Question on Circular Saws - Blade on Left/Right

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

These threads just kill me. I have a 30 year old Craftsman that's on it's last legs so need another saw which I will use 2-3 times per year with a variety of cuts from wonderboard to plywood to 4x4s....

All that said, recommendations?

I use mine occasionally....had it for years...a low cost Black & Decker methinks....put a good blade on it after a pro suggested such years ago...works for me.

[vash]

Originally Posted by craigster59

The short answer is Skilsaw model 77 worm drive.

haha.. funny.

i bought that magnesium version when the store put the regular price on it. in my girl hands, it still feels heavy.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

These threads just kill me. I have a 30 year old Craftsman that's on it's last legs so need another saw which I will use 2-3 times per year with a variety of cuts from wonderboard to plywood to 4x4s.

Based on this thread, researching a little last night, found the Skil saw worm, the Skil sidewinder and now Li ion saws, HD has some nice Dewalts which I swear by in corded angle grinders and reciprocating saws.

Don't want to spend $200 for a saw that I'll use 2-3 times a year so want to keep it at $150 max and $100 is better. I normally buy the best tools possible but for some reason I'm hesitant to go all out on a circular saw, no idea why.

All that said, recommendations?

Unless you plan to make a living with it, buy a cheap saw and invest in an expensive blade.

[vash]

funny thing about the Skilsaw. the instructions give some procedure on how to change the oil or something. i once asked a carpenter if he has ever changed the oil in one..he laughed and admitted he never ever read the instructions.

it is a throw away tool for these guys.

i dont use mine enough to EVER have to worry about some mystery fluid change.

[sammyg2]

I' bought my skilsaw when i was a teenager and it still works fine, used it last week.
I have a diablo carbide-tipped blade on it and it'll go through nails without kicking back.

[vash]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I' bought my skilsaw when i was a teenager and it still works fine, used it last week.
I have a diablo carbide-tipped blade on it and it'll go through nails without kicking back.

that's the blade i see all the time. the big packages are 6" stacks of those things. the crews abuse them since they dont pay for them.

i know you can throw one of those things like a Chinese throwing star and it will stick in a 12x12.

[NZVW]

The "primary" reason for left and right handed saws is for safety.
All modern circular saws have a safety button that needs to be de pressed prior to being able to pull the "trigger".
With your index finger on the trigger ,, the thumb depresses the safety which is impossible to do if a lefty is using a righties saw.
Plain and simple
Mark

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by vash

funny thing about the Skilsaw. the instructions give some procedure on how to change the oil or something. i once asked a carpenter if he has ever changed the oil in one..he laughed and admitted he never ever read the instructions.

it is a throw away tool for these guys.

i dont use mine enough to EVER have to worry about some mystery fluid change.

I used to frame houses, and about everyone I know is in construction somehow.
Everybody uses Skil 77s. Nobody in the history of this planet has ever changed the oil in a Skil brand saw, and they perform flawlessly for decades, no matter what extreme weather they are subjected to.
Out in the Seattle area rain every day doesn't faze them.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by KC911

Might not be the hammer...left handed nails suck...wussy-nails I call 'em...afraid of being hit

No kidding. I am constantly grabbing nails from the pouch that are meant to go on the opposite wall.

[Dantilla]

Also- I'm a lefty, and have used both sidewinders and worm drives, both left handed and right handed.
Whatever is most convenient/fastest for what I'm cutting. I never think about which hand I should use.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Just left a message for this guy. https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/tls/d/skilsaws/6510908141.html

Hard to imagine I could go wrong with one of them. If anyone wants one, I can buy it and ship it out to you assuming still available.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by cabmando

I'm left handed and never paid any attention to the side the blade is on and use the saws I own with either hand. I think you might be over thinking this one.
As to why the blade is on one side or the other I'd have to say for left or right hand use but again I have used a lot of saws with either hand and it didn't make me any difference. If you look at the fence there are normally two lines, one indicates the outside edge of the blade and the other the inside edge. Just align the line with the side your cutting with and you can use it with either hand.

What he said

[A930Rocket]

I’ve got a Makita saw I bought in 1990.

It’s had a lot of use over the years, but not much lately. The only thing I’ve had to do is replace the cord. Works like a champ.

[Charles Freeborn]

What are you cutting? 2x material ? hands down worm drive (Skill 77) blade on left means you can see the line. Panel cutting? "sidewinder" or blade on right, but for extensive panel cutting (plywood) get a track saw. Festool is the bomb, but the Makita looks good too.

[Charles Freeborn]

PS I've changed the oil in my 77, brushes too. At least twice in the .....30 years I've owned it....

[look 171]

Originally Posted by cabmando

Right hand hammers are the worst! I always seem to miss the nail when I'm swinging one left handed.

right hand hammers are for hitting your left thumb square on. never misses and always accurate.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by NZVW

The "primary" reason for left and right handed saws is for safety.
All modern circular saws have a safety button that needs to be de pressed prior to being able to pull the "trigger".
With your index finger on the trigger ,, the thumb depresses the safety which is impossible to do if a lefty is using a righties saw.
Plain and simple
Mark

No way man. I will do anything to disable that on my Skilsaw. That can be an accident waiting to happen having to trigger a safety with your thumb just to turn on that heavy sucker. Just one more stupid thing to worry 20' up in the air cutting rafters standing on only 1 1/2" of 2x material with the saw at an extreme angle. I see my guys struggle up there sometimes. I understand that on some of the corded tools but on a framer's saw? I am all for guards, safety and such. Maybe a NZ law?

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Charles Freeborn

PS I've changed the oil in my 77, brushes too. At least twice in the .....30 years I've owned it....

Wow. I've got a couple 77s that were my dad's that are decades old, used when he was building apartment complexes. 40 hours a week in our wet climate.
I'm sure they still have the same gear oil in them from the factory.

When I started framing houses, my dad was shocked when I bought myself a new Skilsaw when he had several in the garage.
Never occurred to me to take my dad's tools. Isn't that like stealing?

At the time, a new saw was a major purchase. I read the directions, found out you're supposed to change oil. There's oil in these things? I promised myself I would faithfully follow the manufacturer's directions. Then I got busy earning money, the directions disappeared, and that saw still has the original oil in it.

[sammyg2]

A man working with an electric saw accidentally cuts off all of his fingers. At the emergency room, his doctor says, "Give me the fingers, and I'll see what I can do."

The injured man repies, "But I don't have the fingers!"

"Why didn't you bring them?" the doctor asks.

The injured man responds, " I couldn't pick them up."

[sammyg2]

A kid in wood shop yells out and then excitedly tells the shop teacher that he just cut off his finger.
The shop teacher asks how he did it.
The kid says, I just reached under the wood like this to see if the blade was going through and ... darned it I just lots another one!