Skilsaw launched the world’s first worm drive portable table saw back in 2015. Last year, they came out with a worm drive miter saw. Now, Skilsaw is introducing the world’s first cordless worm drive circular saw.
But don’t other brands already have cordless worm drive saws? No. Those are all rear-handle worm drive-styled circular saws. Skilsaw’s new cordless circular saw is said to be the first and only cordless worm drive saw, designed to give you legendary Skilsaw power to go anywhere.
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Skilsaw says that their new cordless worm drive saw features the same design, balance, and controls as their corded worm drive saws, and so “it feels familiar right out of the box.” It’s said to offer cordless convenience without any compromises in power or performance.
The new Skilsaw cordless worm drive saw is designed for high-performance use, for all of the types of wood-cutting applications you might use a heavy-duty corded worm drive circular saw for.
Construction lumber? Stacked sheet goods? Long rip cuts? LVL beams? It can handle it all.
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The saw has a rafter hook on its right side. I’d say of course, but some other brands have released heavy duty cordless circular without hooks.
The saw features magnesium motor and gear housing, and a magnesium shoe, for lightweight and durable construction.
There are going to be a couple of different package options, including with a Diablo circular saw blade.
Other kit options will include a Skilsaw blade.
Features & Specifications
- 7-1/4″ blade size
- 13/16″ arbor with diamond knockout
- 5800 RPM
- Brushless motor
- All-magnesium construction
- Electric brake
- Integrated dust extraction system with removable hose adapter
- Bevel stops at 0° and 45°
- 2-3/8″ cutting capacity at 90°
- 1-15/16″ max depth of cut at 45°, 1-11/16″ at 53°
- Weighs 11.09 lbs (bare tool), 15.34 lbs with 5.0Ah battery
Let’s talk about that battery. Skilsaw’s parent company, Chervon, is no stranger when it comes to high performance Li-ion cordless power tools. Chervon makes cordless power tools for other brands and also owns the Ego 56V cordless outdoor power tool platform. Basically, Chervon, and by extension Skilsaw, knows how to make a good cordless battery.
Skilsaw has taken their latest technologies and created the TRUEHVL battery system, a 48V Li-ion platform.
The cells are arranged in a unique configuration to evenly distribute heat. Their “Stay Cool” technology wraps each cell in a temperature-controlling material that helps to keep the cells cooler. All this is said to result in better performance and extended runtime.
An intelligent power management system maximizes power by monitoring and optimizing each cell.
Skilsaw says that a fully charged battery pack should power an entire day’s worth of cutting. The saw can make 425+ cuts in 2x4s per battery charge.
Skilsaw’s charger will fully charge a drained battery in 1 hour.
Price: $400 for the 1-battery kit (SPTH77M-12)
ETA: November 2019 (preordering will open in October)
Complete Availability and Pricing List
- SPTH77M-01: Bare tool with Skilsaw blade, $250
- SPTH77M-11: Kit with Skilsaw blade, (1) 5.0Ah battery, charger, $400
- SPTH77M-21: Kit with Skilsaw blade, (2) 5.0Ah batteries, charger, $600
- SPTH77M-02: Bare tool with Diablo blade, $250
- SPTH77M-12: Kit with Diablo blade, (1) 5.0Ah battery, charger, $400
- SPTH77M-22: Kit with Diablo blade, (2) 5.0Ah batteries, charger, $600
- SPTH14: Charger, $100
- SPTH15: 5.0Ah battery, $250
Discussion
Wow, there’s a lot to take in. Skilsaw has a saw on its way to us, and so we hope to be able to do some quick testing and comparisons before the new saw launches.
This is Skilsaw’s first cordless tool on their new 48V Li-ion platform, and with the 5.0Ah rated at 240 watt-hours. Assuming they’re using 2.5Ah cells and rating each cell at its max voltage of 4.0V, that would mean their 5.0Ah battery is built with 24 Li-ion cells.
