On Thu, 23 Aug 2018 03:39:44 -0500, wrote:

Ive always used the direct drive circular saws. I was watching a guy
building a home and he had a rather large saw which was a lot heavier
than my saws and a lot longer. His was a Skil brand. I asked him about
it and he said it's a worm gear saw, which is why it's larger and
heavier. He said he's had it for years and it's a good saw. It has a
metal housing rather than all the new plastic ones, so I know that makes
it heavier.

I looked online and found some similar looking saws. Even used ones on
places like ebay are much more expensive than the standard direct drive
ones.

Is there some advantage to the worm drive types over the common saws?
Most of them online say they are 15A, so the motor must be a lot larger.
My direct drive ones are about 10A.

So if there is an advantage, what is it?

Yes there is an advantage in framing wood construction. Used all day,
every day, for months or years. A DIY circ saw, direct drive is not
the better tool in routine construction needs. We used one to frame my
patio cover.

I paid $100 for a "worn drive" Bosch. It was only used to construct a
work bench. The guy was about to die, money to bury in KY was most
important to him.

Worn drive saws require 'oil changes', at least mine does.