recommendation please

[Howard Pollack]

I need a light weight circular saw to mainly cut plywood as well as a recommendation for a top quality blade to cut hardwood plywood without chip-out. Can folks please make recommendations. Thanks -Howard

[Jim DeLaney]

Porter-Cable's 6" Saw Boss is a great little saw for the job you need it for.

Also, the little 4½" worm-drive trim saw is great at cutting plywood.

I have both, and can recommend either of them quite highly. The Saw Boss is somewhat more versatile, overall, since it can also handle 2-by stock, etc.

[Frank Pellow]

Festool ATF 55 E-plus. I love mine!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

About a year ago I replaced a 28 year old Skill with a new Porter-Cable. Love it. One of the neat things it comes in "left side blade" and "right side blade" models. For the 1st time in nearly 3 decades I'm not peering over and around the motor and handle assemblies to see the cut line and the blade. Good Luck!

[Michael Perata]

I have the P-C 6" Saw Boss and like it, but would give it and my first born for the Festool.

[Tom Hintz]

I also have the Porter Cable and like it a lot. Very good saw, very acurate and it comes with a sgood a blade as I have seen. I have a review of it at the link below.
Also, I have recently gotten the new Porter Cable MagSaw and will have a review of it coming up in a week or so. They also released a new blade (Riptide, comes on the saw) that looks very good as well.
Then there is the Bosch CS20, which we will also have a review of in a couple of weeks. It also looks very good, but i haven't had time to try it yet.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/pc743Krevu.html

[Jim Becker]

There is just about no better solution than the Festool plunge saw and guide system...and it also has unprecidented duct collection capabilty. This sytem cuts as clean as my cabinet saw.

If you need to go a different route, the small PC saw with a Forrest WW-II blade is a very good choice.

[Lee Schierer]

More important than the saw is the blade. It actually does the work. Find a saw that fits your price range and feels good in your hand, then buy it. Then spend money on a good carbide tipped blade (the more teeth the better) and clamp on straight edge. With a good quality blade, using the strainght edge as a guide and application masking tape to the top surface before cutting and you will get splinter free cuts, irregardless of the saw being used.

[Mac McAtee]

I find a 4" Dewalt battery powered circular saw quite handy for ripping plywood. No fussing around with cords.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Howard. I have mentioned this before but I will do it again.

The men who framed my house use ONLY Mikita circular saws. They say they out last anything else they have used, even the Milwaukee saws. They recommend the model that has the little light that shines down on the board/blade area. In particular they like the heavy duty aluminum sole plate that says square to the balde with their rough use.

It may be the last circular saw you will need to buy. :)

[aurelio alarcon]

More important than the saw is the blade. It actually does the work. Find a saw that fits your price range and feels good in your hand, then buy it. Then spend money on a good carbide tipped blade (the more teeth the better) and clamp on straight edge. With a good quality blade, using the strainght edge as a guide and application masking tape to the top surface before cutting and you will get splinter free cuts, irregardless of the saw being used.I cannot think of any better sound advice than what you have presented here. As a plumber/remodeler I have used and owned all types and brands. They all worked just fine (never used a consummer grade untill recently and have found it to be adequate). With an excellent blade I think any circular saw of reasonable quality is more than adequate (unless, of course, you're in to production or own stock in a particular brand ). As you state Lee, get one to fit your price range and feel, then go ahead, and get an excellent blade. Not as important as the blade, but more important than the brand is the skill level at the high end of the handle. With an excellent blade you can probably get away without the masking tape. I know because I do all the time with a cheap skil , a straight edge, an excellent blade and no tearing. And yes, excellent results in terms of precision.

[Dan Mages]

More important than the saw is the blade. It actually does the work. Find a saw that fits your price range and feels good in your hand, then buy it. Then spend money on a good carbide tipped blade (the more teeth the better) and clamp on straight edge. With a good quality blade, using the strainght edge as a guide and application masking tape to the top surface before cutting and you will get splinter free cuts, irregardless of the saw being used.

Thank you for the advise. I also need a circular saw. I am looking at the new Porter Cable model. What saw blades do you reccomend for the circular saw?

Dan

[Dino Makropoulos]

Hi Howard. The only way to get a clean cut is the Smart-Base. You can buy the most expensive saw (some in EU even have cruise control) And the most expensive blade (with antichip tech =price tag) and still have LESS chips. Or you can try the Smart-Base from the Eurekazone CO. It only cost $24.95 and it comes with a money money back guarantee. If any one thinks differently they are welcome to take the Eureka Challenge. Before I forget, my name is Dino the Carpenter and I'm the owner of this company.

[James Carmichael]

Lot's of good advice out here, especially regarding blades, but I think Aurielo hit the nail on the head.

I cut a lot of hardwood ply with a simple Skil 5150 and inexpensive DeWalt steel (no carbide) plywood blade(s). I might get better cuts with a higher-end blade, but the following techiques give extremely smooth cuts in hardwood ply:

1. Make a rip guide/zero-clearance insert for your circ saw Basically, get a dead-straight fence (I use a 2"-wide strip of 1/2" MDF). If you decide on a sidewinder saw, don't make it too high because the motor will have to clear it on top. Glue/screw the fence near the edge of a piece of 1/4 - 1/2" piece of ply that is the length of your fence (careful not to have any screws sticking out the bottom of the ply). The piece of plywood should be wide enough to accommodate the fence plus the base of the saw. Once attached, cut off the base with your saw indexed to the fence. Keep the guide on the workpiece side of the cut, it'll prevent tearout on that side. Also neat is that there's no measuring from fence to blade, just run the edge right up to the cut line.

If you want to get fancy with this jig/guide, you can attach a 90* bracket to the bottom at one end so it squares easily to the workpiece, or go all out and attach guides to a plywood base (shelf standards work well for this) that fit on either side of the saw base and cut a zero-clearance groove down it's length.

2. Measure twice, cut...twice. Make the first cut a light scoring cut, maybe 1/16" deep, just enough to sever the fibers where the saw blade exits I often have to hold up the blade guard when doing this as the saw is set too shallow for the workpiece to push it up.

[Peter Stahl]

I'll second the PC 4-1/2" trim saw. It's a bit pricey now though, bought mine about 5 years ago for about $150.

Pete

[Dave Falkenstein]

Porter Cable Saw Boss with a Forrest Woodworker II blade is my choice. One drawback of this solution is that the blade costs almost as much as the saw. Using a zero clearance plate helps too. I wonder if the Festool cuts as well with their standard blade? Then again, you are REALLY talking bucks to go with the Festool and guide setup.

[Jim Becker]

I wonder if the Festool cuts as well with their standard blade?
Yea, it does based on actually using it in my own shop when Bob came for a visit last fall. That's why I'm buying it...unbelievably clean cut and almost no dust.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I am a PC fan...I have the left blade and love it!

[russ bransford]

Howard, I've been cutting birch plywood with a bosch 7 1/4 using a freud diablo 40t. The cuts are straight without tearout since I combined them with the eurekazone smart guide. You don't waste any of the wood and you don't have to wrestle with the 4x8. The saw was about $110, the blade about $15 and the guide system $200. rb

[Frank Pellow]

Howard, I've been cutting birch plywood with a bosch 7 1/4 using a freud diablo 40t. The cuts are straight without tearout since I combined them with the eurekazone smart guide. You don't waste any of the wood and you don't have to wrestle with the 4x8. The saw was about $110, the blade about $15 and the guide system $200. rb

Finally someone with experience with the eurekazone smart guide. I started a thread a while ago looking for comments from someone with such experience. Russ, t would be great if you could take the time to give us mini-review (with pictures, it would be even better).