As header really, I have need of a circular saw for a few projects and I wondered if battery ones were any good? I don't need to cut much more than
18mm MDF at most. Are they any good for cutting laminate flooring or would be better off hiring a chop saw?Thanks
(excuse the x-post but I need to get hold of one ASAP if the consensus is positive)
I personally don't like them, tried two different ones belonging to work mates, who also don't like them, and found that they don't have the OOMPH you need to do any real work with them. Although, saying that, they were good enough for cutting a couple of inch by inch wooden stakes in garden, but they fell over when tried on anything bigger.
They seem to be advertised as "trimming" saws, whatever that means. I wouldn't fancy your chances with 18mm mdf.
B&Q have got one for 35 quid, but it may have been an end of range. As regards the extension arms you only need to support the workpiece, so suitable sized offcuts of wood are fine.
I've not laid laminate flooring, so you'd have to check the saw will cope with the width. They do sliding ones which definitely would, but they're over 100 quid.
I had to cut a banner down to length that had 1" mild steel box section as a frame, clad in 9 mm MDF, this was in the foyer of the National Theatre ... all I had was my DW cordless trim saw and a hacksaw, set the depth to 9mm to cut off the MDF and then finish off with the hacksaw, well I thought it was
9mm :-/ ...... turns out it was 6mm and i had my glasses on upside down ... the DW went through the mild steel like it wasn't there, so I wound the blade down and finished the job. It really depends on the blade as well as the saw, the DW comes with a blade that is guaranteed against hitting a certain amount of nails, plus it is very thin ... so there isn't much drag. I've used it for 18mm ply before and it groaned a bit, but the ply was wet. The motor won't last like a mains powered saw, but it is good for getting you out of trouble if you need a quick cut, in an awkward place and don't want to be trailing leads and dealing with a high HPs.
Wouldn't your DW be much more powerful than the Challange/Argos 18v? Or would the Challenge be OK (the helpline is Hilka if that's of any importance had a look in the store the other day)?
I meant sliding arms not extensions - thanks for the suggestion.
I have found the 18v dewalt cordless saw very usefull. Its portability and size makes ideal if you are restricted buy space or location. The light weight also makes it easy to handle. Have used it to cut 4 x
2's, 28mm thick kitchen worktops and rip down 18mm sheet of mdf. On the minus side I think that the side guide rail should reach at least enought to cover the blade. One feature which you wont see on the cheaper or other 18 volt cordless circular saws is the blade is on the left hand side giving you 'at a glace' lining up. If its just occasional use or for a couple of jobs there are plenty of cheap 240 volt circular saws availiable. One piece of advice (that makes sence) I have picked up from this board would be to change the blade of a cheepo circular saw to a good quality one.
I have a champion (Focus own brand I think) that I paid 25 pounds for including 2 batteries. Coped fine cutting 30mm worktop with a full charge, but cutting thicker stuff seems to drain the battery fairly rapidly.
This is a factor of 18v ones, not mains. They use coarse cut because it reduces the power used /cut speed ratio, which is critical on what are barely adequate battery packs.
I wouldnt, very very slow wiggly lines are not whats called for. Mains circular saw surely.
circular.
Rechargeable circs are not like the mains ones. Theyre for when mains isnt available or practical, and have poor work capacity.
Regards, NT
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Depends upon your jigsaw! :-) Mine sailed through it with pretty good accuracy, used (as always) with the pendulum switched off. But then it's an industrial model...
However, the straightness of cut isn't critical., you've got to be able to keep within about 5mm of the line, because everywere you need to cut laminate it's going to be against a wall or some other place where it's covered by the skirting, a decor strip, or some beading.
I find the jigsaw much quicker to use (as a tool, not the cutting action) because it doesn't need straight guides and other stuff that I use with the circular.
I'm with you 100% there. Having a bit of grunt to the motor really helps with a saw.
right.
I'm not sure I understand this. I use the circ with no guide frequently, just rip by eye, and by god is it fast. When I did 12mm shitboard I could hardly walk fast enough to keep up with it! 8x4 done in literally a few seconds. I would have thought going round a whole room with a jigsaw would really add some time on.
So much. Since I got the circ the jigsaw is just obsolete. It lies abandoned and regarded with 'how the heck did I do anything with that' I gather jigsaws do vary a lot more in quality than circs, and my jig's a cheapie. Yuck. Sounds like yours is a much better beast.
Regards, NT
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