Buying a PROPER circular saw

[YonathanZ]

Hi,

I'm looking for a circular saw with one "simple" feature - a screw that let's you re-adjust the 0 angle (90 degree) bevel thingy, in case that setting the bevel adjuster to 0 no longer puts the blade square to the base plate. I know of one saw that has this - the Metabo KS 55 FS. The manufacturer describes it like so:

"0° position re-adjustable for highest cutting precision".

My only gripe with this saw is the small blade - just 55mm max cut depth at 90 degress.
I have my eyes on the Bosch GKS 190 and Makita HS7601J/2 - but I have no idea if they have this feature, it's not mentioned anywhere. Does anyone know?

Thanks.

 

[RossJarvis]

The only one I know of with this adjustment is the Mafell KSS80/K85EC. It's got a bigger blade than the KS55, though it may be a fair bit more expensive than you're likely to want to spend. I don't know if their smaller saws have the same adjustment.

 

[YonathanZ]

So I checked with a local store and the Bosch doesn't have it. Still no useful reply from makita (they gave me a part number for a screw :\).

Does anyone know if the Makita 5008mg has it? Otherwise I'll just settle for a 55mm cutting depth and be done with it.

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[LancsRick]

Why would this occur? I can't quite wrap my head around it.

 

[YonathanZ]

Why would this occur? I can't quite wrap my head around it.

Why would the blade go out of square? Well, my silverline saw arrived like that, and so do many budget, and even "professional" saws do, possibly because circular saws are mostly used for rough cuts before using a table saw. I intend to use a circular saw as my only saw, so it has to be dead accurate.

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[pcb1962]

Why would this occur? I can't quite wrap my head around it.

Why would the blade go out of square? Well, my silverline saw arrived like that, and so do many budget, and even "professional" saws do, possibly because circular saws are mostly used for rough cuts before using a table saw. I intend to use a circular saw as my only saw, so it has to be dead accurate.

So just buy the Festool.

 

[YonathanZ]

Why would this occur? I can't quite wrap my head around it.

Why would the blade go out of square? Well, my silverline saw arrived like that, and so do many budget, and even "professional" saws do, possibly because circular saws are mostly used for rough cuts before using a table saw. I intend to use a circular saw as my only saw, so it has to be dead accurate.

So just buy the Festool.

Sure, I'll buy a festool, it's only $500 or so and it's only to be used with a rail which I don't want. They sell a DeWalt for $109 on amazon.com with a 0 degree alignment screw and a cast base, but seems that everything on the European Amazon sites is garbage made of stamped metal that sells for $150. Except for the Metabo...



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[Mark A]

Circular saws are inherently rough tools, so there's no way of guaranteeing that the bevel adjustment is accurate. I'd not worry about the pre-set angles too much - just use a square to set the blade back to 90° after making bevelled cuts.

 

[pcb1962]

Sure, I'll buy a festool, it's only $500 or so and it's only to be used with a rail which I don't want.

You don't have to use a rail with the Festool

 

[sunnybob]

Yonathon,
The "S" word (I can barely bring myself to type it, but... Silverline) supplies the cheapest made tools. The quality control is non existant. You can read many stories about how good (bad) they are. Buy a better quality saw and the blade will not be out of true.

 

[YonathanZ]

I found one! A DeWalt dwe575k, is 40 euros more than the Metabo but has a bigger blade and seemingly very nice dust extraction. Now I have to make a decision

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[Armagh]

Makita's 5903rk Certainly has a grub screw to readjust for square, and the nine inch blade would afford you extra cutting depth. I have one and find them to be a very good saw. To be honest though I mostly use a 7" Hitachi for day to day site work because it's more compact. I've actually never had a trade rated circular saw that didn't have the adjustable grub screw to be honest.

 

[Neil S]

Have you thought about drilling and tapping your own thread for a grub screw. I modified my cheap Makita like this. its still rubbish though as I'm not keen on the pressed steel base plate it has.
Probably not what you want to do to a new tool though.

