Power Saws Reviews

This saw may be lighter but at the expense of strenght. Any saw will get damaged if it is used/abused, but this saw's foot plate (shoe?) is easily damaged if not treated with kid gloves. If you use a speed square to ride the edge of the shoe along for cross cuts, or you like to use the v-cut in the front for rips like I do then you know how important it is that it be in alignment (paralel)with the blade. The shoe on this saw will not take much of a bump before it gets out of alignment. Not only that, but because the shoe is made from aluminum, the bottom of the shoe scratches easily and will then leave marks on the wood that you are cutting; especially bad if you are trimming a door. I like the color, and yes it's a little lighter, but the saw that has proven throught the test of time is still the Skil HD77.

I have owned one of these for ten years, and a have cut everything you can think of from soft wood, to metal, to asphault and concrete this`saw is virtually indestructable.

I work construction and do plenty of research on tools. Skil currently makes less then par products, but with this exception. This saw is the industry standard. I see the MAG77 and the regular HD77 on every constructon site. I like the HD77 because it is a little heavier then the MAG77 due to the casing, which means no kickback and a stonger, more solid feel. Both saws are incredible and either purchase is an investment. Buy this saw if you plan on cutting a lot of lumber.

I'm a finish carpenter and I use this saw for multiple applications, from cutting the bottom of jambs to shaving a bent post back to square. It's come in handy for so many different jobs - demo to finish - that I wouldn't be caught without it. I would highly recommend this tool to anyone who works with wood.

I love this tool it saved me from getting a crain cutter to do door jambs yes it is not as quick but i like the control of it and i have seen to many people hurt themselves with those dam sidewinder type flush cut saws. i perfer this type of saw plus i feel it leaves a cleaner cut with less patch work to the adjacent molding.

as good as the saw it for jambs i like that this thing has other uses and doesn't just sit in the truck and only get used once in awhile. for $100 it seems to do twice as much work as a crain cutter.

This can be used in many ways from cutting door jambs to mitering corners. Great tool. Great idea. Much more control than sawsall. I used it the other day to chop off some stair balasters the first day I got and it worked perfect. be careful tho of kickbacks when cutting in tight locations.

I have been wanting a Powermatic 66 for over 25 years but until now had to make do with a much cheaper table saw sold by a popular chain store/catalog outfit. That saw did the job, but shook like Elvis Presley and could not be properly adjusted. Well, I have my Powermatic now, and I'm very pleased, but putting it together has been frustrating. Buyers should be aware that they are really buying a "kit" - not only is some assembly required, but some correction of manufacturing faults may be needed. The first (and biggest) problem I encountered was that the left extension wing tilted up when bolted to the table, leaving a low spot of 0.02 inch when a Starrett straight edge was laid across the assembled table. Not good! The cause was that the left edge of the main table section was not ground square with the top. Correcting this bit of sloppiness required three hours of hand fitting with a machinist's scraper and square. The second principal difficulty was discovered after frustrating hour trying to mount the front rail according to instructions. I finally realized that it could not be done because of inadequate clearance in the mounting holes. Drilling and filing fixed this. The third problem had me baffled for awhile: With the blade tilt stops set accurately at 0 and 45 degrees, the pointer could be set to register correctly at 0 or 45, but not both! After some thought, I realized that the scale had been mounted too close to the pointer. This was corrected by drilling a new mounting hole for one of the screws.

After three days of work, the saw is finally up and running. It's been too much work, but I'm going to love this saw. On the plus side, I did not have to adjust the table to put the blade parallel with the miter gauge groove. Also, vibration is minimal. I can start the saw with a nickel balanced on edge (but not a penny). Most importantly, the trunions are pretty much dead on. Measuring from the same tooth to the miter gauge grove, the distance varies no more than 0.004 inch between front and back (blade all the way up) and middle (blade down). Also, using a Starrett machinist's square, perpendicularity between blade and miter gauge shows no perceptible change as the blade is raised or lowered. These tolerances are critical because poor machining could have created errors that cannot be adjusted out (as I had with my old saw). Now that the saw is together, my only remaining complaint is that there is a low frequency (2-3 second) harmonic noise of undetermined origin. I'm sure this is the best saw available for the money, but I would have gladly spent another $100-200 for just a little extra care in machining and assembly.

and this is a fine tool. I have owned two 66's over the years and have yet to have a complaint. Thank goodness they are still being made. They are heavy,which makes them very stable, (be sure to have a lift truck deliver it). But, if you want to do accurate and fine woodworking you need this saw.

I ordered the saw a few weeks ago on Amazon. Delivery took a while, as the freight company had to lug it across the country. Finally scheduled the delivery -- freight company was very easy to deal with and put it on a liftgate truck with no hassles. You'll want this service, by the way -- unless you happen to have a forklift in your garage.

