19 - Clamp Storage System, страница 8
SELECTING TOOLS Circular SawsOur Testing Team (from left to right) Steve Whether he's in his shop cutting up plywood, dimension lumber, or hardwood boards, Steve often relies on a circular saw. Cary: A circular saw is the tool of choice when Cary needs to break down large sheets of plywood to manageable size. Ken A professional carpenter and cabinetmaker, Ken uses a circular saw extensively to cut a wide variety of materials. Doug: When he's not remodeling his house, Doug gives his circular saw a workout by helping friends with projects of their own. Prices Black & Pecker 300 $59.00 200 $49.99 100 $39.00 Quantum 3100 $67.00 Ryobi W660 $79.95 Sears 10325 $79.99 10224 $59.99 10223 $49.99 Skil 5350 $66.99 5250 $53.03 5150 $44.71 convenient to use than the pointed button located on top of the Sears saw (right). 8 ShopNotes No. 19 we put a new carbide-tipped blade on each saw. With saws in hand, the testing began. To provide a reliable comparison, each team member made A pile of sawdust and cutoffs. That's all that was left of the truckload of plywood and 2xl0's that we cut up to test the circular saws shown below. But when the dust finally settled, what we had to show for it was definitely worth the effort — the best (and worst) circular saws for the money. team. To get a wide variety of viewpoints when testing the saws, we deliberately rounded up a team of people with different woodworking interests and experience, see photo and list above. Of course, one of the problems with this is you're likely to end up with more than one <(best" saw. But that's not necessarily bad. Each person picked the saw that was best for him based on the type of work he does most frequently. Which is just the kind of information I'd want when buying a saw. procedure. Unlike the final selections, the testing procedures for each saw were identical. We started out by buying all the saws we could find (eleven in all) that fell in a medium-price range ($39-$80), see margin at left. Of these saws, the Ryobi, and the top end Sears and Skil saws were the only ones to come with carbide-tipped blades — something to consider when comparing the prices of the saws. So to keep things on an equal footing, Spindle Lock. A large, flat spindle lock button located near the front of the Quantum (left) is more Quantum •:v;v ( |
