To fine-tune the shoe’s position, simply hold it with one hand while pressing down on the latch. And the amount of blade exposure below the shoe is right where you need it. Aside from the saw, you need a couple of carpenter’s dewalt drill pencils and a combination square to both mark the lumber and guide the saw for accurate crosscuts. For corded circular saws, you also need a heavy-duty, 15-amp extension cord, safety glasses, and some ear protection.
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The fact that it is cordless and brushless makes it able to compete highly with anything else on the market currently. One thing I noticed that’s different than normal circ saws is the way you change out blades. Normally you need a small hex-wrench to remove the 7 1/4” blades, but with this little guy all you need is an Allen wrench. I don’t see a benefit or disadvantage dewalt drill to this either way, as both full-sized and compact versions of their saws have a slot that the tool snaps into, so you don’t lose the tool. Currently we offer FREE FedEx/UPS small package Ground shipping and FREE ABF/YRC freight ground shipping on most orders of $199 or more within the 48 contiguous states. Most orders under $199 will receive $6.49 flat rate shipping.
One of the really cool features of this saw is the built in LED at the front of the saw. This is the first circular saw I’ve ever used to have a light built into it to illuminate your cut line. This is really helpful in low light situations or just to improve overall visibility during your cut. The LED light automatically illuminates when the saw is engaged so there are no added steps involved.
This saw is equipped with a built-in rafter hook, bright LED, and optional dust chute. I’ve got to say that I am really pleasantly surprised by this tool. Not only does it feel and look good, but its performance is outstanding. The power of the tool allows for incredibly easy cuts without binding or slowing down. The tool has the power to easily cut through materials from 1/2″ plywood to 2″ thick hardwood without losing anything. The battery life in a 6Ah battery provides ample use for most home and workshop projects and easily allows you to swap between tools throughout the project without requiring a charge.
If you’re in the 20-volt Craftsman system, we fully recommend adding this to your arsenal. During our testing, we found this circular saw really comfortable to operate, thanks to the ergonomic handle positions and rubber grip. We also appreciated the effectiveness of the electronic blade brake, which stops the blade from spinning in a second or two as soon as you release the trigger. Here at Popular Mechanics, we constantly test and use circular saws in our own projects.
Save for the rear-handle saws we cover, the tools that we tested do not exhibit much design variation. With a few exceptions, most of the blades are 7.25 inches in diameter, positioned on the right side of the motor. When the blade is fully lowered, the saw cuts to about 2.25 inches deep (or slightly deeper). We may also exchange information, including Personal Information, with other companies and organizations for credit fraud protection and risk reduction.
The DeWalt 60V is a massive slab of a saw and the heaviest of the five rear-handle saws we tested—even heavier than the 13.4-pound Milwaukee below. If you need that, particularly for making long beveled cuts in rafters or cutting wet pressure-treated lumber for decking framing or landscape work, this saw serves nicely for those purposes. The Metabo-HPT embodies aspects of the traditional left-blade circular saw that have endeared it to generations of carpenters. Its chief virtue is that it has a high power-to-weight ratio. This is a fast-cutter, even if it’s not quite as strong as the DeWalt, Milwaukee, or Flex rear-handle saws, but (depending on the saw you’re comparing it to) it is almost 3 to 4 pounds lighter.