Skilsaw

[Mobasser]

25yrs ago, I bought a Skill#77 worm drive saw. I bought this saw from another carpenter who was retiring, and he had had it for 10yrs.                                                It's the single best tool purchase I've ever made. Over the years, I replaced one trigger, one cord, one set of brushes, and changed the oil in the gearbox a few times.                                I'm right handed, and with the blade on the left, I get a clear view of the cutline. These saws are powerful, and won't bog down when cutting thick beams, or long rip cuts in 2×12 or larger dimensional lumber.                                                    If there's any drawback to these saws, it's they're weight. I believe they weigh around 14lbs. In many situations, the weight is a benefit, helping you stay on the line when cutting sheet goods.                                             These saws have been the choice of concrete form crews, framing carpenters, deck builders, and general contractors for decades.                                                For a homeowner doing occasional jobs, they'll last forever. Most guys I see these days have gone to cordless circular saws, and, they can be handy to have. I recently saw a concrete crew building forms for a large sidewalk job, using Dewalt cordless saws. This was all 2x4, and some 2x6 cutting, and I imagine most any saw would have worked.                            I'll stick with my worm drive saw. In my humble opinion, it is one of the very best power tools ever made.                                             I'm wondering if anyone else has used one, or is currently using a Skil worm drive circular saw?

[jimmyjoe]

   My brother (now passed away) was a carpenter all his life. He referred to the direct-drive saws disparagingly as "sidewinders". 

   Kinda OT, but my brother was inspired to become a carpenter by our great-uncle, who carpentered his whole life without electricity. Anyone who thinks that construction with all hand tools is slow had to have been there and seen him and his crew work. It was amazing.          jj

[Mobasser]

2 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   My brother (now passed away) was a carpenter all his life. He referred to the direct-drive saws disparagingly as "sidewinders". 

   Kinda OT, but my brother was inspired to become a carpenter by our great-uncle, who carpentered his whole life without electricity. Anyone who thinks that construction with all hand tools is slow had to have been there and seen him and his crew work. It was amazing.          jj

jj, I've read about those days. From what I've learned, usually one, maybe two men worked at the sawhorses all day, cutting everything by hand. It would put some strong arms on you for sure. 

[frosty]

Usually hand tools, in hands that know how to use them, are just as accurate if not more so and just as efficient, this is one reason I use them in woodworking, not exclusively, but as a compliment to Power tools for rough work. I’ve used a worm drive a handful of times in my carpenters apprenticeship, I wasn’t a fan. They are heavy, but I found it difficult to follow a line, of course all my previous experience was with a typical circular saw so I’m sure with some practice it would be better. 

[Catt]

My grandfather, my dad, his four brothers, my oldest brother, & my self were all master carpenters.

 

Those 5 boys could black in a house with hand tools as fast as any crew with power tools.

 

I still have 3 Disston hand saws that are probably 75 yrs old. Try finding good hand saw today...ya can't.

 

As for the 7 1/4" worm drive I can still out cut most guys with chop saws, power miter saws, & table saws.

 

With the blade on the left side your head isn't looking over the top of the saw getting a face full of saw dust.

[CountryboyinDC]

For a couple of summers, I worked for a framing contractor.  The crew and foreman were a mix of locals and Yankees the owner was related to or moved with him when he moved south; really good group to work with.  Probably not one us weighed 180 lbs., but we used 8 1/4" (not the standard 7 1/4") worm-drive Skil saws which probably weighed 20 lbs.  It was a beast, but for someone making parts (jacks, jeaders, etc.), you could keep ahead of the rest of the crew banging walls together.  The battery tools are amazing in their own way, but those heavy Skil saws were the fastest I ever saw.  I still have an old US-made Milwaukee skilsaw that will probably last me the rest of my life and I don't have the forearms I once did.

[frosty]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

 

I still have 3 Disston hand saws that are probably 75 yrs old. Try finding good hand saw today...ya can't.

Hand tool wood workers will pay good money for those Disston saws. You can still find good saws, but they’re either antiques or are several hundred dollars. All the contractors these days carry those ultra sharp saws that you throw away when they get dull. 

[Catt]

13 minutes ago, frosty said:

All the contractors these days carry those ultra sharp saws that you throw away when they get dull. 

 

When I was taught cabinetry & trim, I was also taught how to sharpen saw blades of all types.

 

When I was done sharpening & setting the teeth on my Dad's 14 point saw he would drop a sewing needle between the teeth neat the handle & it would slide all the way down.

[Hammer 4]

I've had a bunch of skillsaws. The best one was one made in 1956, all metal. All the other saws I bought were the Magnum skillsaws, none of those would cut nearly as well as that old saw from 1956.

 

I also see crews in all trades using cordless saws, which in some cases dumbfounds me.

[Mobasser]

41 minutes ago, Hammer 4 said:

I've had a bunch of skillsaws. The best one was one made in 1956, all metal. All the other saws I bought were the Magnum skillsaws, none of those would cut nearly as well as that old saw from 1956.

 

I also see crews in all trades using cordless saws, which in some cases dumbfounds me.

