Circular saw or sawzall?

I have $105 store credit to Home Depot. Should I pick up a circular saw or sawzall. The regular ones. Not fuel. I currently have fuel drill and driver and jigsaw at home.

Spend it on something else or save up for the fuel models.  Both of those are pretty high draw tools that benefit a lot from brushless motors and brushed saws are generally a bit underpowered.

We talking corded or cordless? Corded I’d get the base model sawzall that is on sale for that price.

No way I’d settle for less than brushless on either of those.

you can get the flood light for 80 bucks

Stercorarius wrote:

We talking corded or cordless? Corded I’d get the base model sawzall that is on sale for that price.

Both would be the M18 ones

JimboS1ice wrote:

you can get the flood light for 80 bucks

I was actually gonna do that haha. But they said the sale ended?

I have the following. Should I be thinking more than just the circ saw and sawzall? The fuel circ saw def was nicer than the regular one. But not sure about $130 nicer.

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I’d say circular saw first for sure. FUEL is nice but the regular M18 is still a nice tool, especially if you don’t use it everyday.

I’d agree on the above and get the circular saw, it’s general more useful for your every day use. Unless you’re planning on doing a lot of demolition or related work, I’d get the circular saw.

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Never laid hands on the brushed model but the fuel models feel like corded power

Jimbo

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Buy a $26 handsaw and $80 of Gatorade.

Fuel circ saw. You’ll be glad you spent the extra money. Or you could do the M18 hackzall… I love it!

Great advice guys. There is a $200 6.5″ fuel circ saw and an 7.5″ for like $230 the smaller one should be more then sufficient right? I already have a corded circular saw so I’m not sure if I would need 2 or I’ll like to fuel one so much I won’t use a corded one again? But the closest thing I have to a sawzall is my Milwaukee M18 jigsaw. due to money constraints currently I’m trying to make the best decision. The majority of work is around my home. Drywall work, electrical, repairs to deck, putting floor in attic above garage, etc

Is everyone saying that from the brushed circ saw to the fuel one (both 6.5″ blades) there is a huge dif, but from brushed to fuel sawzall it’s not that much dif?

I haven’t touched any of my corded recips since getting the Fuel Sawzall when it first came out. I doubt a pro user would consider the brushed one close. I’m also pretty sure the brushed is more than adequate for average DIY use. I would think a DIY’er would get more use out of a circular saw than they would a fullsize recip.

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I don’t notice a difference between my Fuel sawzall or the 13 amp corded ones we use at work. I also don’t notice a difference between my 6.5″ Fuel circ saw and the corded Makita sidewinder we have use at work (6.5, the beam saw is a different story haha). I would go for circular saw. Recip saws are more suited to demo.

olletsocmit wrote:

Great advice guys. There is a $200 6.5″ fuel circ saw and an 7.5″ for like $230 the smaller one should be more then sufficient right? I already have a corded circular saw so I’m not sure if I would need 2 or I’ll like to fuel one so much I won’t use a corded one again? But the closest thing I have to a sawzall is my Milwaukee M18 jigsaw. due to money constraints currently I’m trying to make the best decision. The majority of work is around my home. Drywall work, electrical, repairs to deck, putting floor in attic above garage, etc

I have the 6 1/2 and I love it, more than enough power, I haven’t used my corded one in months. Unless your cutting plywood stacks you won’t really notice the difference in size

Jimbo

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olletsocmit wrote:

3 hours ago, olletsocmit said:

I’ll like to fuel one so much I won’t use a corded one again!  ?

Fixed that for ya

JimboS1ice wrote:

I have the 6 1/2 and I love it, more than enough power, I haven’t used my corded one in months. Unless your cutting plywood stacks you won’t really notice the difference in size

Jimbo

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Thanks Jimbo for your advice as always . so looks like I’ve decided on the fuel circular saw there’s two options there’s the 6 1/2 fuel and the 7 1/4 one. The seven the half inch it’s 35 bucks more but I don’t want to go over kill because you can always add 35 bucks and keep getting more expensive.

Everyone, Should I get the 6.5 or 7.25 on?? Is one better? Not cutting anything thicker then 2×4’s

6.5 is more than enough, the only time you notice the difference is cutting stacks of plywood. I have the 6 1/2″ and I love it, great saw!

Only difference is the blade orientation, 6 1/2″ blade is left, 7 1/4″ is blade right… That comes down to preference as well

Jimbo

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And even then, you can’t cut stacks of plywood indefinitely on 18V saws anyway, because the battery heats too much. 

I would say that most people (not chippes) will hardly pick up a corded saw again after getting a FUEL circ or recip. And just keep an eye out for a super cheap corded unit from a garage sale / craigslist if you want a backup.

