circular saws and Skilsaw

I have a Hitachie circular saw, it was a good saw for what it cost and lasted several years of hard use, but the brushes have give up the ghost and due to its age, I'll replace it rather than repair it.

Faced with a job away from home, my son generously offered the use of his Skilsaw HD5687, what a piece of crap. I needed to rip a long board, clamped a straight edge to it for a guide, began the cut and the saw bound up within a foot. On further inspection the saw foot is 1/8 inch out of square with the saw blade, making it useless for practically everything. It is all riveted together with no way to adjust the alignment of the foot to blade. Reminds me of an old AMC car, where the body and chassis were never quite in line with each other and the whole mess went down the road like a dog with its ass end off to one side.

I have never owned any "Skilsaw brand tools" and this pretty much guarantees I never will.

basilisk (done bitching about cheap tools)

Reply to
basilisk
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SKIL does make a good worm drive saw but IMHO discounting that saw SKIL is an entery lever tool.

For a view at the other end of the spectrum, may I recomend a Festool track saw? ;~)

Reply to
Leon

Yet the older US made worm drive Skilsaw HD77 is one of the best saws ever made, and they can still be found in pawn shops, garage sales and CraigsList.

Mine, USA made, is only about 20 years old and like new, but damn you gotta be helluva man to hoist that thing all day ... too much of a saw for most of the jockey sized framers these days. ;)

If you appreciate such things, there is nothing that will get your respect more than working with an old time framer who uses a '77, particularly those old union guys. Watched one, working for me a few years back, shave a continuous and dead on 1/4" strip off the height a

20' beam using a '77, with no pencil mark, just using a finger as a guide, AND at a fast walk!

That said, and last I heard, the new ones are now made in China, but are still pretty rugged according to some of my carpenter subs ... whether they will last as long as the old US made model remains to be seen.

Reply to
Swingman

On 3/2/2013 8:20 AM, basilisk wrote: ...

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It generally gets good reviews--wonder if check w/ Skil they'd back it up. It is, however, clearly priced at an entry-level price point.

As Leon says, the Skil 77 (mag case or not) is (or at least always has been; I've not used one built since the late '70s or earlier) the top dog amongst framers particularly on west coast where they're really partial to worm drives. Mine is still going after about 50 years of reasonable use; for some 20 it was used very heavily but not so much over last 15-20 altho got a good workout during the barn restore for a while when first came back to farm...

Skil did, however, other than the 77 for a number of years try to hit the consumer market rather than upper level HO/pro so they weren't building much other than it that was of much account. So, all to say not sure whether it's really in general or just a bum particular item...

Reply to
dpb

Somehow, replacing the brushes doesn't seem like a "repair" to me.

Reply to
dadiOH

------------------------------------------------------------------- Years ago Bosch bought Skil in order to get one thing, the "77".

The rest of the product line was strictly entry level junk and was marketed to the low end consumer market.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

We have a number of 77's at work that are used to trim sharp ended lumber ahead of high speed planers, to prevent lapping and hang ups, this is heavy duty work and they hold up to it(a straight drive saw won't last a day)

My arthritic shoulders cringe at the thought :)

In the 70's, I had the oppurtunity to work with a builder of that skill set, worked as part of a 3 man crew building from ground up, foundation, framing, roofing, siding, sheetrock, trim etc. It was an education by people that knew the business, no such path to building skills exist this day and time.

Around here in the 70's all the framers kept the guard wedged up on the saws, it was considered a nuisance not to be tolerated.

Reply to
basilisk

You're right isn't much of a repair, but it is old an tired and I don't want to deny myself the oppurtunity to upgrade :)

basilisk

Reply to
basilisk

I do have a need for a track saw.

I am doing a good bit of volunteer work for an equine assisted therapy barn, and some additional portability in my tools would make the work faster and better. Still pondering the wisdom of dropping dollars to augment volunteer work, and how much I would use it for other stuff.

basilisk

Reply to
basilisk

Well said, and the absolute, and IMO sad, truth.

Then again, I suppose it is to be expected ...