In comparison, Milwaukee’s largest M18 battery, their High Output 12.0Ah pack, delivers 216 Watt-hours max. If you use apples-to-apples calculations and consider Milwaukee’s M18 battery to be a 20V Max battery, it would also be rated at 240 watt-hours.
But, if Skilsaw is using modern larger-sized battery cells, they have the potential to pack even more energy into their battery packs. The Skilsaw 48V battery presumably has 24 cells of 2.5Ah capacity. Milwaukee’s largest M18 battery has 15 cells of 4.0Ah capacity. Skilsaw could potentially launch higher capacity battery packs, perhaps to power other heavy duty cordless power tools.
Dewalt’s FlexVolt cordless power tool batteries also top out at 240 watt-hours with their largest 15-cell 12.0Ah battery pack.
If my math and assumptions are correct, the largest current-generation Makita 18V X2 cordless power tool, fitted with 2x 5.0Ah batteries, would top out at 200 watt-hours.
Correction: Makita 18V 6.0Ah batteries in 36V/18V X2 configuration would in theory deliver 240 watt-hours as well using the same calculation methods.
It’s important to note that Skilsaw barely references the voltage of their TRHEHVL battery. They’re focusing on power and cooling, which is a different but welcome approach. From what we know so far, Skilsaw’s battery delivers high energy and features advanced cooling tech, and there’s room for growth.
We’ve asked Skilsaw about how their new cordless worm drive circular saw compares to other rear-handle saws, and have been told that more information is on the way.
Why is it a big deal that their new TRUEHVL cordless worm drive saw is a “true” worm drive saw, compared to other brands’ rear-handle “kind of but not really” worm-drive-like cordless circular saws? Skilsaw’s response seems to be a wink paired with “you’ll see.”
From what I can tell so far, there are two potential downsides. First, this saw is going to be heavier than Skilsaw’s corded worm drive saws. I asked Skilsaw whether their field testers remarked about the weight (a little of 15 pounds with battery) or if the cordless convenience provided more significant benefits, and they said “Only one delivers true Worm Drive power!”
Second, like all worm drive saws, this new cordless Skilsaw will require maintenance every now and then, as worm drive gearing occasionally needs to be relubricated. It’s ready to rock right out of the box. Brushless rear-handle circular saws don’t require worm drive gearing grease, but it’s not much trouble to lube up a saw’s gearing when needed. Heavy users shouldn’t have to do this too often.
Skilsaw is very excited about their new launch, and who can blame them? We’re excited about their new brushless worm drive saw, and also about the new 48V cordless power tool platform.
I asked Skilsaw about what can be said to readers who ask “why buy a cordless power tool from a one-tool system.” They’re still preparing a response to that, but I would predict that 1) the cordless worm drive saw might provide enough of a performance benefit to offset having to work with another charger and system, and that 2) this probably won’t be a one-tool system, at least not for long.
In March 2016 I wrote a post: Skilsaw Should Come out with a Brushless Worm Drive Circular Saw. Woo! It took some time, and I was wrong about thinking about 18V-sized power, but it’s finally a reality.
Skilsaw makes some very popular corded worm drive saws, and their saw tech is now supported by advanced battery tech. Meaning, this is a very big launch.
Are you excited about the first-ever cordless worm drive saw?
Tim
Interesting tool. Are the single battery and two battery kits really the same price?
Stuart
Sorry, no – that was my mistake. The 2-battery kits have MSRPs of $600 (well, $599.99), which according to list pricing will be less than adding an extra battery ($250) later on.
Matt
How is this better than the “worm drive style” saws already available? With smaller, lighter BLDC motors, I’m guess most of the balance is dictated by the battery location not the motor orientation. I can’t imagine the “power” is any different whether you use spur gears or worm gears. So again I ask, what is the advantage here?
Stuart
Good question. Skilsaw has alluded to there being a performance difference, but it’ll take time, probably a phone call or two, and some hands-on testing to properly answer this.
Gilbert G.
