Worm Drive Saws - Which One

[Alan W.]

My old circular saw gave up its magic smoke the other day. Decided I want a worm drive saw to do heavier cutting and ripping. I have my cordless for lighter work. I have been looking at these models and as you can guess ratings are all over the place.

Dewalt DW535B

Hitachi C7WDM

Makita 5377MG

Milwaukee 6477-30

Skil SPT77WML

Any suggestions

 

[BLSXJ]

I have the Milwaukee 6577 and I love it! its a beast... but like you I have a cordless saw for lighter work.

I originally tried to purchase the Rigid worm drive, but home depot Canada screwed up, and I ended up with the Milwaukee.

I'm 5'8" and with the worm drive, i can reach across and cut 48" of material (probably common on all worm saws)

Of the brands you listed I'd go Skil, Milwaukee then Dewalt.... for brand preference for a worm drive. not factoring in price.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

My old circular saw gave up its magic smoke the other day. Decided I want a worm drive saw to do heavier cutting and ripping. I have my cordless for lighter work. I have been looking at these models and as you can guess ratings are all over the place.

Dewalt DW535B

Hitachi C7WDM

Makita 5377MG

Milwaukee 6477-30

Skil SPT77WML

Any suggestions

Makita... I have two, one for wood,and one for masonry with a diamond blade . Can't kill them...

 

[RNeumann]

They are all about the same. The lightest one with the ability to hang it on a 2x or other with either a factory or aftermarket retractable hook would be my choice.

 

[Snobdds]

I have the dewalt and it's been rock steady. Built my cabin with it and it fell quite often, never worried about it breaking.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I bought Craftsman worm drive about 20 years ago, built like a tank and alot of power.

 

[/pine]

I think the Craftsman WD saws were rebranded Skill Saws
I've employed both Skil and Milwaukee on a commercial scale...they do not hold up any better than other typical grade commercial saws...
Currently have a Skil beam saw (worm drive with chain bar)...
If I ws going to outfit a crew these days I would look at the Makitas based on general quality and lifespan...

 

[EddieWalker]

My old circular saw gave up its magic smoke the other day. Decided I want a worm drive saw to do heavier cutting and ripping. I have my cordless for lighter work. I have been looking at these models and as you can guess ratings are all over the place.

Dewalt DW535B

Hitachi C7WDM

Makita 5377MG

Milwaukee 6477-30

Skil SPT77WML

Any suggestions

I personally hate worm drive saws. The length of them wears me out and I've yet to see any significant advantage to them other then being able to see the blade while cutting. I've owned all of the listed brands and a few not on the list. Makita is my favorite by far. Milwaukee might be a distant second, they are hit or miss. The others are all junk.

I use my Makita 18volt makita for 100 percent of the wood and Hardie that I cut, and I use my Makita 7 1/4 with masonry bits for cutting concrete.

This is the saw that I use on concrete. I paid $99 for it at Home Depot and that included a free 4 1/2 Makita grinder about ten years ago, give or take a few years.

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-5007M...976&s=gateway&sprefix=makita+7,aps,346&sr=8-5

What are you cutting that you cannot do it with a good quality cordless saw? I've ripped 16 foot long 2x's with mine and built entire houses using it and my 12 inch chop saw. Between those two saw, there isn't much that I need another saw for.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I have the Skil, it's far from junk. Yes it's an older model, but it's got a zillion hours on it, and it still works like new.

For the record, I don't like them either, as they are too heavy, but when I want power, I grab the Skil.

My go to corded circle saw is an older Bosch, man it's been a good saw!!

SR

 

[Alan W.]

The saw Im looking to buy will be used with rough sawn oak, both green and dried. It takes a lot of grunt to rip.

Ive used the worm drive saws before and they have a lot more torque just not as quick in light cutting. And yes they are heavier.

A lot of the older saws were great. I am wondering how the new improved made in china versions are.

 

[Rustyiron]

The Skill is a good one, got 3 of them and the last one (see pic) has a 10 1/4" blade and they now make a 16 5/16" model. But it's hard to beat a Makita, they just don't offer a 10.25 worm drive but they do have a "normal" top handle 10.25 and a monster 16" beam saw.

That's a 6x8 it's sitting on.

 

[downsizingnow48]

When my 35 year old Skil Model 77 finally burned out I replaced it with a Bosch wormdrive. About 8 years ago. Seems to be as tough as the old Skil. I have owned and used wormdrive Makitas, two of them, they are also bulletproof. But they have a nasty torque motion when you pull the trigger, takes getting used to. I gave them away.

But these days I often use a Makita cordless, it has the blade on the left side so you can see what you are doing. I also have an old Skil Model HD5510, a corded saw with 5 1/2 in blade on the left side. Not made anymore. I like those two saws because they weigh much less than the Bosch wormdrive and can do 90% of the work. Maybe 95%.

 

[oosik]

I've had a Skil worm drive for over 20 years. It's been a good saw. The only down side - it IS heavy and will tire me out. However, I never have to worry if it will or won't do the job.

 

[Alan W.]

The Skill is a good one, got 3 of them and the last one (see pic) has a 10 1/4" blade and they now make a 16 5/16" model. But it's hard to beat a Makita, they just don't offer a 10.25 worm drive but they do have a "normal" top handle 10.25 and a monster 16" beam saw.
View attachment 616131
That's a 6x8 it's sitting on.

Thats a bit more wagon than I need.

The saw I had was a Craftsman that I think was built by Skil for them. It was made in the USA so yea it was old.

I guess I could always put a wood blade on my Stihl concrete saw

 

[grsthegreat]

I have an older 25 year old model 77 worm drive that had broken down and was going to replace it. then i found out from service tech that the newer ones had lots of plastic parts....like plastic worm gears. I had him repair my old one for about $75. Runs like new. My supply house salesman told me he can order a new model 77 with steel worm drive, but its special order and more expensive than the home depot units. Personally i dont mind the extra weight. Then again im not using it 8 hours a day. For small, quick jobs i pull out my 20 volt Dewalt saw.

 

[mopardude318]

Hard to beat a Skil Mag77

Milwaukee just released their cordless M18 Fuel worm drive saw...

 

[Alan W.]

I want to thank all for their input on the saw choices. Had to put saw on hold for awhile due to freezer purchase.
So today I finally made the purchase after reconsidering a lot of things I bought a Black & Decker DWE575SB. Good warranty and I had forgot how heavy a worm drive was. Once again thanks

 

[Snobdds]

I want to thank all for their input on the saw choices. Had to put saw on hold for awhile due to freezer purchase.
So today I finally made the purchase after reconsidering a lot of things I bought a Black & Decker DWE575SB. Good warranty and I had forgot how heavy a worm drive was. Once again thanks

That comes up as a Dewalt sidewinder???

 

[Alan W.]

Thats the # on the saw.

 

[Budweiser John]

I have a older Skill 77 worm drive, a Dewalt 20 volt cordless and Milwaukee top handle sidewinder.
My ‘go to’ saw is the Milwaukee as it has plenty if power for most cutting tasks. I use the skill mostly for demolition as it will plow through old crunchy hardwood flooring and other nasty stuff non stop.
The Dewalt I seldom use except for an occasional off cut in remote places with no available power. The battery stuff starts out strong but looses moxie much too soon to suit me.
Like me, all three of those saws are currently in retirement.

B. John