I’ve heard here that the regular M18 recip isn’t that good, but never used it myself.

dwain wrote:

And even then, you can’t cut stacks of plywood indefinitely on 18V saws anyway, because the battery heats too much. 

 

I would say that most people (not chippes) will hardly pick up a corded saw again after getting a FUEL circ or recip. And just keep an eye out for a super cheap corded unit from a garage sale / craigslist if you want a backup.

 

I’ve heard here that the regular M18 recip isn’t that good, but never used it myself.

True words dwain! Heard the same about the non-fuel. Get a worm drive for stacks but can still be done if you don’t need a whole lot cut

Jimbo

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OK guys so I ended up just picking up the 6 1/2 fuel circular saw they were willing to give me the 7 1/4″ one for basically the same price as the 6 1/2″one… I can still do it tomorrow if I want but I think for my situation to 6 1/2 is more than perfect! The bigger one was quite a bit heavier and didn’t balance as well as the smaller one either way it’s a fuel circular saw. Please comment am I going to regret it?? So the 6 1/2 fuel circular saw was $200 and then they took 10% off for me. So I ended up 180 for it not sure if it’s a great deal or not. For about $10 bucks more I could get the bigger one but I guess beggars not always better right 😉

olletsocmit wrote:

1 minute ago, olletsocmit said:

OK guys so I ended up just picking up the 6 1/2 fuel circular saw they were willing to give me the 7 1/4″ one for basically the same price as the 6 1/2″one… I can still do it tomorrow if I want but I think for my situation to 6 1/2 is more than perfect! The bigger one was quite a bit heavier and didn’t balance as well as the smaller one either way it’s a fuel circular saw. Please comment am I going to regret it?? So the 6 1/2 fuel circular saw was $200 and then they took 10% off for me. So I ended up 180 for it not sure if it’s a great deal or not. For about $10 bucks more I could get the bigger one but I guess beggars not always better right 😉

awesome saw, I too felt the 7 1/4 was heavy and not much more cutting ability compared to the extra weight…

comp56 wrote:

awesome saw, I too felt the 7 1/4 was heavy and not much more cutting ability compared to the extra weight…

The one thing I did notice and hopefully someone can clear this up is that on the 7 1/4 there was a cut out at the back of the guard that covers the top of the blade. where the saw dust shoots out. on this one there is no cut out where does the sawdust come out just everywhere instead of being directed to one place?

Great choice with the 6 1/2″ I prefer blade left and the portability and power of that saw

Jimbo

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The 7.25 does have much better dust ejection than the 6.5. By that I mean it actually has some, my 6.5 is just a saw dust cloud

^^ thats annoying that Milwaukee don’t provide all the right accessories (dust chute) for their saws.

I too like the weight, feel and blade side of the 6.5″

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I don’t mean to keep beating a dead horse but I’m still really on the fence about this 6.5 vs 7 1/4″ saw. Just was when looking for a blade for it today there was only two at Home Depot that fit and both of them were junk …as far as the bigger one, there must’ve been about 20 choices. I stopped to talk to the Milwaukee rep when he saw me today about the circ saws in general and he said the 6 1/2 gets about 180 cuts and the 7 1/4 gets over 300 when cutting 2×4’s.

On another site it said that the 6 1/2 fuel is around three years old and the 7 1/4 is about a year so the tech in the bigger one is better and allows it to get almost 3 cuts?

I’m usually not like this tools

I am seriously skeptical of that claim re: runtime. The motors look identical to me, though perhaps the included batteries in the kits are different.

How often do you change your blade? I hardly ever change mine, and have a backup from when i saw a good deal on a 6.5″ anyway. Amazon is your friend 🙂

You’ll have much more blade options in the 7 1/4, I run a 40t Diablo on a 6 1/2, now your making me want the bigger fuel lol

Jimbo

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dwain wrote:

18 minutes ago, dwain said:

I am seriously skeptical of that claim re: runtime. The motors look identical to me, though perhaps the included batteries in the kits are different.

 

How often do you change your blade? I hardly ever change mine, and have a backup from when i saw a good deal on a 6.5″ anyway. Amazon is your friend 🙂

I change mine back and forth between a 40t finish and the new 24t framing Diablo. I’m going to be doing some composite decking and will prob pick up a blade for that too. It’s true you don’t switch blades THAT often but it’s super nice to have a huge choice to go to when you walk into any HD, or whatever they use down under ? That being said the blade my 7-1/4 fuel came with was kinda meh and the new Diablo framing blades cut so well it almost feels like they’re cutting balsa, even wet pressure treated…

Does anyone think it’s true that the 7 1/4 can get almost double the cuts with a larger blade too? I don’t care about that as much, cutting almost 200 2×4’s on a single battery is plenty haha. But thoughts were about the power of the 7 1/4 and how much stronger and what the smaller one can’t cut that the bigger can

The 6 1/2″ is no slouch, fricken beast of a saw

Jimbo

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There’s no perfect saw. Sounds like ur looking for reasons to get the 7 1/4. If that’s so then get it and enjoy. My co-worker just bought the 7 1/4 and loves it and so do I, but my preference is with the size and blade side so I ordered the 6 1/2 and am happy to say I’ll be officially switched over to the red side!