How is fake chicken better than real chicken?
Matt
What?….your analogy implies that there is a benefit to “real worm drive” just for the sake of being “real”. The “fake” worm drive saws have all the advantages of worm drive. So how is “real” worm drive better now?
Furthermore, if the chicken looks like real chicken, tastes like real chicken, and acts like a real chicken, is it not a real chicken?
XRH07
if it’s not faster than the Dewalt DCS577 or Makita 36V. Then why would you want “real” chicken anyways?
And why am I supposed to care about a spur gear or a worm gear saw anyways? Especially when that spur gear saw shares batteries with a gigantic 150+ tool platform.
Why would I want to invest into something that will work with maybe a dozen tools at best.
Makita/Dewalt/Milwaukee are like an all you can eat buffet. Because ou’re going to get your money’s worth with those guys.
Matt
I’d say that there isn’t any clear advantage to using the Skilsaw.
To me it’s all about marketing. Skilsaw/Chervon can market it being a “true worm drive” as opposed to “worm drive styled” so as to attract those who are brand loyal and/perhaps style loyal. Also because Skilsaw was the first to bring us the worm drive, none of these other companies can boast this or use it to sell their saws and, as the job site becomes more and more cordless, Skilsaws want a share of spotlight.
Chris
That cordless DeWalt saw is quite a bit faster than the corded skilsaw so at this point bragging about legendary skilsaw performance is less impressive. Unless of course the thing lasts forever like corded skilsaws do.
Robear
A cordless saw… Let me time warp to 1992 so I can be impressed ?
Benjamin
Seems the majority don’t understand the mechanical differences of bevel/hypoid vs worm gearing. Worm gears cannot be backdriven, which allows for the core benefit og the 77 design: no kick-back and stable one-handed cuts.
I move to Europe 14 years ago, took with my HD77 MAG. It works ok here with a voltage convertor, but due to the 50 Hz supply instead of 60, the motor rpm is about 20% slower.
I have been tempted to go with one of the rear handled versions, but feared disappointment in stability. It was music to my ears to finally be able to upgrade my worm drive saw to a battery version. Now I just need to decide if I want to wait for it to come to Europe, or pay the shipping and fees for one from the States.
Adam
I love having options, but unnecessary options cost money. Why in the world would you offer two essentially the same kits, and the only difference is the blade? Obviously Skil knows it is in the saw business, not blades, and should just include a Diablo. I’ve never heard of anyone going to the store to get a Skil branded blade.
Stuart
There might be different promotional incentives, or certain SKUs might be stocked at different retailers.
Adam
They do the same thing with their tablesaws. I guess if you already have a bunch of blades and are just going to throw the one in the box away…
Lance
Seems like a lot of SKUs just to offer a blade choice. Are the one and two battery kits really the same price?
Ego’s 56v OPE platform rocks! These batteries have all the same features so they should be class-leading right out of the box.
David Zeller
Different prices. He comments above he made a mistake.
Bob
It will be interesting to see how this saw stacks up against the other red, green and yellow brand hypoid (worm drive) style saws. To me it made more sense to go with a true hypoid type drive. But at 15 pounds I guess package constraints came into consideration? Or perhaps testing revealed a direct drive was more efficient?
I do know with a corded saw the 15 amp 120 V A/C power source was the limiting factor. Think of a worm drive as a gear ruduction. More torqe output with the same input. Hence that same A/C 120v 15amp motor put in a worm drive configuration cuts with more torque.
These new lithiums can dump out tons of current. Pair that with a DC motor that can convert that much amperage to rotational torque and maybe you don’t need a worm drive? Thus far that’s been the conventional wisdom. Can’t wait to see the side-by-side tests.
Adam
The Makita hypoid saws seem to get excellent reviews. I’ve not been doing enough work to make it worth buying one, but it’s definitely on my list if I need something more than my basic sidewinder saw.
Kent
They want me to invest in another battery style?
