bat powered skill saw

[Steve C]

anyone use those battery pack circular saws?

saw a guy using one at a park at lunch today.. thing sounded just as good as my plug in craftsman.. what's the life like onthe bat?

soundguy

I have several consumer grade 5 1/2" 18 volt and 19.2 volt saws. I also have the 18 volt DeWalt 6 1/2" works with Lithium Ion or NiCad batteries, the Milwaukee 6 1/2" lithium Ion or NiCad and the Makita 6 1/2" Lithium Ion Saws. I also have the Dewalt 7 1/4" 36 volt Lithium Ion Saw.

The consumer grade tools are somewhat limited in the battery capacity. They will still cut pretty well but just not as long. All the 18 volt professional sasws are about the same. I like the balance and feel of the Milwaukee best of these three, but it is my understanding that most people rate the Makita as top of the class in the 18 volt tool line. The Milwaukee has a stamped aluminum shoe that is more durable if one happens to drop it. The others have cast aluminum shoes that are more prone to breakage.

The king kong of battery powered circular saws is the DeWalt 7 1/4" 36 volt. It has very near the power of a corded saw and you can make a lot of cuts on a battery charge.

All of these saws cut almost as fast as a corded tool. The biggest difference I have seen is that they are all much quieter than anything with a cord. My milwaukee is almost silent! I could frame a house with any of the professional 18 volt tools and a couple extra batteries if I was working by myself or with only one helper. .

I also have a 15 amp Mag77 worm drive Skilsaw just in case I need something that is unstopable.

You should know that none of the battery saws like cold weather very much. When it is below 40 degrees they have reduced battery capacity.

Also when it is real cold out the Mag77 can draw about 20 amps on start up. It is best to run it for a while to get the gear oil warm.

 

[BobRip]

in real world numbers.. how many minutes of cutting or board feet are we talking about?

5 minutes of loaded cutting?

20' rip? 40' rip on 1/2 plywood.

I did see the guy bind the blade one and it stalled it.. looked like a small blade.. mayee 4.5" ?? was blue.. so guess riobi

soundguy

If my memory is correct Dewalt stated that it would cut off qty 75 2x4 in one charge. I don't know about ripping.

 

[JB4310]

looked like a small blade.. mayee 4.5" ??
soundguy

That's the trim saw size, they are popular with siders. Smaller size probably why it bound up if they were cutting heavy wood, the full size 7 1/4" are quite capable, don't know the stats but...

The bats capacity must not be an issue cause every carpenter uses them now. My brother is a carpenter and he doesn't even bring corded tools to the job some days.

I'm a small contractor but don't do much carpentry, I keep a corded Makita circular saw on the truck for my occasional use. The only bat tool I have is a drill, I may get a sawzall next for demo work.

JB.

 

[bp fick]

Got a "bag of 5 tools" from Ford as a form of rebate on buying a truck a few years back. Craftsman 19.2

The circular saw may be my favorite, along with the recip saw. The circular saw is 5 1/2" and will saw for a good 15-20 minutes, then, it's on to another battery. I always charge up 3 of them.

These things don't replace your corded circular saw, nor any other corded tool, but I couldn't imagine life without a sack of cordless tools.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Chris, we use our 18v Dewalt circular saw quite often on jobs. It is great on roofs and will cut quite a few feet of plywood on a fresh charge. I use it a lot both indoors and outdoors as its great not having cords all over the place and when ripping you never have to worry about your cord catching on the board or flopping under the plywood as your cutting. Currently I am using it to cut trim boards as its very handy and I have limited room where we are cutting so the less cords the better.

If we are doing a lot of cutting then we set up the corded saw but for light cutting or trimming up some plywood on a roof or cutting vents on the roof these cordless saws are great. Just make sure you get one that works with your current cordless drills as you will usually have that charger plugged in somewhere or spare batteries ready for it and when you need the change batteries its already set to go.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have an 18V Milwaukee Nicad. Like Steve C said, it feels good in the hand. Overall, I use it sparingly because the batteries don't last long. It is really convenient if you only have a cut or two. IMHO, if you are in the market for a combo pack, the circular is a worthy consideration especially for a contractor.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've switched over to Makita 18V lithium ion for all my cordless tools. The batteries charge in about 15 minutes if they are not hot. If they are hot, you have to wait for them to cool off before they will start charging.

I use mine on roofs all the time for cutting the sheething in place, or for smaller jobs where I don't want to deal with getting out the extension cords.

I also have a smooth diamond blade that will cut tile, and a segmented diamond blade for concrete, brick and Hardi. I used it to do all the siding on my deer blind. With four batteries charged, I was able to work for about 6 hours of cutting and installling Hardi trim and siding.

For most jobs, it's all I need. If I'm doing allot of cuttin, then i bring my 12 inch chop saw.

Eddie

 

[dieselsmoke1]

The 6.5" 18v Dewalt is a good tool when combined with the XRP battery. For general use 2 batteries and a charger will keep it humming.

And a 3/4" wooden cube strategically wedged makes the cumbersome interlock much less of a problem.

 

[MikeD74T]

We have a Ryobi 18V one that is "ok" the main issue is that the battery packs are about shot and don't last long.
Aaron Z

The Ryobi battery packs are easily rebuilt. The case is bolted togeather. Charge the battery, remove the case & check each cell with a volt meter. Replace the weak cell(s). It only takes one bad cell to markedly shorten the battery's useful life. You can get sub-c cells at some Radio Shacks or online. MikeD74T

 

[Cat_Driver]

36 Volt Nano technology.