Cordless or corded and worm drive or direct drive?
this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2025
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I have dewalt batteries for other stuff, but I was looking for a corded saw. I plan on getting by with a circular saw instead of getting a table saw. Which is also why I'm looking for easy and reliable depth adjustment.
Skill, Bosch, and Metabo are S tier corded saws. They all have the standard lever adjusted screw for depth adjustment, but they are professional tools and have better longevity. Going worm drive is even more reliable and stronger because that is a framer's tool, so it is designed for use and abuse.
Thanks, I think I've narrowed it down to either the Makita 5377MG or Bosch CSW41. Not happy with that depth selector, but probably as good as I'm going to get. At least it's outside the housing where I can see and/or modify it. I'm leaning towards the Makita, but i don't see a trigger lock, and I'm going to want that for some future OSHA violations without having to resort to zip ties.
While I do love resisting the fascist OSHA totalitarian Nazis, a trigger lock on a saw is how you feed the hungry saw your dick ticklers.
Yeah, but if I'm going to live without a table saw, I'm going to want to do some creative fixturing once in a while. Fortunately for what I have in mind, fingers will be kept clear. Bigger issue will be avoiding kick back and flying off cuts. I inserted some oak into a cement board wall the last time. I've upgraded to a concrete wall now, so much less of a problem.
For breaking down 2x4s and rough cutting sheet goods, I just have a cordless Craftsman that has a lever depth adjuster. After 2 years of regular use I haven't had any complaints about it. DeWalt or Makita are also pretty popular. IMO prob the bigger consideration is which battery ecosystem do you want to jump into (if going cordless and not already in one).
On the other end of the spectrum, the easiest depth stop I've used is on festool's track saw but that's going cost a lot more.
I've gone through Dewalt, Craftsman, Skil and some chinesium saws in the past. The Dewalt would slowly drop while cutting, the Craftsman broke the saw case and would flop around, the Skill took a cheater bar to unlock, and the chinese one stripped out and just spun.
I've been tempted by a track saw, but I also plan on a lot of 2x lumber where a track seems like it would be a major hassle.
I was at Home Depot this weekend and got a fantastic deal on a battery Makita. It was a charger and two batteries (I already have some Makita tools) for $170ish plus their $150 circular saw for free. I jumped on that real quick. Used it several times already this weekend. Works great!
Don't know if the deal is still around...
Something like Festools adjustment knob should be a bit better but then you paying a LOT more to buy it and at its core is just the same friction based mechanism.
Personally I would just buy a bigger name brand that actually offers spares for the adjuster if it does break as its super simple to replace it yourself. Couple that with actually servicing the part yourself (it could not be simpler) every so often. Just letting it sit there and not cleaning and re-greasing it just seems bad practice IMO. It should be part of your workflow to service your tools.
I bought a used worm drive skilsaw with the flip lever. It can be tough to adjust but its held up since i bought it many years ago.