I simply do not buy cordless tools that aren’t part of a larger system. They have little incentive to not change the style.
I have M18 and M12, and there’s many millions of users out there on the same systems. Milwaukee has many millions of reason to not discontinue those battery packs for a long time, or to make drastic changes. Didn’t DeWalt just dead-end their 40v batteries and tools?
Sorry, but I’m just not going to buy in.
Jared
Very interesting. The obvious sticking point is the one you identified – a new battery platform with only one tool. This seems like it needs to be a very special and well-built tool to justify a purchase in that context. I.e. if you can get close to the same performance from the Milwaukee, most users will gravitate towards that.
However, with the battery tech and potential for expansion – I could see it. Milwaukee would need a ridiculous 18v pack to keep up if Skilsaw starts upgrading the cells.
It’s also not that outrageously priced. I wouldn’t buy this for my home and farm use, but $400-600 probably isn’t out of the ballpark for a pro who is using a wormdrive all the time and wants a cordless one to do the same tasks without compromise (presuming this saw achieves that).
Altan
48V? I don’t like everybody sings their own song. 7.2(8)V, 10.8(12)V, 18(20)V, 36V (40V), 54(60)V and 108(120)V platforms are more than enough, It is time to standardise this issue, so 3.6V, 9.6V, 14.4V, 19.2V, 22V, 24V, 28V, 48V and others are not necessary, I think governments should make a law for this issue, I would like to meet my MP to discuss this with him. If there is a law like this the brands should obey it then, I would also discuss having a compatible battery for all brands with him. This is madness from my point of view. Making cordless tools in 120V platform probably would kill 240V tools in Europe and that would be another help to become more globalised. I support the idea of standardisation in all fields internationally.
evadman
It doesn’t really matter if the battery voltage is standardized unless the connectors are standardized, thus allowing for all batteries from all tools and manufacturers to be interchanged.
That has a whole different set of problems.
Altan
I meant battery voltage and accordingly the connectors, I do understand for a while there would be some problems, but for a while just! If facing problems was going to push the brands to no do it then we would not see CAS with Metabo and some others.
Benjamen
Yeah, because nothing but good things happen when politicians get involved in technology that they don’t understand.
Brought to you over a series of “tubes.”
Jwill
Using two 6.0ah batteries wouldn’t Makita X2 max out at 240watt-hour also? I know they aren’t as readily available as the 5.0s but they are the max currently available for the platform.
Stuart
That is correct, thank you – good catch!
Flotsam
i agree for a pro the cost could be easily be justified. The choice of 48v is undoubtedly based on an engineering evaluation of what it would take compared a corded skilsaw.
I have a corded Skilsaw and that thing has an amazing amount of torque. No corded 18 or 20v saw can come close.
I would love to try this saw out.
Stuart
A corded worm drive saw must top out at what, 1650 W? That’s if it’s the only device on a 110V circuit and drawing a peak of 15A.
Taking the 48V at face value (meaning using 4.0V per cell in calculations instead of 3.6V), that would mean a peak current draw of ~34.4A to reach the same 1650 watts. This is a 12-series 2-parallel battery, and so the current draw is shared, meaning the load-per-cell would be 17.2A. That’s not even close to what modern Li-ion cells can output.
With that in mind, I would not be surprised if the performance capacity of this saw exceeds that of corded saws.
Andy
Tools regularly draw much more than that from a 120v circuit. A breaker won’t trip if you pull 2400 watts from a 15a breaker for 1 second.
Stuart
No, but if you’re making deep cuts with a dull blade and maxing out the power draw, and there’s something else on the circuit…
If you figure 20A on 120V and 2400W draw, 2400W comes out to be 25A draw per cell in a 48V 5.0Ah battery pack, which is still well in the cool comfort zone of 21700 cells. Chervon hasn’t said which cells they’re using, but I would imagine/hope they’re 21700.
