Cheap cordless circular saw for panel cutting?

[no_spam]

The places with the best prices for MDF/ply sheets tend not to have panel saws so I'm wondering about getting a cheap cordless saw so I can cut roughly to size in the car park and get the bits in the car. This is likely to be the only use for it so required depth of cut is only 25mm, and quality doesn't matter as long as it will do the job. 12V would be good because then I could run it from the car if the battery died, although something designed to run between 10.8V and 18V would probably do the job well enough. Any suggestions?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've not really seen any cordless tool you could easily run off a car battery. You'd need some sort of plug to fit where the tool battery goes?

[ed]

I'd push you towards a 14.4V cordless jigsaw. Firstly vehicle electrics when the alternator is running are at 14.4V not 12V. This is not the main point. You'd be better of charging the battery the using the tool rather than run it directly off the power power charger, but you could probably make up something with a lead and an old battery pack for the tool. I'd recommend a jigsaw as far more versatile and much less likely to cause serious collateral/accidental damage to other things than a circular saw.

This advice is worth ignoring if you so desire.

E

[charles]

I havea Ryobi battery drill. There is in their range a battery charger that runs off a car battery.

[newshound]

Roof rack or roof bars? An 8x4 will fit on a medium sized estate car.

[charles]

but it's advisable to buy some lengths of timber at the same time to help secure the lot to the roof rack. You don't want aerofoil lift on the ply. Thin ply will snap - done it.

[newshound]

Agreed. And you need to apply a bit of common sense in fixing it all, not overloading the rack, and keeping your speed down on the motorway.

I have a pair of 3 metre (unstretched) luggage elastics which let you do more than three passes each. Having all that built-in "stretch" means the tension is maintained even if there is some unplanned movement.

[no_spam]

Yup, I've done that several times in the past but an 8x4 of 18/25mm MDF is heavy and I need to be able to do it single-handed ... there's also the weather issue.

[no_spam]

If it's a cheapie I'd be happy to solder a couple of wires or fit a connector.

[no_spam]

Thanks, but a circ saw with a saw board gives a far better cut than a jigsaw so I'll stick with plan A.

Re voltage: lead-acid batteries used to be 2.2 V/cell so that would be

13.2V - has something changed? If needed, I could knock-up a linear reg or SMPS but I must remember that this is supposed to be a quick and simple solution to a problem rather than a project ;-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

In general on-charge, a '12V' lead acid is reckoned to be around 13.8V.

If needed, I could knock-up a linear reg

But no motor 'rated' for 12V is going to vanish in a puff of smoke at

14,4V or whatever.

14,4v is simply a 12 cell NIMH,. Which can be a lot higher anyway..

[Bob Minchin]

That would be a better solution, no charger is likely to provide enough current to run the saw. A saw with 2 battery packs would allow you to sacrifice one to fit a lead (DON'T just connect to the battery as the current won't be controlled) and use the other cordless as designed.

[no_spam]

Yes, the motor will be OK; any electronics would be slightly more sensitive to overvoltage but still probably OK.

The immediate problem has just gone away because Jewsons (who have a panel saw!) have agreed to price match Wickes. I've now got time to wait for a suitable cheapie saw on feeBay.

[no_spam]

On 07/12/2015 10:43, Bob Minchin wrote: ... snipped

Thanks for the warning but, although I've done a few dumb things in my time, that's one thing I wouldn't have done.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

But not runs off the car battery as the OP wants?

[charles]

20mph - on a local A road.

[charles]

agreed, but - since I have a spare battery - I can work for extended periods away from any mains supply.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Get the special offer emails from Lidl and Aldi. They both have such saws on offer now and again. With a three year money back warranty. Much better bet than an Ebay cheapie.

[no_spam]

That's very interesting - I'll subscribe. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Chris French]

since the OP's specified use was to cut up boards at the merchants, I'd don't really see the need for all this talk of running it from the car.

Surely a battery or two for the saw is going to be sufficient for that?