After several cheaper B&D circ saws I purchased a Porter Cable unit about
ten years ago. It has seen a lot of hard use in that time and still going
strong.

It has about a 10' rubber very flexible cord that hardly ever tangles,
although heavier than I was used to it is very balanced and I can actually
freeform cut straight with it!
It has a blade to guide setback of exactly 1.5"...nice for cutting to fence.
Very little vibration = good bearings
Good chip direction via the 1" chip chute on top
I am very impressed as well as people borrowing it.

I have never used another quality circ saw to compare with this.

--------------

"Doug Miller" wrote in message ...
My old faithful corded circular saw finally bit the dust yesterday.
Something
went Pop! and it stopped running. Disassembly today shows half a dozen
segments missing from the commutator; the critical parts are no longer
available (after 15+ years, that's no surprise), so it's time to buy a new
one.

My uses are, I think, pretty typical: framing, building decks, cutting sheet
goods to manageable size.

I'm looking for something that will last a good long time. The one that
died is only the second one I've ever owned; the first one lasted nearly 20
years, and I'm hoping for similar durability. The budget is large enough to
include Bosch, Makita, or Milwaukee, but not Festool.

I'm looking for general recommendations in two areas:
a) corded vs. cordless -- my experiences with cordless circular saws have
not
been positive, but they've been cheap saws, and I'm willing to be persuaded
that cordless circular saws that won't drain a battery in five seconds do
actually exist; and
b) left blade vs. right blade. Every circular saw that I've ever used has
had
the blade on the right. Advertising for left-blade saws includes phrases
like
"gives users the clearest line of sight for easy, accurate cutting" but I
just
don't see how it's really any different. I'm inclined to get a right-blade
saw
simply because that's what I'm used to, but if there truly are advantages to
having the blade on the left, I'd be much obliged if someone would explain
them to me. In case it makes a difference to the recommendation, I'm
right-handed.

I'm also looking for recommendations of specific brands and/or models both
to
seek out, and to avoid. I intend to avoid tools made in China if at all
possible.

TIA... Thanks may also be expressed tangibly, in the form of a cold homebrew
or three, next time you pass through Indianapolis.