Doug
I believe they are using 18650 cells, based on (1) that’s what Chervon uses in their other cordless brands – Skil 12v/18v, Ego, and Kobalt. And (2) the 18650 cells with the highest current draw are 2.5 amp hours – the Samsung 25R and Sony VTC5. I don’t know of any 21700 cells with 2.5 amp hours. There are some with 5.0 amp hours, but those are not high current rated.
Skilsaw is probably right that the shear quantity of cells (24?), plus the cooling sleeves, will allow these batteries to perform as well as the newer 21700 cell battery packs.
Ethan
You clearly haven’t used a cordless tool recently. The dewalt worm drive style basically retired my Skilsaw the day I bought it. I don’t even bring my Skilsaw in my truck anymore. The dewalt is far superior and I imagine the Makita and Milwaukee are similar. All more powerful and faster at ripping and cutting lumber.
Kent E Hanson
The Makita 18X2 is a pain in the ass but it is a hell of a saw and I found that it works better than the Milwaukee 18v but that was to be expected.
ChrisP
Wranglestar has a youtube video showing the rear handle Dewalt easily beating a corded worm drive skilsaw
ca
I’m not saying he’s wrong, but that’s hardly a scientific test. Also, hasn’t that guy been known to shill for companies that give him tools? I may be mistaken on that.
Sam
I would like to see the comparison over a month or two…and I am talking about real production use on an actual job. If it’s a small remodel every other week or so, then the cordless is the one to grab for sure…
I have yet to see a cut man on a job using anything other than a Skilworm.
jayne
I’m throwing away my three saws and getting this one. Its look to be perfect. for framers and amatures like me………..
jayne
Ops, no plug forget about it……….
Nathan
with a modern brushless motor spining the gear box I suspect it has gobs of saw blade twisting ability.
but uhm – what exactly are you going to cut with it. Dewalt and Milwaukee already proved their top tier offerings with 7-1/4 inch blades do it all with style and ease. without weighing nearly as much. – and batteries that work on more tools as needed.
so what 3 sheets of 3/4 ply decking – for max depth of blade. Does anyone still use a corded wormdrive saw anymore – I’ve not seem them out and about not that I look hard for them.
let me guess this will be the only cordless circ saw that can use that chain saw attachment widget. or something like that.
Nifty – should have used the EGO battery on this thing – it would have perhaps had more appeal. OH and doesn’t CHEVON have another OPE tool company that uses the 48V standard – I suspect this battery came from another use. Not that it matters
A W
That’s a really good idea to use the Ego battery.
Jared
It would have been weird and incongruent from a marketing perspective to come out with a pro saw on a consumer OPE line, but I can see the logic. Almost the opposite tack of the pro tool companies breaking into OPE… These batteries look different though, perhaps there’s new tech in there that’s a better fit for an application like this?
fred
I wonder if it would work with a Bigfoot attachment and power a 10.25 inch blade?
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Foot-SK-1025KIT-2-Style-Attachment/dp/B01BD5H7Q0/
Gordon
I think the fear with Using the EGO battery is the same fear that people have with the Makita X2. Some idiot is going to slap the smallest battery on the thing and then write a 1 star review and return it for being useless. It’s unfounded but there.
Nathan
The smalled EGO branded battery has enough power for this thing – more volts – similar current draw. Perhaps less time though. MEH
it works with other bits. sure they are OPE bits but whatever.
likewise going with the EGO battery family you have those big power jobs too – so when they want to spin their 16 inch sawsquatch on cordless – golly there’s already a battery for that. Or they want to make a cordless 12 inch concrete saw – again – there’d be a battery for that (EGO has a backpack battery too)
Sam
Cordless worms are used more and more, but in production work( where the cut man/men are going none stop, you’re still going to be using that trusty Skil77). The cordless worms just cannot as of YET, sustain that level of production over the long haul…again, so far. I suspect that level of durability and reliability will come in the next iteration or two of cordless saws
Kizzle
What is the benefit of a worm drive saw other than hand position and where you rest the tool? Does the gearing of a worm saw provide more power over a direct drive? Thanks.