The concrete form crew I mentioned in my post cut everything with 1 Dewalt cordless saw. They had a battery charger and spare batteries close by. Seems like it would go slower, having to stop, charge batteries, change them.out etc. I think they like them because they're light and mobile. I still think the Skilsaw is better.

[Hammer 4]

Just now, Mobasser said:

The concrete form crew I mentioned in my post cut everything with 1 Dewalt cordless saw. They had a battery charger and spare batteries close by. Seems like it would go slower, having to stop, charge batteries, change them.out etc. I think they like them because they're light and mobile. I still think the Skilsaw is better.

I agree. Back when I was working, if anyone showed up with a cordless saw, they would have been either laughed at, or sent home. Time is money, especially if your doing piece work. Maybe guys nowaday are just lazy..?

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, Hammer 4 said:

I agree. Back when I was working, if anyone showed up with a cordless saw, they would have been either laughed at, or sent home. Time is money, especially if your doing piece work. Maybe guys nowaday are just lazy..?

I think your right about that! It seemed like it took these guys forever to form up this sidewalk. Working by the hour, they don't care

[Hammer 4]

Just now, Mobasser said:

I think your right about that! It seemed like it took these guys forever to form up this sidewalk. Working by the hour, they don't care

Yeah, I get that. As a contractor/ carpenter if guys were dragging their feet, they'd be gone, even getting paid by the hour, tradesmen were Expected to get things done in a timely fashion.

BTW, even when I first started to frame, I always carried 2 skill saws, 2 sawzall's, basically 2 of everything, just in case. 

[Mobasser]

3 minutes ago, Hammer 4 said:

Yeah, I get that. As a contractor/ carpenter if guys were dragging their feet, they'd be gone, even getting paid by the hour, tradesmen were Expected to get things done in a timely fashion.

BTW, even when I first started to frame, I always carried 2 skill saws, 2 sawzall's, basically 2 of everything, just in case. 

Very true. I think this is why it cost so much for people to hire a contractor now. They bid high, and hope they get the job, any extras are passed on to the homeowner. It cost a small fortune to hire a crew nowdays.As for Sawzalls, I have two. Both are Milwaukee. Both are corded, older ones with a metal case. They've been great tools.

[Way north bass guy]

I think a lot of it depends on the type of work your doing with the saws. 
As a stonemason and WETT certified installer ( wood stoves, stainless steel chimneys etc.), I spend quite a bit of time up on a roof. The corded tools often have more power, but when your up on a roof cutting lumber, or cutting a hole in the roof to run a chimney through, the last thing you need is more stuff to get tangled up in (cords). If you’ve not tried some of the newer cordless tools, there are some that have an amazing amount of power and battery life. Honestly, nowadays unless I have a whole bunch of plywood to cut up, I almost never use my corded Skilsaw any more. And a good cordless sawsall is fantastic for ripping a hole in a roof, especially if your already scrunched up on a tiny attic while doing it. 

[DanielG]

Depends. A cordless circular saw is great when you bring home a couple of sheets of plywood and need to cut it up to size for a project in the garage or outside. No cord. They do cut okay, and they are fairly light. For a lot of work that will last awhile to do a corded one is nice. Sometimes getting a corded saw set up to use is half the battle.

 

Sort of like my lawnmower. I have a 30 minute lawn. My new electric mower always starts, is lighter, little maintenance, and cuts great. But, the battery is only good for up to an hour. If I had a big lawn I'd need to deal with oil and gas but it would be the only alternative outside of buyng more batteries.

 

But, make no mistake. Like electric cars that can develop more torque and speed than gasoline engines, an electric tool can be made the same way. They just don't seem to do it.

[Guitarfish]

I replaced my wood shingle roof with asphalt shingle years ago.  So I had to put down plywood.  I bought two cordless kits and swapped batteries all day.  When a battery got weak my wife would throw up another.  I saved close to $6K from the quote I got, and I replaced all fascia boards, too. 

 

I still have the saws and drills from the kit.  I abuse the heck out of them and use them for everything that I work on.  The rubber grip areas are shredding but these tools have earned their old age.

 

I'm sure if I was a production guy, well I'd be fired.

[BassNJake]

17 hours ago, Mobasser said:

The concrete form crew I mentioned in my post cut everything with 1 Dewalt cordless saw. They had a battery charger and spare batteries close by. Seems like it would go slower, having to stop, charge batteries, change them.out etc. I think they like them because they're light and mobile. I still think the Skilsaw is better.

When I poured concrete we had an A crew for forming and a B crew.

The A team had a laid out truck with about a million miles of extension cords and a couple generators.

The B team had a cordless with 3 batteries and a hand saw.

 

The A team did job/projects like the sidewalks in front of the rock and roll hall of fame(couple hundred feet)

The B team was tasked with setting up all the sidewalks and driveway aprons for 5 blocks

Not all crews are equal

[deaknh03]

I've used the old sidewinders and corded sawsalls etc. I'm 100% cordless now. Miter saw, table saw, circ saws, sawsalls...everything. I have zero issues with batteries, I've used the miter and table saws all day on one battery each. So worth it. Running cords everywhere, finding outlets, wrapping all the cords up at the end of the day, no more.