Just used the shit out of the thing… Looks like 6.5″ is perfect!

olletsocmit wrote:

3 hours ago, olletsocmit said:

Does anyone think it’s true that the 7 1/4 can get almost double the cuts with a larger blade too? I don’t care about that as much, cutting almost 200 2×4’s on a single battery is plenty haha. But thoughts were about the power of the 7 1/4 and how much stronger and what the smaller one can’t cut that the bigger can

Double is a lot. The bigger blade alone will use more power even with no load but it is a little newer and they probably made some advances in the time between the 6.5 introduction and the 7-1/4 coming out. I don’t buy the idea they use the same motor but I doubt it gets 2x’s the cuts, the 6.5 fuel was one of the best if not the best cordless circ saw until the 7-1/4 came out. You figure if it was all the same internally essentially they would have just released a 7-1/4 from the get go as they would have already had class leading performance with the larger blade. That all being said I think Milwaukee’s lineup of brushless circ saws is impressive from the 5-3/8 to the 6-1/2 to the 7-1/4… You really can’t go wrong with any as long as you like the blade handedness and it cuts the depth you need.

Thanks@JerryNY good stuff. Yea I just looked and the7 1/4″ has some newer parts. Def not same inside. It had a higher # stator (basically the main part of the motor) bigger means more could and more power, etc. but regardless all it offers is more power, a tad deeper cutting, more cutting time, etc. as long as it can cut plywood and 2×4’s I’m good!

FWIW I used my Fuel 7 1/4 for the first time yesterday. Got it for free when I bought my OneKey kit. Anyway, It tore through the 3/4 and 1/2 Baltic birch plywood that I was cutting. Even with the framing blade that came with it, there was zero tearout. There was a very tiny bit of what I would describe as feathering at the edge, but that would have been gone had I used some masking tape on the exit side of the wood. Anyway, when you start cutting, the saw sounds like a corded model. The blade speed is similar and the saw has plenty of power. I was amazed at just how easy and quick it went through the 3/4″

Before I got the Milwaukee Fuel I had the new Ridgid brushless. The Ridgid saw had an RPM of like 4,000 vs the Milwaukee which is like 5,000+. You can tell the difference in cutting as it is like night and day.

If I had the balance to use I would keep saving and grab the fuel version of either. The brushless motors really do provide a bunch more power.

MikeInCtown wrote:

FWIW I used my Fuel 7 1/4 for the first time yesterday. Got it for free when I bought my OneKey kit. Anyway, It tore through the 3/4 and 1/2 Baltic birch plywood that I was cutting. Even with the framing blade that came with it, there was zero tearout. There was a very tiny bit of what I would describe as feathering at the edge, but that would have been gone had I used some masking tape on the exit side of the wood. Anyway, when you start cutting, the saw sounds like a corded model. The blade speed is similar and the saw has plenty of power. I was amazed at just how easy and quick it went through the 3/4″

 

Before I got the Milwaukee Fuel I had the new Ridgid brushless. The Ridgid saw had an RPM of like 4,000 vs the Milwaukee which is like 5,000+. You can tell the difference in cutting as it is like night and day.

 

If I had the balance to use I would keep saving and grab the fuel version of either. The brushless motors really do provide a bunch more power.

Yea you don’t lose rpm with the fuel, I have the ridgid as well rpm is 3500 for the brushless 3400 for the brush and it’ll drop rpms. Fuel saws are really great machines regardless of size

Jimbo

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Try replacing that stock blade with a Diablo; you can buy two of the new ones for $10. You won’t believe the difference it makes. The stock one isn’t horrible but the Diablo’s just slices through stuff with so little effort it even makes the battery seem 50% bigger.  Remember a mediocre blade is exactly the same as having mediocre tires on a great car. If where the rubber meets the road is sub par all performance will suffer, no way around it.  Heck, I have a 40 tooth Diablo finish blade and I think it cuts with less effort than the OEM blade the saw came with. 

MikeInCtown wrote:

33 minutes ago, MikeInCtown said:

FWIW I used my Fuel 7 1/4 for the first time yesterday. Got it for free when I bought my OneKey kit. Anyway, It tore through the 3/4 and 1/2 Baltic birch plywood that I was cutting. Even with the framing blade that came with it, there was zero tearout. There was a very tiny bit of what I would describe as feathering at the edge, but that would have been gone had I used some masking tape on the exit side of the wood. Anyway, when you start cutting, the saw sounds like a corded model. The blade speed is similar and the saw has plenty of power. I was amazed at just how easy and quick it went through the 3/4″

 

Before I got the Milwaukee Fuel I had the new Ridgid brushless. The Ridgid saw had an RPM of like 4,000 vs the Milwaukee which is like 5,000+. You can tell the difference in cutting as it is like night and day.

