As mentioned in our new Milwaukee tools post and 2014-2015 new Milwaukee tool preview, Milwaukee has come out with a new M18 Fuel brushless circular saw that’s built to handle full-size 7-1/4″ blades. It’s also a “right-handed” saw, which matches the design of most corded sidewinder-style circular saws.
The new M18 Fuel full-size circular saw has a cutting capacity of up to 2-1/2″. It’s said to deliver 2X the runtime of other 18V circular saws, and weighs in at 9 lbs, making it up to 40% lighter than corded circular saws without sacrificing cutting depth of performance.
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Some of Milwaukee’s other new M18 Fuel brushless cordless tools, such as their cordless Hole Hawg drills and deep-cut band saw, are also touted as providing corded-like performance and features.
Features and Specifications
- 7-1/4″ blade size
- 2-1/2″ cut depth
- Magnesium shoe and magnesium upper and lower blade guards
- 50° max bevel
- Weighs 9 lbs with battery
- 5,000 RPM (no-load)
- 5/8″ arbor size
- Built-in hanging hook
- LED work light
There will be 3 purchasing options – a bare tool (2731-20), 1-battery kit (2731-21), and 2-battery kit (2731-22). The kits come with a multi-voltage M12 an M18 charger, 1 or 2 XC 4.0Ah Li-ion batteries, and kit bags.
Street Prices: $230 for the 2731-20 bare tool, $330 for the 2731-21 (1) battery kit, and $430 for the 2731-22 (2) battery kit
ETA: Fall 2014
Buy Now(via Amazon 3rd party sellers)
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
More Info(via Milwaukee)
The new full-size Milwaukee 2731 M18 Fuel circular saw has a number of great selling points. It has a brushless motor, which means great runtime and a lot of power, and it’s built to handle 7-1/4″ circular saw blades, which means great cutting capacity and blade selection and availability. Like the M18 Fuel brushless saw (2730) that came out last year, the new saw has a robust-looking magnesium shoe, as well as magnesium blade guards.
Compared to corded circular saws, the 2731 is going to be similarly sized. Milwaukee says that the 2731 is up to 40% lighter than corded saws, but all of the ones we checked are either slightly lighter or a little heavier. Compared to other 18V-class 6-1/2″ circular saws, the new saw is only a little bit heavier, so there’s not much of a tradeoff between cut capacity or performance and user comfort.
Users who want corded-like performance and cutting capacity in a cordless tool will probably want to take a closer look at the 2731 7-1/4″ M18 Fuel saw. But other users who don’t really need maximum cut capacity will probably benefit more from s smaller, lighter, and presumably less expensive 6-1/2″ saw.
Right now, Milwaukee is the only brand to have come out with brushless cordless circular saws, but this won’t be true for much longer. It will be interesting to see if competitors will come out with their own 7-1/4″ brushless saws, or if they will stick to the tried-and-true 6-1/2″ form factor.
KenZ says
Aug 19, 2014 at 1:02 pmI’d be curious to see how this stacks up against 36V circ saws. I use 18V tools for everything “regular,” but am damn glad I went 36V (Bosch) for the circ. Still not corded performance, but close enough and with several advantages.
Cody says
Aug 19, 2014 at 1:51 pmIt beats makita’s 18 x2 -36 volt circular saw by 50 plus cuts thru a 2 x4
Stuart says
Aug 19, 2014 at 4:26 pmWow, that’s a pretty substantial difference, but Makita might be able to lessen the performance difference once their 4.0Ah and 5.0Ah batteries are available in the USA. Then again, it looks like Milwaukee’s 5.0Ah batteries will be available sooner.
My understanding of the Makita 18V X2 is that they were going for quicker cutting and added power for tougher cuts.
cody says
Aug 19, 2014 at 10:45 pmVideo that I saw this in was made by Coptool on YouTube Aug 15th
John Blair says
Aug 19, 2014 at 1:18 pmDon’t forget you’ve already covered Festool’s Cordless Circular Saw TSC 55, so it may not be “first”.
Stuart says
Aug 19, 2014 at 4:22 pmGreat reminder, but Festool’s cordless saw works with 160 mm blades, which are about 6.3″ in diameter. It has a cutting depth of 55mm (hence the TSC 55 model name), which comes out to be a little more than 2-1/8″.
Mike says
Aug 19, 2014 at 1:42 pmI wish they would have put the blade on the left side the beauty of cordless is for quick cuts without having to plug a cord in you get a better sight line for right hand users I have left blade corded which is good for 2 by wood not really good for sheet would because it spits would right into your face but for framing lumber you can’t beat it so Dewalt if your listening blade on left don’t copy makita and Milwaukee
fred says
Aug 19, 2014 at 2:45 pmOur Dewalt 36V circular saws had their blades on the left. I think we bought them back when we did because they were what was available in 36V – and we were finding our 18V Makitas were not up to the tasks we were throwing at them – cutting roof decking and so on.
jay k. says
Aug 19, 2014 at 3:51 pmI have a 36v dewalt, and it’s too heavy for my use. I’m truly looking forward to this saw.
RX9 says
Aug 19, 2014 at 5:34 pmMy question now is who will be first to the market for a brushless 36V model?
That is going to be the one that decisively wins the power battle against corded tools.
Adri says
Feb 14, 2015 at 6:21 pmThis will never happen as the corded toools have much more power availible from the cord than cordless from the battery… Maybe true if the manufacturers stop the prodress of the corded tools but if not the newest corded tools will be significantly stronger than the 36V cordless tools…. Think of an advanced 240V brushless corded saw… Much more power than cordless
Kurt says
Aug 20, 2014 at 8:13 amThis looks like a nice step in the right direction for Milwaukee. I have the Makita X2 circ saw and I don’t think this new Milwuakee has any power advantages or run time advantages over it, as the Makita can easily rip doubled up plywood sheets.
Toolfreak says
Aug 20, 2014 at 4:59 pmLooking forward to the 7-1/4″Bosch version.
kevin says
Nov 30, 2014 at 4:14 amDo u have jus center the blade on the saw wen fitting it or should der be a bushin dat the blade sits in til
tcmault says
Oct 10, 2015 at 1:07 amAre they only going to offer this in a soft case, or will they come out with physical case. I like having a case for my tools. If I want them in a bag, it is thrown in a bigger bag with several other tools.
Stuart says
Oct 10, 2015 at 9:04 amI believe that, right now, the kit is only bundled with a soft case. They’re probably not going to offer it in a hard shell case.
tcmault says
Oct 10, 2015 at 6:29 pmI’m sure they did their market research and more people want the soft or use no case at all. I’m just old school and like to keep everything clean and protected in a nice hard case. I’m the type that would pay extra if they had custom Pelican cases available.
Wayne says
Mar 1, 2016 at 6:13 pmAgain, why is it not available with left side blade? Someone please answer.
Stuart says
Mar 1, 2016 at 6:16 pmBecause most corded circular saws have right side blades?
Milwaukee offers right side and left side corded saws, and probably based their decision on sales, figuring that most users would prefer a right side blade configuration.