© Richard MajchrzakWe tested circular saws-from Craftsman, Ryobi, Skil, Chicago Electric, and other brands-and learned you can do a lot of cutting without a huge budget.
It's a fact. There's a building boom going on. Consider this summer, when housing starts (or new residential construction projects) jumped 22 percent from June to July, the biggest one-month increase in four years, according to news agency Reuters. But forget the statistics, look around. Lumber is flying off of shelves. We pulled into a New Jersey lumber yard and found it freshly stocked to the hilt-in December. And when Stanley Black & Decker's Craftsman brand used Atomik Research to survey 1,008 adults about their DIY activities in November, approximately 78 percent of the respondents said they've honed their DIY skills during the pandemic, doing everything from painting rooms to renovating gardens to putting in a home office.
And if there's one tool to help you make the most of this building boom, it's the circular saw-a machine with one mission in life, and that's to rip and crosscut lumber. Pick up your saw and get to work. Below we have a selection, including everything from budget-priced models to tools that any contractor could use to frame a house.
What to Expect From Saws
Corded circular saws are powerful tools that crosscut wood (cut across its grain) and rip it (cut with the grain). The tools that we examined do not exhibit much design variation. For example, the blades in all but one of these saws are 7.25 inches in diameter, positioned on the right side of the motor, and, when fully lowered, make cuts about 2.25 inches deep (or slightly deeper). However, when you increase price by $10 to $15 from the category's basement, you go from a saw with a 12-amp motor to one that operates at 15 amps. This motor is better able to handle deep cuts, especially if the lumber is wet. If you need a saw to cut framing lumber, spend the extra money.
Homeowner or Contractor-Grade?
But let's just say that you're ambitious. Maybe you don't want one of these homeowner saws; you want what the pros use. Contractor saws can have the blade on the left or the right of the motor. Their motors draw 15 amps. The saw rides on a larger, more damage-resistant shoe, and is equipped with a big, tough trigger switch, larger and tougher bearings, and a thick but highly flexible cord. These features promote durability but increase the saw's weight. The average homeowner-duty saw weighs eight to nine pounds. Contractor saws start at 10.5 pounds and go up from there.
But there's a catch. Because it's heavier and larger, a contractor-grade saw may not help you get the job done faster, believe it or not. While it's true that pro saws cut faster compared to homeowner saws, their most important attribute is durability. A homeowner working with a pro saw may find it too heavy and be unable to take advantage of the speed and power.
With manufacturers working so hard to develop cordless tools, you also may wonder if these are a better fit for you than an entry-level corded tool. Homeowner-grade cordless saws have enough power to cut 2 x 3 and 2 x 4 lumber, pine planks, and plywood. But if you expect to make more difficult cuts such as plunging through an interior floor, frame out your basement, or cut pressure-treated lumber, opt for a pro-duty cordless or corded power tool.
What Else Do You Need?
Aside from the saw, you need a couple of carpenter's pencils and a square to both mark the lumber and guide the saw for accurate crosscuts. You also need a heavy-duty, 15-amp extension cord, safety glasses, and some ear plugs.
How We Test
Our test material was what you would expect: Douglas fir 2 x 4, 2 x 10, and 4 x 4, and a little hem fir and red oak thrown in for good measure. We used each saw to cut across and with the grain, the blade perpendicular to its shoe and at an angle to it.
Next, we did some hairsplitting crosscuts guiding each saw along a square held across the workpiece. If the saw held true along the cut, that told us that its shoe edge and blade are parallel. If the saw moved off the square (and the cutline), we knew something was amiss. The most common cause is a saw motor and body that makes a slightly sloppy fit with the shoe on which it rides. Here's how the best saws-from inexpensive, homeowner-duty saws to pro-worthy models, some corded and some without-fared in these tests.
?AFFORDABLE PERFORMANCE?
Skil 5280-01
Amperage: 15 | Weight: 8.8 lb.
Skil has a long history with the circular saw, and it puts that institutional knowledge to good use with this inexpensive but capable tool, the best in our test. Among the homeowner saws we tested, this one is about as close to pro-grade as you can get. And given what it costs and its price-performance ratio, it would be perfectly fitting for a contractor to keep this saw on the truck as a backup or a tool for the helper. It handles nicely, its depth of cut is easily adjusted, and it cuts accurately. The shoe is perfectly parallel with the blade. And we were pleasantly surprised by the torque provided by its 15-amp motor. Even with the blade fully submerged in lumber for rips and crosscuts, it powered through nicely.
?BEST VALUE?
Ryobi CSB125
Amperage: 13 | Weight: 8 lb.
This Ryobi is a good little saw that got off to an unfortunate start. At first it didn't seem like it was going to cut the mustard, let alone lumber. We were mystified. We have enough experience with Ryobi power tools by now to know that a lack of performance would be reason for concern. The problem turned out to be the blade. The inexpensive one that comes with the saw helps to hold down its price, but it also holds back its performance. We swapped out that blade for an Irwin Weld Tec (a $9 upgrade) and before you could say "sawdust," we had a saw that cuts like a champ. The CSB125 handles nicely, thanks to its light weight, comfortable grip, and the fact that it's well-balanced.
