After several cheaper B&D circ saws I purchased a Porter Cable unit about ten years ago. It has seen a lot of hard use in that time and still going strong.
It has about a 10' rubber very flexible cord that hardly ever tangles, although heavier than I was used to it is very balanced and I can actually freeform cut straight with it! It has a blade to guide setback of exactly 1.5"...nice for cutting to fence. Very little vibration = good bearings Good chip direction via the 1" chip chute on top I am very impressed as well as people borrowing it.
I have never used another quality circ saw to compare with this.
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My uses are, I think, pretty typical: framing, building decks, cutting sheet goods to manageable size.
I'm looking for something that will last a good long time. The one that died is only the second one I've ever owned; the first one lasted nearly 20 years, and I'm hoping for similar durability. The budget is large enough to include Bosch, Makita, or Milwaukee, but not Festool.
I'm looking for general recommendations in two areas: a) corded vs. cordless -- my experiences with cordless circular saws have not been positive, but they've been cheap saws, and I'm willing to be persuaded that cordless circular saws that won't drain a battery in five seconds do actually exist; and b) left blade vs. right blade. Every circular saw that I've ever used has had the blade on the right. Advertising for left-blade saws includes phrases like "gives users the clearest line of sight for easy, accurate cutting" but I just don't see how it's really any different. I'm inclined to get a right-blade saw simply because that's what I'm used to, but if there truly are advantages to having the blade on the left, I'd be much obliged if someone would explain them to me. In case it makes a difference to the recommendation, I'm right-handed.
I'm also looking for recommendations of specific brands and/or models both to seek out, and to avoid. I intend to avoid tools made in China if at all possible.
TIA... Thanks may also be expressed tangibly, in the form of a cold homebrew or three, next time you pass through Indianapolis.