No surprise - The pallet is *heavy*. Took about an hour to uncrate and take off all the easy-to-remove weight. That leaves about 400 pounds. Tip: if you have to move it far (such as I did, down to a basement workshop), rent a handtruck like those used for moving refrigerators. With the handtruck and three guys, it was an easy move.

Pretty much everything was dead-on accurate out of the box. Once hooked up to power (remember you have to supply your own power cord), it cuts smoothly and cleanly. The trunion moves incredibly easily, especially considering its weight -- but doesn't budge once locked in place.

All in all, it was worth the wait (and the weight)! Highly recommended.

As a petite woman and DIYer I needed a saw that was easy to use and control. I was given this saw as a gift and it has been great.

The original Skilsaw is the classic tough wormdrive saw, and has never been equaled for longevity or durability by any other circular saw. In fact, I would say this saw's greatest competition is older versions of the same model - since they never seem to break, at least when maintained and operated properly.

My own Skilsaw was an older 77, it lay battered and dusty in a used tool shop where contractors often dump tools to rust and die. It cost all of $70, complete with broken top handle and torn power cord. I replaced the cord and handle, cleaned the motor and put in fresh lubricant and have been cutting away ever since (10 years now). It cuts like a new saw. I have only used wood and masonry blades on it, no breakdowns, no problems. It is virtually impossible to overheat this thing as long as you are using a proper gauge extension cord and change the lubricant. Best power tool I own.

I'm a builder and without a doubt, this is the most powerful "hand tool" I bring to a job site. It's also the scariest tool and I cringe when a novice grabs this thing thinking that it's a run of the mill circular saw. I have a 30+ year old Craftsman circular that doesn't know when to quit, but when the going gets tough, I bring out the worm drive. It's heavy, but that means that you only have to guide the beast and not push it. Buy good blades. Use it for trimming just one large deck and it's already paid for itself, but be careful and don't forget to change the oil.

This is a nice saw for the money, no problems with it. I've had one project where I wish I had a 12-inch saw or sliding miter, otherwise this works for everything around the house from chopping 2x4's to fine trim work. It's light and easily moved too. The blade that comes with it is OK and works for trim work, but it would be nice if an 80-tooth blade was included!

I've had this saw for a couple of years. It is a great saw that has never bogged down or been at a loss for power. The horizontal handle is superb. The blade is not that bad either, however it did splinter some oak & some plywood I recently cut. The only drawback is the size. I recently had to cut some shelves that were 9" wide; too big for the saw. I wish I had the 10" sliding saw (36-240). If you plan to keep your projects small to medium sized this is an excellent saw. ! If you are doing larger projects, i.e. shelves, bookcases, etc. then invest in the Delta Sidekick 36-240 sliding miter saw. I have also added a LaserKerf to mine, which is a great addition ...Over all, this saw is phenomenal for the price and I am going to continue to buy Delta products.

Excellent tool. Easy to assemble and the manual makes it easy to learn how to use. Comes with a very good blade and the side and back extensions are a great asset. The tool is easy to learn and use and is very well finished. Spending more money would be a waste of time.

This saw is great to use, cuts like butter and is very quite. The only thing I would change about this saw is the safety trigger, it's in an awkward position. specially for a lefty's. Get the saw happy cutting.

I cannot recommend this product enough - good price, arrived on time, highly accurate tool. It would have been the perfect transaction if I had received the nailer I sent all the rebate info in towards!!!(see Kevin Graham's review, as well). Having waited now four months, I have sent an email to Hatachi since I know Amazon to be useless in these situations. For lack of any other real recourse, my second option is to send a letter to Hatachi's company president, Kazuo Furukawa. Unfortunately this is not the first time I have been stung on an Amazon advertised rebate.

I am totally happy with my new Hitachi saw but I want to warn others about Hitachi's failure to honor their rebate offer of a free nailer ($100 value) when purchasing this saw last fall. Last fall, I sent in complete paperwork for the rebate within the prescribed period. I heard nothing for about three months. In early March I sent a second copy of my rebate materials to Hitachi. Yesterday (after about a month) I received my second rebate application returned to me unopened and stamped "Offer expired". Like the previous reviewer, I think Amazon needs to know this is happening. My initial reaction when I saw the "free nailer" offer was this is too good to be true. I was right.

This is my first and last table saw! Easy to set up and cuts perfectly with little to no adjusting right out of the crate. The moble base is an excellent accessory that make it easy to roll to the side when not in use. You will not go wrong ordering this saw. Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed. Excellent customer service from Delta. The only problem that I had was with the Biesemyer fence. Seems that Biesemyer had a bad production run on the rails that fit this saw. Called Biesemyer and they sent a new set of rails without delay. If you have problems with the holes not aligning up with the table saw, let Biesemyer know. Other than that, excellent buy!

this is a great tool. It may often be more than you actually need, but I can't imagine it ever being less than exceptional. If you have the room and the money, I would not hesitate to buy this saw.