Corey Moore
That is correct
Ray
Hi all, I like cordless tools and have seen a lot and used a lot in my life. My impulse with this is too much. Too much weight, proprietary battery and worm drive is not the most efficient. I own and use a Makita 18v and the 36v twin battery and they both work great in the universe they serve. The 36v Makita is a fine compromise to a corded saw (Hypoid) and some old porter cable magnesiums for me. Used the Makita 36v on a small kitchen remodel and did not change the batteries for the entire framing piece to see if it would make it and clearly it did. 12 ft of wall for pantry and about 6ft of pony wall and needed to fur out an entire side to get vent piping in. Still had a fair amount of charge, to me this is phenomenal, and would not have believed it 30 years ago, using a Makita 9.6 drill. Thank you Makita for all the great tools and the innovation that the company (a tool manufacturer) has done.
Jamie
In the real world My experience is that a corded Skil worm drive has more power compared to a Makita “worm drive” saw with 2x 5.0amp batteries.
I had to rip an old reclaimed 2×4 for a window header. We started the cut with the Makita and ended up switching to a corded Skil worm drive to finish the cut. The power difference between the two saws was noticeable.
The difference between the two saws might not be as apparent if you’re cutting softer materials.
Gordon
Unless you’re comparing with new blades, that’s not a fair comparison. An 18v saw should be able to rip a single 2×4 with a decent blade. Even the smaller Makita x2 can cut 73 linear feet of 2×4 material.
Curtis
I’ve got both the DeWalt rear handle saw and a Mag77. Slightly different animals. They both have a similar layout and feel, but the DeWalt is a high RPM, low torque saw while the Mag77 is the opposite. The DeWalt cuts faster, but you can stall it out, while the Mag77 is slower but relentless.
For building a deck out of treated lumber I’d probably pick the Mag77. For most other big jobs with a lot of cutting I’d go with the DeWalt and for the remaining 90% of the work I do I’d pick a 6.5” trimsaw.
mattd
Honestly this seems kind of pointless. As others have said, the top end makita/dewalt/milwaukee saws have all been reviewed to death and show that they have more than enough power for a 7&1/4″ saw. plus they are all lighter weight than this. Add to that the weird proprietary battery choice (why the heck would you not go with EGO batteries when you already have a solid market hold with that brand) and I have no idea who they think will be their target demographic? Tim the tool man (more power arf arf) taylor?
Robert L
If this battery tech gets added to their worksite table saws, their new sliding miter saw, then the battery investments starts to look worthwhile. The high-end cordless option for a primarily 18/20v work site.
Jim Premo
Corded worm drives are too heavy. This will be worse to cross cut a 2×4. I use a flexvolt saw, not the rear handle. The balance is perfect and I have not found any thing in real world conditions that it cannot cut. 10 lbs is too heavy for prolonged use.
Mike
Pro tool reviews did a test with Dewalt and Makita rear handle vs the corded skillsaw the Dewalt absolutely smoked it and the Makita beat it
Mike
I’m with you on that Jim I personally don’t like the rear handle saws too heavy the Dewalt right blade saw has more than enough power to handle anything thrown its way and is lighter than those rear handle saws with only slightly less power actually it has the same power as the Makita
Nathan
Custom Battery form factor does make some sense. Then again they could have used the X2 of the current SKIL tool battery too (also chevon if I recall)
When some people do side by sides with the dewalt flexvolt and the milwaukee then we will see. I do see some slight benefit to it not bogging down but I hear the dewalt one doesn’t bog down anyway. I suspect the new Milwaukee doesn’t either.
Jp
I bet this thing rocks. Heavy? I’m sure. But not only do I trust it’s a quality product, I bet it will spur innovation across platforms/brands and that is even more valuable than anything else.
andy
First off, the comparison of rear handle vs sidewinder is moot. West coast carpenters will prefer rear handle, East coast sidewinder.
