Best budget (ish) circular saw at the moment ?

[Talay]

Often the way.
However. I have a 240V circular saw from B&Q. One of them McAllister jobbies.. A Birthday present from my good lady wife - she wanted some jobs doing 8-(

I also have an 18V Makita BS5610. Comes with the LXT600 kit.

No comparison. Makita every time.
Easier to use, better finish (allowing for any blade differences) etc.

Buying cheap is not always buying best.

I tend to agree, yet I cannot justify going semi pro as after this job, it may simply lay dormant forever. Reading reviews, the issue of non mains circular saws could be an issue if you are doing a lot at one time, which I will be.

Yet I may jettison a £60 buy for a £100 one if I think it is a better machine, as your Makita is (though the McAlister range does look particularly poor IMHO). Even better if I can get a decent one on a decent discount !

I think the confusing thing is that the true cost is saw + blade and not saw alone.

 

[Talay]

Went to B&Q today for something else and looked at their range of circular saws http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-to...ort_order=1&fh_view_size=150&fh_start_index=0

The Ryobi at £69.98 http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/sawing/circular-saws/Ryobi-170mm-6-1-2-Circular-Saw-10957582 was slightly more compact and perhaps a little lighter than the Evolution at £55.98 http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-to...y-1-Basic-Multi-Purpose-Circular-Saw-10837613 but neither felt unwieldy to this novice.

What I would like a comment on is the blades. Bother have unusual blades which purport to be able to cut anything. My main will be 12mm to 18mm MDF and chipboard as well as some 3" x 2" CLS stud timber.

My hope is that I can just get away with the one unit with the blade it comes with. If neither of these blades are truly suitable, then please give me a clue as to which one would be for a decent cut on the MDF especially.

 

[big-all]

in general its as simple as more teeth cleaner the cut but slower progress
fewer teeth faster progress but rougher cut

 

[Talay]

in general its as simple as more teeth cleaner the cut but slower progress
fewer teeth faster progress but rougher cut

The problem with these two options is that they both have "non standard" teeth, making that usual comparison somewhat difficult.

I don't have detailed pictures but you can see enough from the links above to hopefully understand what I mean.

 

[big-all]

you get off set teeth triple chip lhand'rhand back rake angle

its fairly irelivent what is between the teeth its the teeth that do the cutting

without fail the blade will be a compromise
to use any saw fully and properly you need several blades for different jobs

in other words never choose a tool because off the blade fitted choose it for the machine 'availability off blades and cost off blades

 

[streetlighter]

Just bought myself a new circular saw today to replace my old DeWAlt. I got a Bosch professional 190mm with carry case and 2 TCT blades for £99 from Axminster power tool centre. Best circ saw I've ever used tried it out on laminate flooring before was very comfortable to use and quiet compared to the old DeWalt saw.

 

[Talay]

Just bought myself a new circular saw today to replace my old DeWAlt. I got a Bosch professional 190mm with carry case and 2 TCT blades for £99 from Axminster power tool centre. Best circ saw I've ever used tried it out on laminate flooring before was very comfortable to use and quiet compared to the old DeWalt saw.

Never seen Axminster with any "real" deals. Have you a link ?

 

[streetlighter]

The saw is in there top 25 power tools on the website