In my younger days I had the pleasure of working with some horseman who came from an era when horses were still the major means of transportation and an everyday experience for most of the population.

Those guys died knowing more about horses and horsemanship than 100% of the current crop of "horseman" in the last 50 years.

Reply to
Swingman

On Sat, 02 Mar 2013 08:49:29 -0600, Leon

Who would of guessed that you'd suggest a Festool?

Reply to
Dave

If that work entails much sheetgoods work, a plunge track saw may be something to think about. Being "cost effective", generally a function of use/time, is another matter.

Also to consider, since portability is a factor in your decision, is security ... being expensive makes them targets.

Reply to
Swingman

Had a laugh at that also ... you gotta love watching your drug dealer hooking another.

(Financial) misery loves company.

Reply to
Swingman

at the other end of the spectrum, may I recomend a Festool >track saw? ;~) Who would of guessed that you'd suggest a Festool?

Festool? Phooyie! Try this one, it's only $149.88

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Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

It's even funnier watching the drug dealer sitting in the wings just waiting to pounce.

Reply to
Dave

On the other hand, a set of brushes shouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks.

Even if you get a new saw, the two-dollar investment will enable you to have a spare...

Reply to
HeyBub

Skil was the big dog on the block when I was framing back in the 70s. All the guys from the west coast that passed through here had them.

We all learned on "sidewinders", so we used circular saws. I have the first Milwaukee I ever owned, and it has had too many triggers, brushes, cords and sets of bearings installed to rebuild it to count.

It is so expensive to rebuild one now (bearings, brushes and a cord) that it makes more sense to just buy a new one. And with the poor quality of today's tools if they are used well they seem to stay together long enough to get your money's worth, but it best to trash it if anything goes wrong with it. Nothing there worth rebuilding.

A couple of years ago Karl showed me his Festool track saw. I was hugely impressed. He even made a doodad to make it better and more efficient for the guy that works alone. The cuts it made would rival most table saws.

Came back home and went to Woodcraft thinking I would buy one.

WTF..... a grand? A thousand bucks for that setup? I almost fainted. BUT.... the sales guy told me, it virtually replaces a table saw! (Don't you just love old farts that have no frickin' clue what tools do that work in a tool store? I should have asked him where you attached the tenon jig or the dado set.) I was so surprised at the price that didn't even make a nasty remark to that bonehead.

I could see the track saw if I was making store fixtures on site, or had a need to have a saw that cut long lengths perfectly straight when job conditions preclude a table saw. If I built a lot of cabinets, I would buy that over a table saw. But for occasional use, it is way out of range. And with the latest bunch of those saws, the internet woodworking community doesn't seem to feel they are built as well as the old systems.

If I get the bid on a remodel I just put together, I will have a small set of cabinets to build and finish as part of the overall work. I was trying to justify the price of the Festool track saw, so I went down to see it again to see if I would catch "green fever". They are now a squirt over that one grand number with all the stuff I want to go with it. (Oh yeah.... add $83 in tax, too...).

I contacted a semi retired buddy of mine that is always looking for a way to put his Jet table saw to work. Instead of buying a track saw, I am now going to smoke a brisket and buy the beer for both of us after we take down the sheet goods.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

I'm not familiar with that particular saw model, but I've straightened up several old cheap saws of similar construction by clamping them down to a work bench, sticking a prybar or board through the handle, and prying at the appropriate angle.

Reply to
Larry W

No doubt.

I remember the last working horses(almost horses) in the cummunity I grew up in, a matched pair of Belgian cross mules used to skid logs. The work they could turn out in a day was impressive.

For the most part the old timers were glad to be rid of the beast, and wouldn't even considered owning another horse.

basilisk

Reply to
basilisk

It was lot easier to do during this last boom, that ended a couple of years back, but that's basically how I justified all my Festools, and Festool accessories ... I built them into the price of a big job, then Section 179'd them ... legitimate, and makes business sense.

We just need another boom ... but there is always a boom, or a bust, on the horizon, so biding my time, once again, for the opportunity to make some more hay while the sun shines.

Reply to
Swingman

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