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Best vintage Skil sidewinder circular saws?

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rdoaner

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Hello,

I am the owner of several older Skil circular saws (534, 552 (fantastic saw!), 686, 5400), but am wondering how the naming scheme on these older saws worked.

The 686 is a "builders saw", but what exactly does that mean? Is there a difference in durability between different categories of saw? Are there other lines (in this regard, I think I've heard mention of a "super duty" line)?

In a sense I'm trying to seek an answer to the question 'what is the best sidewinder Skil ever made?', but I'm also interested in their product history.

Every modern sidewinder I have used has really sucked, cheap plastic chincy garbage, usually with electric breaks (which I despise because they overheat the motor and burn through brushes!). I love my 552 and 686, but I have to wonder, what were some of Skils most reliable sidewinders from back in the day?
 
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JHuston

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The biggest issue with answering your question is that Skil made dozens and dozens of models of helical geared ( sidewinder) saws over the years, and changed them frequently, whereas their biggest competition in that field, Porter-Cable, wiould make a given model for years, sometimes decades. Even the 77 changed countless times over the years, and it would be next to impossible to collect the whole line of saws. The 536 was a very popular saw ( and for good reason), but I can't honestly think of a helical geared saw that was head and shoulders above the rest , and I've been a power tool repairman for twenty years. They were , for the most part, competently made, a little clunky, and pretty durable, but none of them were very remarkable. The worm drive saw is where Skil really shined ( their belt sanders were impressive, too) ; the sidewinder was never quite as inspired.

-James Huston
 
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rdoaner

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James, thanks for the reply, and also thanks for your wonderful contributions on the other site! I'm jealous of your PC saw collection, but am still very happy with my PC 528.

I believe my Skil 552 is actually a much better saw than the Skil 536, as it appears the 536 has a bushing on the commutator end of the armature. The 552 is ALL ball and needle bearings. I have mine completely apart right now and gotta say I'm impressed with it! As it stands, it's almost hard to imagine a better built saw. And when running my 552 is the most proper sounding circular saw I've heard. The PC 528 is almost too quiet haha. I haven't had the PC528 saw apart yet, but that will come...

Anyone ever heard of the Skil 90860? I see a couple of these old saws on eBay for over $300. Wonder why this is?
 
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ttpete

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rdoaner said:
James, thanks for the reply, and also thanks for your wonderful contributions on the other site! I'm jealous of your PC saw collection, but am still very happy with my PC 528.

I believe my Skil 552 is actually a much better saw than the Skil 536, as it appears the 536 has a bushing on the commutator end of the armature. The 552 is ALL ball and needle bearings. I have mine completely apart right now and gotta say I'm impressed with it! As it stands, it's almost hard to imagine a better built saw. And when running my 552 is the most proper sounding circular saw I've heard. The PC 528 is almost too quiet haha. I haven't had the PC528 saw apart yet, but that will come...

Anyone ever heard of the Skil 90860? I see a couple of these old saws on eBay for over $300. Wonder why this is?
Click to expand...

90860 is a 10" sidewinder.
 
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Bigblockyeti

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rdoaner said:
I see that, just wondering why it is so highly valued?
Click to expand...

I think you see them for sale because they're outrageously over priced. Those that have been offered for $60-$100 are already gone. I bought my Milwaukee 10 1/4" saw for $70 and rarely see them for that price as they're gone quickly, I see them all the time for $250-$300 as they sit at that price for a very long time. I'm currently looking for a Makita 5201NA, a Skil 107, 117 & 127 and a Rockwell 512GS. They're out there somewhat regularly (except the Skil 117) but usually for outrageous prices which I'm not willing to pay. When I see something of interest that I can make work for a reasonable price, I buy it.
 
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ttpete

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Bigblockyeti said:
I think you see them for sale because they're outrageously over priced. Those that have been offered for $60-$100 are already gone. I bought my Milwaukee 10 1/4" saw for $70 and rarely see them for that price as they're gone quickly, I see them all the time for $250-$300 as they sit at that price for a very long time. I'm currently looking for a Makita 5201NA, a Skil 107, 117 & 127 and a Rockwell 512GS. They're out there somewhat regularly (except the Skil 117) but usually for outrageous prices which I'm not willing to pay. When I see something of interest that I can make work for a reasonable price, I by it.
Click to expand...

I have a nice old Black & Decker 8 1/4" saw that's like new.
 
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Farmall450

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JHuston said:
The biggest issue with answering your question is that Skil made dozens and dozens of models of helical geared ( sidewinder) saws over the years, and changed them frequently, whereas their biggest competition in that field, Porter-Cable, wiould make a given model for years, sometimes decades. Even the 77 changed countless times over the years, and it would be next to impossible to collect the whole line of saws. The 536 was a very popular saw ( and for good reason), but I can't honestly think of a helical geared saw that was head and shoulders above the rest , and I've been a power tool repairman for twenty years. They were , for the most part, competently made, a little clunky, and pretty durable, but none of them were very remarkable. The worm drive saw is where Skil really shined ( their belt sanders were impressive, too) ; the sidewinder was never quite as inspired.

-James Huston
Click to expand...

I agree that I'm more allured to their worm drives.
 
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Gotcha640

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Essential Craftsman did a couple videos on Skil 77s through the years. He said he started using them (40?) years ago, framing houses for a living, and in general, the new one is always the best. Sure, your hand gets used to the old one, and you'll be quick to find things to pick apart, but every generation has been more powerful, lighter, easier to use, which means faster and more profitable for the professional user.

I have my grandfathers craftsman circular saw. The (aluminum?) handle is worn where his hands touched it, remodeling the condo where I used to go for holidays. I use it for breaking down plywood and rough cuts, but it is easily twice as heavy as a new saw, makes a terrible racket, the plate is hard to adjust, doesn't tilt, no mark to follow, and gets bound up in a perfectly flat dry board.

Some times the old tools need to be wall art and reminders, and that's fine.
 
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Bigblockyeti

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While I do agree newer ones are better for those using them all the time, I would not blanket them as being better for me. I have zero problems handling a 13lb saw vs. a 6lb saw for what I'll be using it for and the components of the new saws are not as robust. Skil wasn't employing planned obsolescence into their designs 40+years ago like every "durable" goods manufacturer does today . Ave did a teardown of an older Skil worm saw and a newer one on YouTube and of particular interest was the additional metal mass in the field and armature of the old vs. the new and how that will reduce the chance of overheating when being worked hard. The significantly larger bearings and gears were also notable.
 
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rdoaner

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I'm certainly with Bigblockyeti, if any modern saw manufacturer made circular saws like they used to, I wouldn't consider anything else.

But enough about philosophical agreements, does anyone know in detail the different models of sidewinders?

I have particular interest in the "super duty" sidewinders: 856, 857, 860
 
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Bigblockyeti

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I tried to upload a .pdf of an old Skil catalog but it was too big, it covers a few of the saws in question and several of Skil's other tools from a bygone era. It's 14.3MB so I'm not sure if it could be emailed by way of garagejournal or not?
 
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Bigblockyeti

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That's not it, though it could be post on vintagemachinery.org somewhere. I'll see if I can figure out how to compress the .pdf and/or add a link.
 
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Bigblockyeti

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Does anyone know where to find the serial number on a Skil 552 or 554? I've looked all over both and it's not on the data plate like 99.9% of other saws, including those manufactured by Skil.
 
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