As header really, I have need of a circular saw for a few projects and I
wondered if battery ones were any good? I don't need to cut much more than
18mm MDF at most. Are they any good for cutting laminate flooring or would
be better off hiring a chop saw?

Thanks



(excuse the x-post but I need to get hold of one ASAP if the consensus is
positive)

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
As header really, I have need of a circular saw for a few projects and I
wondered if battery ones were any good? I don't need to cut much more
than
18mm MDF at most. Are they any good for cutting laminate flooring or
would
be better off hiring a chop saw?

Thanks



I personally don't like them, tried two different ones belonging to work
mates, who also don't like them, and found that they don't have the OOMPH
you need to do any real work with them. Although, saying that, they were
good enough for cutting a couple of inch by inch wooden stakes in garden,
but they fell over when tried on anything bigger.

BigWallop wrote in message ...
I personally don't like them, tried two different ones belonging to work
mates, who also don't like them, and found that they don't have the OOMPH
you need to do any real work with them. Although, saying that, they were
good enough for cutting a couple of inch by inch wooden stakes in garden,
but they fell over when tried on anything bigger.
They seem to be advertised as "trimming" saws, whatever that means. I
wouldn't fancy your chances with 18mm mdf.

In article ,
Tenex wrote:
I saw that Challenge - quite an appealing price bundled with a drill I
don't need ;-) . I was told that a cheap mitre wouldn't be any good for
flooring unless it had extension arms, which pushes the price up? Any
suggestions as where to get a cheap one?

B&Q have got one for 35 quid, but it may have been an end of range. As
regards the extension arms you only need to support the workpiece, so
suitable sized offcuts of wood are fine.

I've not laid laminate flooring, so you'd have to check the saw will cope
with the width. They do sliding ones which definitely would, but they're
over 100 quid.

--
*Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
As header really, I have need of a circular saw for a few projects and I
wondered if battery ones were any good? I don't need to cut much more
than
18mm MDF at most. Are they any good for cutting laminate flooring or
would
be better off hiring a chop saw?

Thanks


I had to cut a banner down to length that had 1" mild steel box section as a
frame, clad in 9 mm MDF, this was in the foyer of the National Theatre ...
all I had was my DW cordless trim saw and a hacksaw, set the depth to 9mm to
cut off the MDF and then finish off with the hacksaw, well I thought it was
9mm :-/ ...... turns out it was 6mm and i had my glasses on upside down ...
the DW went through the mild steel like it wasn't there, so I wound the
blade down and finished the job.
It really depends on the blade as well as the saw, the DW comes with a
blade that is guaranteed against hitting a certain amount of nails, plus it
is very thin ... so there isn't much drag. I've used it for 18mm ply before
and it groaned a bit, but the ply was wet. The motor won't last like a
mains powered saw, but it is good for getting you out of trouble if you need
a quick cut, in an awkward place and don't want to be trailing leads and
dealing with a high HPs.

Simon wrote:
I had to cut a banner down to length that had 1" mild steel box
section as a frame, clad in 9 mm MDF, this was in the foyer of the
National Theatre ... all I had was my DW cordless trim saw and a
hacksaw, set the depth to 9mm to cut off the MDF and then finish off
with the hacksaw, well I thought it was 9mm :-/ ...... turns out it
was 6mm and i had my glasses on upside down ... the DW went through
the mild steel like it wasn't there, so I wound the blade down and
finished the job. It really depends on the blade as well as the saw,
the DW comes with a blade that is guaranteed against hitting a
certain amount of nails, plus it is very thin ... so there isn't much
drag. I've used it for 18mm ply before and it groaned a bit, but the
ply was wet. The motor won't last like a mains powered saw, but it
is good for getting you out of trouble if you need a quick cut, in an
awkward place and don't want to be trailing leads and dealing with a
high HPs.

Wouldn't your DW be much more powerful than the Challange/Argos 18v? Or
would the Challenge be OK (the helpline is Hilka if that's of any importance
had a look in the store the other day)?

Dave Plowman wrote:
In article ,
Tenex wrote:
I saw that Challenge - quite an appealing price bundled with a drill
I don't need ;-) . I was told that a cheap mitre wouldn't be any
good for flooring unless it had extension arms, which pushes the
price up? Any suggestions as where to get a cheap one?

B&Q have got one for 35 quid, but it may have been an end of range.
As regards the extension arms you only need to support the workpiece,
so suitable sized offcuts of wood are fine.

I've not laid laminate flooring, so you'd have to check the saw will
cope with the width. They do sliding ones which definitely would, but
they're over 100 quid.

I meant sliding arms not extensions - thanks for the suggestion.

"BigWallop" wrote in message ...
"Tenex" wrote in message
...
As header really, I have need of a circular saw for a few projects and I
wondered if battery ones were any good? I don't need to cut much more
than
18mm MDF at most. Are they any good for cutting laminate flooring or
would
be better off hiring a chop saw?