 

If I had the balance to use I would keep saving and grab the fuel version of either. The brushless motors really do provide a bunch more power.

Tear out and feathering are much less if you go with a 40t finish blade, I used one to make some cuts on a maple kitchen cabinet to fit a gas range top and it left such a smooth edge I didn’t even need to sand it. The edge wasn’t going to really show but it was painted and you never want to chip the edge and start having the finish be compromised and crack along a chip. If you do lots of plywood it’s not a bad idea to go with a higher tooth blade because the saw isn’t struggling much with the shallow depth so you can afford to add a little drag with more teeth and get a nicer cut…

JerryNY wrote:

1 hour ago, JerryNY said:

 

Tear out and feathering are much less if you go with a 40t finish blade, I used one to make some cuts on a maple kitchen cabinet to fit a gas range top and it left such a smooth edge I didn’t even need to sand it. The edge wasn’t going to really show but it was painted and you never want to chip the edge and start having the finish be compromised and crack along a chip. If you do lots of plywood it’s not a bad idea to go with a higher tooth blade because the saw isn’t struggling much with the shallow depth so you can afford to add a little drag with more teeth and get a nicer cut…

I’m very aware of how saw blades work. (as well as masking tape to control any chipping or tearout) I can honestly say that even with the factory framing blade, you weren’t going to do better with a blade with more teeth unless you used masking tape. The only time I’ve seen a better edge on wood without tape is on my old Unisaw with a zero clearance insert.

The point of my post was that the saw is amazing, and especially so against the brushless Ridgid model that I used cutting up laminated pressboard and MDF. The Ridgid would bog some as I cut while the Milwaukee cut as fast as I could push the saw. The battery may not last as long in the Milwaukee as in the Ridgid but that extra RPM more than makes up for the loss of battery life. If I hadn’t gotten the saw for free, I think it is worth their asking price. (and who knows, maybe they’ll offer a free battery promotion or something soon)

Oh, and one more thing… The Ridgid threw sawdust EVERYFREAKINGWHERE while the Milwaukee guided the sawdust mostly through the port that was designed to throw the sawdust.

Masking tapes helps for sure but if tear out is any consideration at all a higher tooth blade is in order.  Not only teeth but quality too. My Diablo framing blades are thinner kerf and have way less tear out because they cut more efficiently and with less friction than the stock blade.

MikeInCtown wrote:

I’m very aware of how saw blades work. (as well as masking tape to control any chipping or tearout) I can honestly say that even with the factory framing blade, you weren’t going to do better with a blade with more teeth unless you used masking tape. The only time I’ve seen a better edge on wood without tape is on my old Unisaw with a zero clearance insert.

 

The point of my post was that the saw is amazing, and especially so against the brushless Ridgid model that I used cutting up laminated pressboard and MDF. The Ridgid would bog some as I cut while the Milwaukee cut as fast as I could push the saw. The battery may not last as long in the Milwaukee as in the Ridgid but that extra RPM more than makes up for the loss of battery life. If I hadn’t gotten the saw for free, I think it is worth their asking price. (and who knows, maybe they’ll offer a free battery promotion or something soon)

 

Oh, and one more thing… The Ridgid threw sawdust EVERYFREAKINGWHERE while the Milwaukee guided the sawdust mostly through the port that was designed to throw the sawdust.

What made you choose the 7 1/4″ one instead of the 6.5″ for that kinda work. Also what is that red thing on your saw

The red thing on my saw? It’s a Bora saw plate for their saw guide. Basically it’s pseudo track saw with the plate which sits in channels on the metal guide. It works pretty well, once you get the saw secured it keeps it from wandering better than if you just pressed the saw against the side of the guide.

JerryNY wrote:

The red thing on my saw? It’s a Bora saw plate for their saw guide. Basically it’s pseudo track saw with the plate which sits in channels on the metal guide. It works pretty well, once you get the saw secured it keeps it from wandering better than if you just pressed the saw against the side of the guide.

If you would of done that exact job with the 6.5″ would it have been just as good. You ever use it

I don’t have the 6.5 but it looks like the base plate is similar if I recall correctly so it should be ok. The Bora guide is great but I can see how the plate is limited by how well it interfaces with each type of saw.  I’m pretty happy with how it works on the 7-1/4 fuel. The stainless plate that has a ruler with inscribed markings on the front of the fuel makes for a good area for the two cone shapped mounting screws to grab on and prevent lateral movement.