Our favorites below range from budget-friendly models, to pro-duty tools that a contractor could use to frame a house. I like that there’s a hanging-hook on the base of the handle, so you can hang it from a ladder or a tool belt temporarily between cuts. You wouldn’t carry this around on your belt all day, but since you can use it with one dewalt tool hand it’s helpful to be able to hang it and keep it near by wherever you are. Get more power with the DeWalt 20V Max brushless tools with FlexVolt Advantage tool technology. The 7-1/4″ circular saw has up to 77% more power when paired with a DCB606 FlexVolt battery vs a DCB205 20V Max battery. Battery and charger are sold separately.
One of the really cool features of this saw is the built in LED at the front of the saw. This is the first circular saw I’ve ever used to have a light built into it to illuminate your cut line. This is really helpful in low light situations or just to improve overall visibility during your cut. The LED light automatically illuminates when the saw is engaged so there are no added steps involved.
The DeWalt 60V is a massive slab of a saw and the heaviest of the five rear-handle saws we tested—even heavier than the 13.4-pound Milwaukee below. If you need that, particularly for making long beveled cuts in rafters or cutting wet pressure-treated lumber for decking framing or landscape work, this saw serves nicely for those purposes. The Metabo-HPT embodies aspects of the traditional left-blade circular saw that have endeared it to generations of carpenters. Its chief virtue is that it has a high power-to-weight ratio. This is a fast-cutter, even if it’s not quite as strong as the DeWalt, Milwaukee, or Flex rear-handle saws, but (depending on the saw you’re comparing it to) it is almost 3 to 4 pounds lighter.
In that respect, it’s very much like a corded worm-gear saw. So if you’re already framing with a corded worm-gear saw and have a well developed right forearm, the Milwaukee is a good fit for you. Our 4 x 6 pressure-treated lumber was no match for it, barely putting a dent in its battery capacity. So what makes a standout for cutting shoring and industrial lumber?
Save for the rear-handle saws we cover, the tools that we tested do not exhibit much design variation. With a few exceptions, most of the blades are 7.25 inches in diameter, positioned on the right side of the motor. When the blade is fully lowered, the saw cuts to about 2.25 inches deep (or slightly deeper). We may also exchange information, including Personal Information, with other companies and organizations for credit fraud protection and risk reduction.
I think this is a very cool feature that I can see other manufacturers also adopting in their new saws. With the 6.0Ah FLEXVOLT Battery installed, the tool weighs in at over 10 lbs (a full pound heavier than my Milwaukee FUEL Circular Saw with a 9Ah battery installed). While some might view this as an overall detraction, I actually think it gives the tool a more stable feel. The tool feels well balanced and less susceptible to subtle wrist movements that can affect the quality of a straight cut.
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