Cordless small circular saw

[Ellen Benkin]

Any suggestions?

[Van Huskey]

When you say "small" do you mean the somewhat standard 6 1/2" cordless saws (vs the newer larger 7 1/4" cordless saws) or are you looking for something even smaller.

Also are you already invested in any cordless battery systems, if so which ones.

[John TenEyck]

How small? I love my 18V Milwaukee 6-1/2" one. https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-2630-20-Cordless-Circular-Magnesium/dp/B001FA14N6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1544045488&sr=8-3&keywords=18v+milwaukee+circular+saw But I already had other Milwaukee cordless tools, so their circular saw was an obvious choice. Whatever cordless tools you already have may lead you to a similar decision. If you have none, however, you can do a lot worse than what Milwaukee offers. I've had nothing but great service from the ones I have, drill, impact driver, right angle drill, and circular saw. I built my shed last Summer using mostly that little circular saw to cut everything and was very impressed with it's performance. The tilting base is top notch. Whatever brand you choose, make sure to use a big battery, like 5 ah or larger, with it as they draw a lot of power.

John

[Prashun Patel]

I like the makita. Like John I bought it because my batteries line up with other tools.

[Mike Kees]

My first cordless saw was a Rigid,I bought it because at that time it was the only one with the blade on the right hand side. I now have the new Milwaukee that uses 7 1/4'' blades. I gave my Dad my original Milwaukee with the 6.5'' blade that was on the left side,it works well for him because he is left handed.

[Phil Mueller]

I have a 3 3/8” makita. Occassional use going on 8 years or so. Maximum depth of cut about an 1”. Great for breaking down plywood, 3/4 stock, etc. If it stopped working, I’d definitely pick up another.

[Thomas Eustis]

It’s pretty expensive but also the most versatile solution. https://www.amazon.com/d/Power-Circular-Saws/Festool-TSC-55REB-Li-XL/B00XJZQO4Y I have one and love it. Break down sheet goods anywhere. Very handy with the track too.

[Mark Bolton]

My suggestion is dont waste your money. They are all a letdown in short order. As soon as they get a little weak you'll be going broke buying new blades trying to make it through a couple sheets. Unless you absolutely need to cut material on a sailboat with no solar or battery backup in the middle of the ocean.. you'll be let down. Stick with a cord.

[John K Jordan]

When you say "small" do you mean the somewhat standard 6 1/2" cordless saws (vs the newer larger 7 1/4" cordless saws) or are you looking for something even smaller.
Also are you already invested in any cordless battery systems, if so which ones.

Yes, more info, less guessing.

I use a Dewalt 18v, since most of my other cordless tools use the same battery. It gets heavy use around the farm, especially when I'm putting up a building.

JKJ

[Peter Kuhlman]

Most of my battery stuff is Makita. I have their latest brushless circle saw and just love it. Gobs of power! With the larger 5 or 6 amp hour batteries it has tremendous run time if using quality blades. Never had it die during use as one battery has finished any project so far. I am sure the Dewalt is a good one as well if that is your current battery line. Milwaukee has lost my support with their decline in quality.

[phil harold]

My suggestion is dont waste your money. They are all a letdown in short order. As soon as they get a little weak you'll be going broke buying new blades trying to make it through a couple sheets. Unless you absolutely need to cut material on a sailboat with no solar or battery backup in the middle of the ocean.. you'll be let down. Stick with a cord.
well I suppose you have not used the Milwaukee Fuel 7 1/4 saw
I thought this thing was great when I used 5.0 batteries
now I have 12.0 batteries this thing is awesome!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu3Uvk-xOZg

[Kris Cook]

I don't agree they are a waste of money.

I have a 13 amp Milwaukee corded saw with the blade on the right that I have had for about 25 years. I am in the middle of building a shop right now, and my go-to saw is my Milwaukee Fuel 6 - 1/2" - even though the blade is on the left and I am left-handed.

If I have to power through a lot of material I will use the corded saw but I use the battery saw for most sheet goods, and framing cuts and it is awesome when you are hanging on a ladder or scaffold/man-lift, and don't have to fight the extra weight of the saw and cord. Its weight also makes it much easier for me to use right-handed (which I consider wrong-handed ;)).

I have told my son who is helping me part-time with the build how amazed I am at the utility of a cordless saw. I keep a fresh battery on the charger but usually don't go through more than a battery a day.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

My suggestion is dont waste your money. They are all a letdown in short order. As soon as they get a little weak you'll be going broke buying new blades trying to make it through a couple sheets. Unless you absolutely need to cut material on a sailboat with no solar or battery backup in the middle of the ocean.. you'll be let down. Stick with a cord.

I agreed with you Mark until I tried a FlexVolt Dewalt. I love my Bosch worm drive, but didn't have power at the site of a new build earlier this year. I bought the Dewalt instead of messing with a generator, and it worked so well that I bought another. They are different models one left and one right side blade, I prefer the worm saw layout one with the blade on the correct left side, but between the two I didn't plug a circular saw in for the entire house. Large addition and full remodel, so lots of cutting. 175 sheets of sheeting along. I'm a believer, that thing is a game changer.

[Mike Kees]

One of the first things I cut when I bought my Milwaukee fuel 7 1/4'' was ripping a 2x10 12' . Like Steve we use this saw constantly.

[Frank Pratt]

I have a 6 1/2" Milwaukee M18 that I really like. Ripping 2x4's with it isn't something I'd want to do all day, but in a pinch it will do. Sheet goods are another story. It will cut 3/4" ply or even 1" MDF

[Frank Pratt]

I have an 18V 6 1/2" Milwaukee that I sure like. Ripping 2x4's is doable, but slower than a corded saw. Cross cutting them is no problem. It's great with sheet goods. 3/4" BB ply or even 1" MDF cuts every bit as well as with the corded saw & is so much lighter & easier to handle. In fact since I got this Milwaukee, I've not once used the corded saw on sheet goods.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Cordless small circular sawDefine - - small.

Do you mean the mini compacts or anything less than the standard 7 1/4" circular corded saw?
With the 3 piece Makita cordless set I just got, (drill/impact driver/circular saw), I now have two 18 V saws - a Makita 18 V and a Makita 18 V track saw. Both are 165 MM (6.5").

[Charles Lent]

My 6-1/2" DeWalt 18 volt saw gets used mostly for breaking down sheet stock. I'm not a total fan of DeWalt, but my first 18 volt tools were DeWalt, so everything elsebattery powered was bought as DeWalt to minimize the battery and charger situation. All of my batteries are L-ion now since they last the longest. My corded tools are a mix of brands because I bought what seemed to be the best for the need that I had at the time of purchase. That said, my more recent purchases all seem to be yellow.

Charley

[Frank Pratt]

I had a Dewalt 18V NiCad saw that was terrible. It had so much arbor slop that it was only good for the roughest of cuts & so under powered that it wasn't even good at that. It got tossed.

[Ellen Benkin]

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. When I said small I meant the 5 1/2 blade size. REALLY small. I've used one to rough cut lumber and to size plywood sheets and it did everything I wanted.

[Van Huskey]

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. When I said small I meant the 5 1/2 blade size. REALLY small. I've used one to rough cut lumber and to size plywood sheets and it did everything I wanted.

Which one did you use you liked?

Are you already invested in a particular batter ecosystem?

Note that a lot of the 5 1/2" saws currently on the market are metal cutting saws.

Milwaukee has a brushless 5 3/8" in their M12 Fuel line that is pretty amazing for a 10.8v tool.

The next question is why are you looking for a 5 1/2" saw? Is it weight, size or what?