Worm Drive Circular saw!

[eschoendorff]

Help me out here.... what are the advantages/benefits between a hypoid and a worm drive????

edit... nevermind...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoid

 

[mkrug001]

The worm drive is way overkill for the weekend woodworker / family handyman type. These saws are heavy, produce A LOT OF torque, are made to rip through sheet after sheet of plywood all day long. They also require more maintenance than a your typical circular saw (require oil changes). I made the mistake of buying a worm drive first and had to get a circular after I learned from experience. I love the worm drive and I will not part with it mostly because its cool and the model I have is highly sought after (old school / made in the USA version). Save yourself some money if you're doing lighter duty cutting and get a high quality regular circular saw.

 

[Farmall450]

Holy zombie -- it's been 12 years.

 

[Rabid Badger]

It has been almost 10 years since anyone posted in this thread. I think it's safe to say they've figured out what kind of saw to get by now.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Depends what you are using the worm drive for. If you are cutting steel, they are a good tool, but if you are cutting plywood and you try to follow a chalk line, you end up with more curves than a beauty contest. They are utterly useless. The only way we could cut a straight line was to bump up against another sheet of plywood. This was a crew of professional carpenters working on a dam. Easily over a hundred years of experience. California framers like them because of their power, you drop it on the stud and it's cut, but framers are notoriously rough and ready carpenters. They are quick, though. A much better balanced and controllable saw is the copy of the old Skilsaw 535, the Makita 5007. You can build kitchen cabinets with them, many a carpenter has, including me.

 

[mkrug001]

@Rabid Badger - What about someone else who is looking for the answer to the same question?

 

[Farmall450]

It has been almost 10 years since anyone posted in this thread. I think it's safe to say they've figured out what kind of saw to get by now.

Well over ten years...

 

[Rabid Badger]

@Rabid Badger - What about someone else who is looking for the answer to the same question?

They can find the thread the same way you did. Bumping an ancient thread doesn't make it any easier to find.

 

[bob15]

Depends what you are using the worm drive for. If you are cutting steel, they are a good tool, but if you are cutting plywood and you try to follow a chalk line, you end up with more curves than a beauty contest. They are utterly useless. The only way we could cut a straight line was to bump up against another sheet of plywood. This was a crew of professional carpenters working on a dam. Easily over a hundred years of experience. California framers like them because of their power, you drop it on the stud and it's cut, but framers are notoriously rough and ready carpenters. They are quick, though. A much better balanced and controllable saw is the copy of the old Skilsaw 535, the Makita 5007. You can build kitchen cabinets with them, many a carpenter has, including me.

So what you're saying is youor your crew cannot cut a straight line with a worm drive saw?

I find worm drive saws to be the easiest saw to operate and to cut straight with.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Yeah, a crew of eight of highly experienced carpenters. The position of the handle is critical on a Skilsaw , on the 77 it's too far back. This means because of the leverage, a small movement will cause a larger movement at the blades edge. Nor can a handle be too far forward and above like the old B&D homeowner POS. Great for picking it up in the store not so good for control. The old Rockwell and Milwaukee's with vertical post design also brought the control hand off the ideal position by lifting it up.

I guess if you clamp the wood down and use two hands..........

 

[Wamsutta]

The worm drive is way overkill for the weekend woodworker / family handyman type. These saws are heavy, produce A LOT OF torque, are made to rip through sheet after sheet of plywood all day long. They also require more maintenance than a your typical circular saw (require oil changes). I made the mistake of buying a worm drive first and had to get a circular after I learned from experience. I love the worm drive and I will not part with it mostly because its cool and the model I have is highly sought after (old school / made in the USA version). Save yourself some money if you're doing lighter duty cutting and get a high quality regular circular saw.

Last I checked, there's no law against overkill.

 

[Farmall450]

Last I checked, there's no law against overkill.

Google 'Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986'

 

[KnurledNut]

I find worm drive saws to be the easiest saw to operate and to cut straight with.

 

[the intimidator]

to the people who can't cut straight with a worm drive or can't figure out how to drop a piece of cut wood on the left or right without using both hands and a clamp! might I suggest a safer occupation/hobby such as padded room tester or straight jacket fitment tester hahaha work drives are the cats *** for any serious framing or renovations. great line of sight with the blade on the proper side without leaning over the saw (for right handed operators) enough torque and strength to rip lvl's for hours and most importantly their cool and macho if that's you're thing I wouldn't trade my old skillsaw for any sidewinder made

 

[jgromada]

I too have several circular saws. I have a Skil HD77 which is a bit heavy but if you are cutting framing lumber it is the best. So like if you are making a bunch of trusses and a bunch of wall sections it is set up and there is sort of a production going on. It excels at this heavy duty production type stuff.

I also have a a Skil sidewinder in magnesium. Nice saw, much lighter and if i have to carry it up on the ladder to make a cut it is my preference.

There are other saws i have to do particular tasks. Like i had a bunch of flooring to cut and one has a flooring blade in it. and another is best set up for plywood panels.

I think my Skil sidewinder was the most expensive at $100, my Worm drive was $25 at a yard sale (w case!) , The other saws were maybe $15 each.

