In the market for a Circular Saw

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I have an Hitachi corded circular saw (now Metabo) and it works great. That said, if I was buying one I would surely buy a cordless one, even if I had to settle for one with a 6.5in blade.

One think to always consider with cordless tools is the battery usage/wear. Although Ridgid does not make the best saws (DeWalt and Milwaulkee are preferred by the pros) they have lifetime warranty on the batteries, which I've had to use on my drill driver and was painless enough. If you do go for cordless, try to get at least two batteries 4Ah or higher.
(Oh, and I wouldn't necessarily wait for black Friday proper. As an example, not an endorsement, HD has promotion for a 7-1/4in Ridgid circular saw with 4 and 6 Ah batteries and charger for $179 (add the saw as the free tool).)
 
Home Desperado & RIDGID have an interesting relationship. I purchased a RIDGID product, using an ATM card, so HD was paid when they pressed total, applied for RIDGID'S warranty, but was denied, because HD hadn't filed a proof of sales, so, after 2wks I decided if it fails, in the trash. Not that I don't have and, because of their weight and battery life, prefer RIDIGID over DEWALT, the cust. svc. sucks.
 
So, if this is the saw I want, DeWalt DCS578B, and I want to get it as a set, will it be significantly discounted during Black Friday? It's currently around $339 at HomeDepot and most other places.
 
Sign up for ads at blackfriday.com. they add new stuff every day, but right now these drills are listed only.Screenshot_20231027_173032_Chrome.jpg
 
ekrig said:
I have an Hitachi corded circular saw (now Metabo) and it works great.
Click to expand...
A caution about Metabo in a tool's name to share if you are buying battery tools:
The batteries of Metabo and Metabo-HPT don't interchange.
They operate 100% as two separate companies.


Reliable?
I've had or have many Metabo, Hitachi and have one Metaob-HPT tool. I worked industrial, so my tools worked hard and got beat up.
The Metabo tools never needed servicing- ever. Not even brushes. Just normal cleaning.
The Hitachi were always equally reliable. Rarely was service needed & it was always minor.
The Metabo-HPT impact driver I have now is tough. It was dropped from 18'2" to concrete 3 times in one project.
Damage? One scratch on the battery.

Paul

Here's something that a Metabo person sent me a few years ago that explains Metabo or Metabo-HPT:
Hitachi Koki was the power tool division of the giant Hitachi company, both based in Japan, and it represented about 1.8% of Hitachi’s overall business. A few years back Hitachi Koki bought the German tool manufacturer Metabo. Then the investment firm KKR bought Hitachi Koki from the Hitachi parent company. So, the head office for both tool companies is still in Japan and is now called Koki Holdings Co., Ltd. Metabo continues to be based in Germany and is run as its own entity with its own product line. The Hitachi tool brand had some time to keep using the Hitachi name before the price to license the name jumped, so that’s why they are rolling out this name change now, quite a while after they were acquired. Their brand name of choice for the USA and Canada is Metabo HPT, and HiKoki for the rest of the world. Simple, right?!
 
ALWAYS check battery capacity before laying down your credit card.

One time I needed a new battery.
To my surprise, a new drill+battery+charger was cheaper than a new battery, so I bought it.
Later noticed that when they want to show "a great deal" on a cordless tool, first thing they do is put in a low capacity battery.
Look at the numbers, not just the picture.

(although having two drills is frequently very handy)
 
havasu said:
Home Depot, on their new Black Friday advertising, just dropped a 6 piece Ryobi tool kit, with batteries, for $199. This also includes their circular saw. I have lots of Ryobi tools, and are great for homeowner projects.

https://blackfriday.com/ads/pre-bla...jVdY6b1yeSTulq7qi5ySAN2n0--r89jfEQJbi3JyeeQ==
Click to expand...
Ryobi, made by TTI (Techtronics Industries of China), are usually good tools. I had guys working for me that were careless with tools, so I started giving them inexpensive Ryobi. Surprisingly robust tools! Later, they'd ask for Ryobi instead of whatever was trendy at the time.

TTI also makes many, many brands of tools, so sometimes there is an overlap between Ryobi and another big name brand. Per Bosch service, my big deal Bosch compound miter saw is 100% exactly the same as the Ryobi version, except for the color of the plastic, the decals and the price.

THanks for sharing the link to the sale, Havasu

Paul
 
I've been a DeWalt guy for several years. I wanted an easy to handle portable weed eater, so I went looking for a DeWalt weed eater, but they were over $200. I purchased a Ryobi weed eater, with a battery for $65. I then needed a hedge trimmer, and found a DeWalt trimmer for $250. I found a Ryobi trimmer for $75, also including the battery. I realized the batteries are much lighter, and never seem to go bad, so I started buying more Ryobi, and less DeWalt. I now have a Ryobi branch cutter and a pole cutter, but then purchased a DeWalt chain saw on a pole for my palms.

So yeah, I have both, but still keep my DeWalt drills for the torque.
 
Batteries are like the razor blades of the tool world. Once you buy into a brand, you have to keep getting batteries from that company. I think that's what they count on.
As a homeowner (not a pro) I'm fine with a corded saw. It's no more of a hassle to find an extension cord than it is to make sure your battery got on the charger before you need it. If you're working away from the house then a battery saw may be worth it.
 
There are also adapters that make different batteries interchangeable, sometimes.
 
5ah batteries are good. A bit heavier than my 2ah batteries, but it will have plenty of power. The beauty with two batteries is the fact that one battery can always be on the charger if lots of cutting needs to be done.
 
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