You will want to consider where you will put it and how you will get it there. With the 50" fence it is very big, and your 220V needs to be located correctly so the cord can reach and you are not tripping on it. These are things I did not think clear through before the saw arrived and I should have. The other thing to think about is that it is extremely heavy, and it ships in effectively one piece. I needed a lot of help getting it into a basement shop, and after I got it there I decided I could never move. Assembly is simple, and everything is rock solid. After you have it in place, all that weight (and the associated power) is a wonderfull thing.

I am very happy with the fence, and have no complaints about the mobile base, though if the floor is not level, it does not have much clearance when you are moving the saw.

Delta really thought about the entire package when they put this together. Not only do you get one great saw, but they include the mobile base, a great blade, the table board, and the zero clearance table insert. They have taken all of the guess work out of buying multiple items for a saw and wrapped it into one package. ...

It you're comtemplating over a smaller contractors saw for your shop or a cabinet saw, go with the cabinet saw if you have the room, you won't be disappointed. I was so close to buying a Delta contractors saw, I'm glad I laid out the additional funds and went with the cabinet saw.

The saw is heavy, you need one or two friends to get the saw off of the skid and onto the mobile base and a friend to help you align the cast iron extension wings. Other than that the saw can be put together by one person. It took me about 5 hours total, working over a couple of days to get it together. The saw cuts straight and true and needed very little initial alignment. The fence made by Besymeiser is the best, you can't go wrong with it. I've added the Delta outfeed table to it (see review), and would highly recommend adding some kind of outfeed table to the saw to make cutting long board that much more easier.

Overall I am very happy with the saw, it is the backbone of my shop.

I Would buy another Delta cabinet saw if I had to, but I believe I'll never have to replace this saw.

This is an excellent chainsaw with plenty of power. You don't waste time priming and filling up with gas as with a gas chainsaw.

Works great.
Almost as good as my gas saw but far more reliable.

I've been very happy with this chainsaw. I've been using it for 3 months to cut piles of oak trees into firewood. It has plenty of power for my purposes and it looks and feels like a quality product. It's certainly quieter, cleaner, and more user-friendly than a comparable gas chainsaw. I'll buy this same chainsaw again if the one I have ever dies on me.

easy to use, blade changing is simple, heavy duty for most all home jobs, great ergonomics , excellent tool for the price.

This saw is the one tool everyone needs to have...it's the tool that seems like it can cut anything that needs to be cut, except maybe for mouldings. So much power, light-weight, blade changes are way easier than they used to be, and it's an American-made Milwaukee so you know it'll last. Enough said.

I had used recip saws over the years, but never enough to really justify purchasing one, or so I thought. That all changed when I got the 10-amp Sawzall listed here. I've found this saw to be useful for all sorts of home improvement cutting chores.

This tool is very smooth, quite a bit less vibration than I have experienced with other recip saws. All the Milwaukee blades I have tried are high quality and work well. Ten amps is more than enough power for what I need, and this models seems to be a nice compromise in weight/power.

I avoided the big box stores after hearing stories of 'price-leader' models, and went to a tool dealer to get a reconditioned version. My 'remanufactured' Sawzall appeared to have never been used. No breakage, no complaints in the two years I've owned it.

I'm not a brand snob - at least when it comes to deciding between the larger, reputable name brands, and have had good luck with Makita drills and saws in particular. But honestly it never occurred to me to buy anything other than a real Sawzall. Like the original Skilsaw, they're just that good.

Read all the reviews here and decided to give it a try. The saw I previously used was a 20 years old SKIL saw. Let me tell you,this saw doesn't hold a handle to the old SKIL. It sounds like any other cheap saw from Harbor Freight (kind of rocks instead of bearings feeling). Besides, a pretty strong vibration would come and go while you are cutting. I don't know what I'm going to choose next, one thing I know for sure, I'm not going to keep this saw. The hight adjustment leaver got jammed and it took all my strength to loosen it. Bottom line, it would be a good $30 saw, not a $130 one.

well. The saw is powerful, and fairly lightweight. Not jumpy either, very smooth. The case is clown-shoes big and the adjustable handle is a bit stiff, but overall a worthwhile investment and a good deal at that. (this review is for "left blade" consumers only. I cannot speak for the other side.)
And I am over the age of 13. Really.

Good strong saw, 2 things bother me though, 1 made in mexico, 2 the saw slides around in the case and seems to be a circular saw / router case, not a standard saw case with slots to hold extra blades or small parts.