I like my worm drive Skil but it is too heavy to use all the time. I'm doing a bunch of trim cutting recently and i had found an old Ryobi 6 1/2 cordless saw for like $15. That works great for the trim work, don't even have to plug it in!

 

[2oolhound]

My worm drive is my favorite for general use. The battery dewalt is second for quick one cut tasks. I have a few sidewinders I keep a brick blade on one and a cross cut on the other.

 

[Wamsutta]

I think it's funny as heck the panel saw at the HD store I work at has to have a work order put in to change the blade. Meanwhile, 10 feet away from the saw are a whole bunch of Diablo 7-1/4'' blades hanging up on peg hooks. The panel saw uses a worm drive Skil as the actual saw. Those Diablo blades would work beautifully. That's corporate red tape for you.

 

[dnschmidt]

As a matter of fact Bosch no longer owns Skilsaw they sold it to the Chinese. The same company that owns Flex (which is a top of the line German brand) now owns Skilsaw.

 

[bob15]

As a matter of fact Bosch no longer owns Skilsaw they sold it to the Chinese. The same company that owns Flex (which is a top of the line German brand) now owns Skilsaw.

Just to add, a company called Chervon bought Skil.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-chervon-skil-naperville-0225-biz-20170224-story.html

http://global.chervongroup.com/

 

[seber]

As a professional carpenter (many years ago) I used both types. Sidewinder for cutoff and worm drive for panel sawing. They each excel at one or the other. Now I have a worm drive outfitted with metal cutting abrasive blade. The abrasive doesn't bother the 77 like it would a sidewinder.

 

[lardy1]

Although they seem to have no shortage of lovers, I never liked worm drives. I spent over 30 years as a working carpenter (multiple aspects, never a dedicated framer for very long) and I could never figure out why anyone would want to handle those heavy things all day.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

A carpenter after my own heart. As young guy, I never noticed the weight factor, but the middle aged carpenters certainly mentioned that in which brands of skilsaws were their favourites.

A worm drive is a great tool for cutting expanded metal, in fact I can't think of a better one. See they do have their uses.

 

[iamrfixit]

I've got a skil 77 and a Makita hypoid, used the skil most of the time. On the makita the brake only works about half the time, been that way since right after the warranty ran out. Also have a couple regular corded saws, haven't used them in a while.

Just got the Dewalt 60v worm drive, it's gonna be my new favorite. Caught it on sale with 9.0 battery, charger and a free bare tool for $322. I got the standard 60v circular saw two years ago and I've used it for most everything. Missed the left blade and the longer form of a worm drive so this is gonna be great.

 

[Farmall450]

I've got a skil 77 and a Makita hypoid, used the skil most of the time. On the makita the brake only works about half the time, been that way since right after the warranty ran out. Also have a couple regular corded saws, haven't used them in a while.

Just got the Dewalt 60v worm drive, it's gonna be my new favorite. Caught it on sale with 9.0 battery, charger and a free bare tool for $322. I got the standard 60v circular saw two years ago and I've used it for most everything. Missed the left blade and the longer form of a worm drive so this is gonna be great.

That saw killed a Skil 77 when wranglerstar put them side by side ripping ~20' lumber.

 

[iamrfixit]

That saw killed a Skil 77 when wranglerstar put them side by side ripping ~20' lumber.

Wow! I had to go hunt down the video, I've always liked my old 77, thought it was a beast.

I've only made a couple test cuts with this so far, but I love the thing. I've got several other 60v tools and I've been thoroughly impressed with every one of them. The 20v stuff is excellent, but these are like having a cord.

 

[Farmall450]

Wow! I had to go hunt down the video, I've always liked my old 77, thought it was a beast.

I've only made a couple test cuts with this so far, but I love the thing. I've got several other 60v tools and I've been thoroughly impressed with every one of them. The 20v stuff is excellent, but these are like having a cord.

Me too, I was amazed at how it destroyed that Skill 77.

 

[tarasichka]

They can find the thread the same way you did. Bumping an ancient thread doesn't make it any easier to find.

Bumping it made this thread the first one I stumbled across in a search.
Clearly bumping does make it easier.

 

[Hakeem]

Worm drive saws have the advantage of a motor oriented parallel to the blade. The gyroscopic forces that are produced resist turning and lead to a straighter cut. Same thing is at play with an angle grinder … fire one up and move it around, you’ll immediately notice how it resists moving in some directions.

I love Skilsaw for the heritage, the long reach, the easily visible cut line, the ability to easily cut lumber propped up off one’s foot, and the aforementioned ‘stability control’ you get from the orientation from the motor.

 

[rust in the eye]

Without doubt, the best worm drive saw is the Skil HD77 in Magnesium. If it doesn't have the power to cut it, nothing will. And the magnesium case is durable and lightweight. It far outclasses the Bosch and Craftsman competitors. Also, many of the saws that look like a worm drive are actually a bevel or hypoid drive (e.g. the Makita version). Not nearly as durable, and not nearly as powerful.

Agreed

 

[TommyK]

I framed for years using a 6 1/2 inch Black & Decker 3050 worm drive. Lighter and slightly more compact than a 77 which I have also used extensively. Much prefer the B&D. I still have both.

 

[Git]

All worm drive saws are not created equal! Porter Cable 314 (4 1/2" blade)