Second, worm drive is not a feature, it’s a compromise. It’s done to overcome AC universal motor limitations. BLDC motors don’t have the same limitations so the Makita/DeWalt/Milwaukee worm drive style saw are really the better design except in the rare case that the extra 1″ of motor protrusion gets in the way.
Finally, I DO expect this to have the most power, give than it has 24 cells powering it (if my math is right) vs 15 Milwaukee and Dewalt or 20 Makita.
XRH07
It’s 24 18650 cells with ~20A continuous discharge. Chervon uses Samsung 25Rs in everything last I saw.
So it will be roughly equal to a 12.0 Ah Dewalt/Milwaukee. Both use 15x Samsung 40T 21700s. (~1620-1700W)
Dewalt 9.0s are technically capable of higher outputs too. 54V x 35A = 1890W. (Samsung 30T)
No idea how you’d factor the phase change wraps they use though.
Either way, I’d be willing to bet this saw doesn’t beat the Dewalt 577 either way.
Curtis
I’m not sure that all of us on the west coast prefer a worm drive, but almost all of us do prefer the blade be on the correct, left, side.
Nathan
AHH HELL now they’ve started that east coast / west coast feud.
damn. get out your gang colors.
(sorry had to, first thing I thought of when I read that post. I’m a child of the 90’s)
Paul
This is coming from a motor shop engineer.
1. In terms of power density, BLDC wins hands down. In fact most of the advanced, high power density motor designs use some form of permanent magnets mixed with electrical fields. The trade off mostly is that rare Earth magnets are not cheap or easily machined. But on a power tool they are so small these cost factors are not as extreme. All the little tiny industrial servo motors out there used in high speed assembly machines are BLDC, hands down, for good reason. They are approaching hydraulic motors in terms of power density these days. And you can easily trade speed and torque within the BLDC design much easier than you can with AC.
2. AC motor speed and torque can certainly be adjusted. As the number of poles which is basically the number of stator coils increases, RPM drops but torque increases. But a direct consequence is that torque is proportional to current so either the motor has to physically get longer or the motor diameter has to grow dramatically. Hence if we simply want to trade torque for speed while maintaining the same physical size, gear boxes are the answer.
3. Not to confuse anything but BLDC works just as well on AC as it does on DC so the DC/AC arguments are not as clear cut as they would seem. In fact a lot of split system air conditioners make extensive use of variable speed or at least single speed electronically commutated BLCD motors….BLDC running on AC. This is done for the simple fact that to meet current EPA SEER ratings, compressors are getting so efficient that the cooling fans are now a major factor in terms of power use. So variable speed and highly efficient motor designs are required.
4. Worm drives don’t make any sense in my mind except that they are the cheapest gearboxes out there. Efficiency is horrendous! It is so bad that a lot of applications that need a “one way” gear box where it acts like a brake in the reverse direction (load driving the drive), the worm drive is the answer. For a saw for the life of me I can’t imagine any reason not to use bevel gears or something equivalent. And when I say bevel gearing, I’m being generic in my terms. This would include for instance a planetary system if inline gearing makes sense as opposed to right angle 3-gear bevel designs.
Neighbor Joe
“Magnesium construction.” It is cheaper and more light weight than steel or aluminum. However, Magnesium is flammable.
Gordon
Pure magnesium in powdered form is flammable. But this is almost certainly not pure magnesium, and that’s quite a large mass of it too. Magnesium is commonly used in automotive rims too. No issues there either.
Jimmy PADILLA
You punks haven’t been framing very long I can tell by stupid comments. There’s one thing everybody forgot to mention the ease of using a worm drive is that it cuts straighter because of the worm drive. So its easier on your hand and arm, all you have to is push it. You’re not having to fight it to stay on a straight line.
Corey Moore
Perhaps everyone in this discussion is just stronger than you, and guiding a side-winder just isn’t a physical challenge for us?
Boggsy
My dad can beat up your dad!