Thanks



I personally don't like them, tried two different ones belonging to work
mates, who also don't like them, and found that they don't have the OOMPH
you need to do any real work with them. Although, saying that, they were
good enough for cutting a couple of inch by inch wooden stakes in garden,
but they fell over when tried on anything bigger.

I have found the 18v dewalt cordless saw very usefull. Its portability
and size makes ideal if you are restricted buy space or location. The
light weight also makes it easy to handle. Have used it to cut 4 x
2's, 28mm thick kitchen worktops and rip down 18mm sheet of mdf. On
the minus side I think that the side guide rail should reach at least
enought to cover the blade.
One feature which you wont see on the cheaper or other 18 volt
cordless circular saws is the blade is on the left hand side giving
you 'at a glace' lining up.
If its just occasional use or for a couple of jobs there are plenty of
cheap 240 volt circular saws availiable. One piece of advice (that
makes sence) I have picked up from this board would be to change the
blade of a cheepo circular saw to a good quality one.

On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 09:06:08 GMT, "Tenex" wrote:

stuart noble wrote:
BigWallop wrote in message ...
I personally don't like them, tried two different ones belonging to
work mates, who also don't like them, and found that they don't have
the OOMPH you need to do any real work with them. Although, saying
that, they were good enough for cutting a couple of inch by inch
wooden stakes in garden, but they fell over when tried on anything
bigger.
They seem to be advertised as "trimming" saws, whatever that means. I
wouldn't fancy your chances with 18mm mdf.

They are advertised as having a maximum cut depth of 38mm so in theory they
should cope easily - it's the practice that worries me. ;-)

I have a champion (Focus own brand I think) that I paid 25 pounds for
including 2 batteries. Coped fine cutting 30mm worktop with a full
charge, but cutting thicker stuff seems to drain the battery fairly
rapidly.

--
John

"Sean Delere" wrote in message ...

I wouldn't recommend using one for laminate flooring (at least not with the
standard blade) due to the roughness of the cut.

This is a factor of 18v ones, not mains. They use coarse cut because
it reduces the power used /cut speed ratio, which is critical on what
are barely adequate battery packs.


I would use a jig saw for laminate.

I wouldnt, very very slow wiggly lines are not whats called for. Mains
circular saw surely.

If you have a complete shed full to do

circular.

Rechargeable circs are not like the mains ones. Theyre for when mains
isnt available or practical, and have poor work capacity.


Regards, NT

"N. Thornton" wrote in message
om...
"Sean Delere" wrote in message
...

snip

I would use a jig saw for laminate.

I wouldnt, very very slow wiggly lines are not whats called for. Mains
circular saw surely.


Depends upon your jigsaw! :-) Mine sailed through it with pretty good
accuracy, used (as always) with the pendulum switched off. But then it's an
industrial model...

However, the straightness of cut isn't critical., you've got to be able to
keep within about 5mm of the line, because everywere you need to cut
laminate it's going to be against a wall or some other place where it's
covered by the skirting, a decor strip, or some beading.

I find the jigsaw much quicker to use (as a tool, not the cutting action)
because it doesn't need straight guides and other stuff that I use with the
circular.


If you have a complete shed full to do

circular.

Rechargeable circs are not like the mains ones. Theyre for when mains
isnt available or practical, and have poor work capacity.

I'm with you 100% there. Having a bit of grunt to the motor really helps
with a saw.



Regards, NT



--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

"RichardS" noaccess@invalid wrote in message ...
"N. Thornton" wrote in message
"Sean Delere" wrote in message

I would use a jig saw for laminate.

I wouldnt, very very slow wiggly lines are not whats called for. Mains
circular saw surely.

Depends upon your jigsaw! :-) Mine sailed through it with pretty good
accuracy, used (as always) with the pendulum switched off. But then it's an
industrial model...

However, the straightness of cut isn't critical., you've got to be able to
keep within about 5mm of the line, because everywere you need to cut
laminate it's going to be against a wall or some other place where it's
covered by the skirting, a decor strip, or some beading.

right.

I find the jigsaw much quicker to use (as a tool, not the cutting action)
because it doesn't need straight guides and other stuff that I use with the
circular.

I'm not sure I understand this. I use the circ with no guide
frequently, just rip by eye, and by god is it fast. When I did 12mm
****board I could hardly walk fast enough to keep up with it! 8x4 done
in literally a few seconds. I would have thought going round a whole
room with a jigsaw would really add some time on.


If you have a complete shed full to do

circular.

Rechargeable circs are not like the mains ones. Theyre for when mains
isnt available or practical, and have poor work capacity.

I'm with you 100% there. Having a bit of grunt to the motor really helps
with a saw.

So much. Since I got the circ the jigsaw is just obsolete. It lies
abandoned and regarded with 'how the heck did I do anything with that'
I gather jigsaws do vary a lot more in quality than circs, and my
jig's a cheapie. Yuck. Sounds like yours is a much better beast.


Regards, NT