-PRO CORDLESS-
DeWalt DCS573B
Voltage: 20 | Weight: 9.2 lb.
DeWalt took its 20-volt cordless circular saw and sent it to the gym. Now it can run on a standard 20-volt Max battery or the hulking dual-voltage 20/60 Flex Volt power pack. The latter battery enables a ridiculous amount of cuts on one charge or repeated cuts at its depth of 2-9/16 inches. It made so many buzzes through 2 x 4 in our test that we didn't even bother counting them; we ran out of test material before the battery showed any signs of fading. Suffice it to say that the larger the amp hours of the power pack you put in this thing, the more cuts you can expect, up to a day's work or close to it. The DCS573B is a powerful, smooth-cutting saw with outstanding accuracy. If you're thinking of going cordless but you want pro performance, get this one.
?BUDGET PICK FOR CRAFTSMAN USERS-
Craftsman CMES500
Amperage: 13 | Weight: 7.8 lb.
The Craftsman renaissance is real. Since the company's purchase by Stanley Black & Decker (owner of the famed DeWalt brand), Craftsman tools have been improving. We've always liked the brand, and we were very pleased to find this saw carrying on a capable tradition of high-quality power tools. It's about a pound lighter than the Skil. That may not sound like much, but it can make a work day go a little bit easier, especially given that you're probably also moving lumber and hammering nails. Yes, the Craftsman's motor is a bit smaller than the Skil in terms of its amperage, but the cutting performance between the two tools is negligible. We're not looking for anything to complain about, but the small difference in rank between this saw and the Skil is due to the fact that the edge of the Craftsman's shoe isn't quite parallel to the blade, creating minor inaccuracy when you run the saw along a square in crosscuts or use a long straight edge for rips. Fortunately, if you apply a little extra due diligence, you can keep the saw cutting true.
-PRO-LEVEL CRAFTSMAN-
Craftsman CMCS550B
Voltage: 20 | Weight: 8.2 lb.
We liked this 20-volt saw's handling, light weight, power, and the great line of sight to the blade. So much so that we used it to test 7.25-inch circular saw blades that we were investigating for our recent Tool Awards coverage. We didn't pamper it, cutting Douglas fir framing lumber and red oak. Everything about the saw makes it worthy of the Editors' Choice badge, from its excellent workmanship to its reliable cordless power to the accuracy of its cut. If you're in the 20-volt Craftsman system, we fully recommend adding this saw to your arsenal. You won't be disappointed.
?BEST FOR LASER USERS?
Chicago Electric 69064
Amperage: 12 | Weight: 9.6 lb.
The Chicago Electric 69064 is big and heavy, which gives it a solid feel. It has the lowest amperage of the group, but you'd never know it; it's a smooth-cutting saw that plows right along. And if you're the kind of person who likes to cut holding the saw with two hands and the workpiece clamped to sawhorses or a workbench, you'll find the intentional two-handed design and its wraparound handle a perfect fit. We do have a couple of small complaints. The saw's blade guard is so large that it blocks the left-side view of the blade. We appreciate safety, but you've got to be able to see the cut line. And the guard's spring tension is so high that it requires a lot of force to retract the guard at the beginning of the cut. This creates a tendency of the saw to move away from the cut line. Yes, the saw has a laser. We're not fans. But maybe you are because you spend a lot of time cutting in low light or you like a little extra visual guidance. If that's the case, the laser line is there if you need some help pointing the saw along the cut line.
?BEST FOR SMALL JOBS-
Craftsman CMCS500M1
Voltage: 20 | Weight: 7.5 lb.
Compared to the other saws here, the CMCS500M1 wasn't nearly as fast since it doesn't have the power provided by a 15-amp motor. That isn't to say it's a slouch, though. It's got enough power to get the job done. It's light and easy to use, and its well-shaped handles are a model of industrial design, forming a comfortable and intuitive grip. Somebody somewhere saw to the tool's quality control. At bevel settings, or with the blade 90 degrees to the shoe, it proved to be dead-on accurate. It helps that its shoe is flat, rigid, and perfectly parallel to the blade, making for highly accurate crosscuts and rips along a straight edge. Keep its battery charged, and you'll find this saw ideal for all kinds of small projects, whether it's crosscutting some shelves, trimming down a door, or helping a young woodworker build his or her first project.
-PRO-DUTY PERFORMANCE-
Skilsaw SPT67WM-22
Amperage: 15 | Weight: 8.6 lb.
© homedepot.comSPT67WM-22
$99.00
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This is the saw we use in the PM Shop. We build projects with it, prepare materials for testing power tools, and use it for slicing up what's left when the test is done. That means sawing through lumber and hardware alike. We've been pleased with the power, balance, the clear line of sight to the blade, and how easily the blade height and angle are adjusted. It gets straight A's in all of those features, plus one more: the magnesium shoe that allows the saw to slide over a piece of lumber like it was on ice. At the day's end, when all you want to do is make that last cut and go home, you won't appreciate anything more than the SPT67WM-22.