Where I’m from…we don’t give licenses out to worms. And we’ve cancelled all future worm driver’s Ed.
Roger D.
Jimmy, thanks for inserting some wisdom into this thread. I am surprised at the lack of practical knowledge regarding the differences in the saw designs. Paul commented above and I am sure he has forgotten more about electric motors than I have ever known. His knowledge of mechanical design however falls a little short. The problem with the sidewinder saw is that the motor inertial acts as a gyro. The torque created by the saw blade cutting the material results in a precession torque (gyroscopic twist) which forces the blade off track. The inertia vector in a worm drive is oriented 90 degrees such that the blade torque does not send the saw off course. In order to stay on course with a sidewinder, you have to limit your feed rate to minimize this effect. It’s hilarious to see the video above where he concludes the DeWalt is better but he should have used a rip guide because saw dust got in the way on the DeWalt and caused him to go off track. Had he slowed his progress enough to stay on course the model 77 would have won hands down. Also disconcerting are the comments on weight. The problem is not the weight but that the rear handle is not located over the fore/aft center of gravity on any rear handle saw. You need to use the proper technique and cut vertically so that the fore / aft c.g. is not a concern. Also, worm drive gear boxes are not inexpensive. They are far more expensive than spur gears. If a sidewinder saw binds, more torque is generated which then gyroscopic twists the saw more resulting in more binding and kick back. Worm drives simply do not kick back no matter how hard you push it. If a worm drive starts to bind, the one way nature of the worm drive isolates the operator from those loads and the saw simply slows down. Thanks to Jimmy for making everyone aware of these points.
OldDominionDIYer
I’m glad to see Skilsaw re-invigorated, and I hope this sells well. I tend to think the “advantage” worm drives provided in the corded versions won’t be as apparent in a cordless version but I will wait and see. It’s a good looking saw but at over 15lbs I’m a bit skeptical it will be comfortable to handle over a full days effort. Also the 425+ cuts in 2x4s per battery charge seems significantly lower than Milwaukee and Dewalt but again I’ll wait and see. A cutting depth of only 2-3/8″ as compared to others with 2-1/2″ seems underwhelming and no LED task light?
Rx9
I hate to say this, but I’m calling it right now – this thing is gonna be a flop. It’s a great tool on paper, but the reality of cordless tools is that you buy into a battery system, not an individual tool. Nobody who owns a circular saw doesn’t own other power tools. At the very least, they own a drill. Ergo, people buy into systems. If this thing were compatible with an existing system (Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita etc.), it would stand a fighting chance. Chervon’s tech is nice but why, oh why didn’t they license this to a major player for a widely adopted battery standard?
Stuart
That’s certainly possible. But, they have to start somewhere.
Rx9
That’s true – here’s to hoping that battery tech gets off the ground.
Boggsy
Surebonder made a cordless hot glue gun. Instead of making up their own batteries, they made it work with ryobi (then ryobi remade it with their name). Then everyone said heyyy, I want this to work with _____ batteries. So they (Surebonder) made adapters, which are still possibly available. It sounds like the adapter doesn’t have over-discharge protection though, and can potentially drain your better brand battery past the point of recharging on its charger… So I haven’t tried it out.
The point is: adapters are entirely possible. And the tool company that will be heralded as gods, will be whoever first makes a tool that can be properly adapted to most other systems. This should have been Skillsaw (or Senco). From “The saw that built America” to “The saw that changed America.”
They might as well release a corded saw that uses a wacky new plug 7 pronged that takes a $400 adapter to plug in… for no f%÷#ing reason.
Boggsy
Oh cool! A NEW BATTERY FORMAT TO JUMP INTO?! I’ll be getting this the same day I get the cordless senco nail guns: When hell freezes over.
Larry McCauley
I just received my new cordless Skil saw. Granted the weight of the saw will take a while to get used too. That being said…the saw cuts through wet and dry lumber like a champ. For multiple production cutting, I own a makita 18vx2 cordless saw.