Circular saw advice

[Traveller]

Hi All.

Wondering how much I need to spend on a circular saw (hand) for occasional light use such as cutting laminated board (MDF, etc), but also need to cut some solid wood 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches thick at the moment.

Are there any 'features that I would/would not need?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[big-all]

somthing like the dewalt dw62 would nearly do it as 2.5 " is 63.5mm

i would normaly cut this size accross the grain with a mitre saw or along the grain with a table saw

the main problem with cutting along the grain is supporting the timber without binding on the blade

http://www.diytools.com/store/detail.asp?productid=62357

 

[^woody^]

I have 7" Power Devil jobbie from Argos for IIRC £20, and have had it for years and done loads of roofs, boarding and framing with it with no probelms. I just change the blades as required and it cuts. Simple

I only use my bigger Makita unit if I need deeper cuts, but otherwise there is absolutely no difference. A cut is a cut - it just comes down to the blade

 

[Traveller]

Thanks big-all/^woody^.

big-all, when you say 'mitre saw', do you mean a power one?

£20 sound GREAT to me! Since you bought it years ago, I probably won't find the same one you have. Argos doesn't currently have Power Devil cicular saw; the cheapest ones they have are

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...ip=50098.DIY+power+tools>C$cip=50103.Saws.htm
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...ip=50098.DIY+power+tools>C$cip=50103.Saws.htm
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...ip=50098.DIY+power+tools>C$cip=50103.Saws.htm
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...ip=50098.DIY+power+tools>C$cip=50103.Saws.htm

Is there a similar model currently available which you think may perform similarly? How deep can yours cut?

Is Power Devil an Italian or Swiss brand; or neither?

Thanks.

 

[Deluks]

Hi All.

Wondering how much I need to spend on a circular saw (hand) for occasional light use such as cutting laminated board (MDF, etc), but also need to cut some solid wood 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches thick at the moment.

Are there any 'features that I would/would not need?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Do you have a lot of this 2.5 wood to cut? If not then a sharp handsaw will have gone through it all in much less time than it takes waiting around for replies. If you need a circ saw mainly for sheet materials then get a smaller one as it will be lighter and easier to control.

Lasers are a waste of time imho

 

[^woody^]

My power devil one is probably more like the first one - @ 19.95. It will cut up to 2.5"

I'm not sure, but I think power devil are just rebranded chinese stuff, but I'm not sure just how good the Challenge range is

 

[Traveller]

Thanks Delux; no it's only four legs. They have been cut once by someone else, who was in a great hurry at the time and so, cut two of them on one side of the pencil line and two of them on the other side, so I need to make them all match. The two sets are not perfectly equal either, so I'll need to cut all four.

That brings up the following question; I want to take as less wood off of each leg as possible; how far from the end of each leg can I cut to get a decent cut?

I don't know if I'd consider a Challenge saw unless someone recommended it, like how you did with the Power Devil.

Another question which I have, which I asked in another thread but did not receive any responses to, is, I also want to cut a U shape. Should I cut the straight parts of the U with a circular saw and then change over to a jigsaw for the curved part, or would it be better to use just a jigsaw for the whole U?

Thanks.

 

[big-all]

if your talking a few mm i would go for a belt sander you only need to work on 2 legs to get it sitting flat or 3 to get it level

if your talking a minimum 8mm a handsaw is easier
if your legs are parralel [not taperd]you can clamp a batton of 2x2" par timber on the line[like a for sale sighn post ] and use this to guid the saw on 2 legs at a time

dont forget to chamfer to finnish the edge

 

[Traveller]

Thanks big-all.

The first thing I thought of was to use a belt sander, but I thought that there was no way I could get it as level as a cut.

I don't think it will be more than 8mm.

'chamfer'???? Don't worry, I'll look it up!

Thanks.

 

[big-all]

if you look at any mass produced chair with angled legs the ends are virtualy always at right angles to the leg so they sit on one edge of the leg base

chamfer just means to remove the sharp corner by introducing another angle

you can of course do it with sandpaper dosnt have to be to big it protects the floor from the corner[or square edge if the legs are turned]

also stops the sides splintering as they pull across the carpet

 

[Traveller]

Hi big-all.

Well then I guess the legs are already chamfered; they belonged to a bed frame and I'm only shortening them from the top, so the bottoms will remain in their original state, i.e. chamfered.

I'm going to need the circular saw for the other types of board mentioned anyway, so I think it is best that I buy one now. Went to B&Q and Wickes today; not much to choose from and Wickes only have 'Wickes' branded ones! There were one or two from the brand that B&Q sells (Pro-something, I think they're called) for around £30.

Will do some more research.

Thanks.

 

[wanabechippie]

Hey.
I bought a JCB circ saw from Index (closed now, but similar to Agos) 3 yrs ago for approx £25-30. Done loads of 12-18mm sheet ply cuts (medium diy use) with no probs.

It does have a wee laser, but i'd agree that they're next to useless. Get yourself either a straight-edge clamp or a length of straight battening to cut up against.

Don't for get to offset the edge to allow for the distance between the soleplate and the blade edge! Took me a few cuts before I realised why my cuts were ending up 28mm off! (Not very bright, you see )

Pro Power is the make you'll have seen in B&Q. Got a few tools by them (jigsaw, chopsaw, router) All work just fine. No breakages or faults yet. Wouldn't rate them for days on end of hefty 'pro-work' but for the odd job - worth the cash.

 

[Traveller]

Hey wanabechippie.

Thanks for the extremely useful advice. It is really of help because I'm completely new to this.

From the responses I've had from you and others in this thread, it seems that I can get away with buying a lower end circular saw and still be able to carry out all my jobs satisfactorily.

I'm not very bright either, so I've already got FOUR pieces of board to practice on for my U cut mentioned earlier!!!!

Thanks all.

 

[Deluks]

Wickes do an £80ish one which is really good, probably a little above your intended spend though.

 

[Traveller]

Thanks Deluks; yes, unfortunately, it is way above my intended spend. I usually tend to go for the best I can afford but I really don't see myself using the saw very often and even when I do, it will be minor jobs.

Any advice is always appreciated, so thanks for yours.