-Neil S

 

[shed9]

Have you thought about drilling and tapping your own thread for a grub screw. I modified my cheap Makita like this. its still rubbish though as I'm not keen on the pressed steel base plate it has.
Probably not what you want to do to a new tool though.

-Neil S

This is always going to be a slight issue for precision IMO. Even with the ability to adjust the angle of the saw it is still dependent upon it's own frame which in itself is not usually intended for precision cuts.

As others have pointed out, throwing Silverline in as an example of the issue is fairly moot. If you want precision, you will need to pay for it, but also manage your expectation in a hand held circular saw for high precision cuts.

 

[YonathanZ]

OK, turns out I was a bit stupid. I thought that, since the bevel is already set to 0 degrees, that if I changed it to a higher degree then it would make the problem worse, but I just tried it and was able to square the blade to the plate. I thought without the grub screw I simply won't be able to square it at all, so I can definitely make do without such a feature.

There's another issue, though. The base is still a piece of trash and is not level in itself, for example the center protrudes more than the sides, and it flexes so easily when I press it lightly that I can't imagine what happens when it rides a piece of wood. So now I'm just looking for a saw with a robust base. I had the pleasure of "touching" a Bosch GKS 190 yesterday, it's pressed steel too but a lot nicer, do you think it will do? Or maybe the Dewalt DWE560 which can be used with the 60T blade I bought for the Silverline? I'm also looking for absolutely great dust extraction (as far as it gets for circular saws), and the rather expensive DeWalt DWE575K seems to have it (DeWalt claims up to 95% dust extraction, and the videos look convincing). So yeah, I still want a new saw.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

OK, turns out I was a bit stupid. I thought that, since the bevel is already set to 0 degrees, that if I changed it to a higher degree then it would make the problem worse, but I just tried it and was able to square the blade to the plate. I thought without the grub screw I simply won't be able to square it at all, so I can definitely make do without such a feature.

There's another issue, though. The base is still a piece of trash and is not level in itself, for example the center protrudes more than the sides, and it flexes so easily when I press it lightly that I can't imagine what happens when it rides a piece of wood. So now I'm just looking for a saw with a robust base. I had the pleasure of "touching" a Bosch GKS 190 yesterday, it's pressed steel too but a lot nicer, do you think it will do? Or maybe the Dewalt DWE560 which can be used with the 60T blade I bought for the Silverline? I'm also looking for absolutely great dust extraction (as far as it gets for circular saws), and the rather expensive DeWalt DWE575K seems to have it (DeWalt claims up to 95% dust extraction, and the videos look convincing). So yeah, I still want a new saw.

If you want "absolutely great" dust extraction, buy a Festool TS55 and a Festool extractor with HEPA. Unless you're edging boards with the kerf, you'll never see a spec of dust, anywhere. Thats what Festool are good at even if in some other areas they arent the absolute best. They are supremely accurate, however.

 

[YonathanZ]

I ended up buying a Makita HS7601. It comes with a useless dust extraction adapter that god knows what kind of hose attaches to, so dust is just as before but I got used to it.

I've been trying to build a crosscut jig for it for over a week but it just won't work. I was finally able to build what seemed like a perfect jig but it won't cut straight and it only has a thickness capacity of 2.5 cm, which is not enough. I just feel like buying the makita rail adapter and screwing it into the "jig" instead of the guide that I have, but no one seems to have that adapter in stock.

 

[MikeJhn]

A cross cut jig for a circular saw? I thought that was what a mitre saw was for, with a little work any saw can be made to have good dust extraction:

Mike

 

[YonathanZ]

I can't afford a decent miter saw, and they take up space I don't have. I need a crosscut jig because, due to the size of the base of the circular, I cannot cut anything that's less than 11cm in width, and pretty much every project I have in mind requires that. Also, a crosscut jig with a stop block will allow me to make repetitive cuts - which is another essential feature in my opinion.

What I built looks pretty much exactly like this, except mine doesn't cut square :\