tradesmen use (circular, plunge, bench, chop, ...)!

I don't want to buy things I will hardly use so if you could only have 1 saw, or 3 or 5... what is your priority for general DIY use?
Power, hand tools, fixed/mobile, all welcome with as much justification as you can be bothered with. I'm sure other newbies will find it useful.

If you know a good resource that covers all this, do share.
Click to expand...

A quality track saw will a huge variety of jobs if coupled with something like the Festool MFT bench and accessories such as rails, bench dogs, clamps and angle guides. The Festool benches are expensive, but it's very possible to make your own if you're able to measure accurately. They sell the precut tops seperately too, if you wanted to just make your own base. Plenty of information out there about such systems. I think it probably gets the most use of all my saws and I have quite a few types. Very safe too, as power saws go.

I thought I'd add this: My track saw gets used for jointing, mitres, trim work, dimensioning, rabbets (with a chisel after) and I've even used it to cut veneers at a push.

If you buy a quality saw and bench like the Festool kit, they are very accurate indeed, tiny fractions of a millimeter or degree, which is good enough for fine furniture work almost straight off the saw.

It all depends on the projects you want to do, but personally I love the portability, accuracy and versatility of a good track saw.
 
Last edited:
unfortunately there is not an easy answer to what saw, they all do different functions.

personally I would choose a mitre saw and a track saw -together you can do a lot of tasks

a track saw can:
trim doors to size
accurately cut sheet materials -so ideal for making fitted cupboards, wardrobes etc etc
plunge cuts for sink cut outs

a mitre saw can only cut things to length -but that is a pretty common requirement for woodwork
 
Bahco 20” handsaws from Screwfix are bloomin’ good......laminate saw great for ply, cross cut surprisingly good for ripping. They seem to have got the teeth set about right.
John :)
 
d000hg said:
A chop saw looks really useful but takes a lot of space; I guess you can do straight (vertical) cuts using a circular saw reasonably well? I currently have a nice cordless jigsaw (as well as chainsaw and reciprocating) and circular is the one I've been considering for flexibility. But then a chop-saw is probably a lot safer?
Click to expand...
You can certainly adapt a circular into a makeshift table saw, comes in very useful
A descent compound mitre chop saw are pretty usefull to have, there are times when getting a precise angle on a cut can give a job a real professional type finish.
 
D

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