Old craftsman circular saw I have is finally giving out.

I know there's good brands out there, just curious if anyone Had any opinions on any of them.

Thanks for any replies.

what's wrong with the brand you have?

FYI - my FIL gave me a Craftsman for Christmas a few years ago and it's done everything I've asked it to

I am assuming you are a DIY/Homeowner. If that is correct, just go to home depot or lowes and spend $100 to get a new saw. I like the Dewalt or Makita. Some people will say you should spend a little more and get one with a magnesium shoe.

I have this one, and it has worked well for the years.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-7-1-4-in-Corded-Circular-Saw-with-Steel-Shoe/3712158
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-15-Amp-7-1-4-in-Lightweight-Circular-Saw-DWE575/203273038

Agree with above, would add Milwaukee to that list

Makita


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-7-1-4-in-15-Amp-Corded-Circular-Saw-with-Dust-Port-2-LED-Lights-24T-Carbide-Blade-5007F/202873973

I have one that is used almost daily daily at jobsites


Bought it in April 2004

I too had an older Craftsman that finally gave up the ghost. I prefer Milwaukee but that does not mean others are not good too. One thing that I have done is go cordless and use the Milwaukee M18 Fuel. I use it almost 90% of the time and only use my cord saw when I am doing a very large project.

It's a saw my my grandfather bought for himself about 1984, ive had it since about 2004.

Just getting to where it doesn't run like it use to.

Skil, I have one that's been working for 40+ years.

My stuff is all dewalt for the most part. Cordless is a fantastic option. I just picked up a cordless circular saw a few weeks ago to work building out my shop and it has impressed. Plus, I have the batteries AND the chargers to maintain a good stock of charges batteries for my projects.

https://www.festoolproducts.com/power-tools/festool-track-saws/festool-575737-hkc-55-cordless-airstream-bluetooth-5-2ah-track-saw-plus-fsk.html?SID=76d2ajf53trj3qjvv7f1h56p65

Wow
Didn't know you could spend that Much on a circular saw

Love my Festool track saw (not cordless). But those aren't really what the OP is asking for.

Most all of the top brands are great. And if you go cordless most have full lineups of compatible tools. I like Milwaukee because of their Hackzall.

I have the Makita track saw, and really like it, but that is a totally different discussion.

OP, Don't go cordless. Your last saw lasted decades. Just get a good corded saw. Go to the local store and see which one is most comfortable and easiest for you to use. Look at the weight, guards, guides, adjustments, etc. and you will be fine.

If you go to HD, you will probably end up with a Dewalt or Makita. Those are very good saws for the money.

Now, who wants to discuss track saws?

Gunny456 said:

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I too had an older Craftsman that finally gave up the ghost. I prefer Milwaukee but that does not mean others are not good too. One thing that I have done is go cordless and use the Milwaukee M18 Fuel. I use it almost 90% of the time and only use my cord saw when I am doing a very large project.

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I've had the m18 fuel saw for years and use it over the corded saw. Game changer on projects.

I'm happy with my corded dewalt, battery dewalt, and corded rigid loaner.
Both dewalts use 7 1/4". The Rigid uses 6 1/2". I prefer the 7 1/2".
I bought the battery dewalt to use around the yard and on small projects. For me, I have found it to be incredibly handy. I still use the corded for breaking sheet good up.
I've replaced brushes on my corded dewalt. You may want to check them on yours. They are usually easy to access and replace. Much cheaper than buying a new saw.

My dad passed away two years ago. My mom gave me his tool "box". It consisted of a circular saw, jig saw, hand sander, and a drill. All were Skil. I rarely use tools and I don't know much about them, but Skil is now my favorite brand.

First, do you have any other modern cordless tools? Drills, impacts, reciprocating saws, grinders, lights, radios, etc.? If so, go with the same brand for battery commonality. If you already have the batteries and chargers you can save money by getting the bare tool. (This is excluding Craftsman. Don't buy new Craftsman power tools.)

If not and you want cordless, Milwaukee and DeWalt are the brands to go with. And between those it seems like Milwaukee has stayed a half step ahead of DeWalt for the last 10 years. But that may just be my perception.

If I could only have one circular saw, it'd be the Skil Mag-77 worm drive. It's corded and heavy, but nothing beats it. This one will last you your lifetime unlike the battery tools and won't pigeon hole you to a particular brand of batteries.

Mas89 said:

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Gunny456 said:

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I too had an older Craftsman that finally gave up the ghost. I prefer Milwaukee but that does not mean others are not good too. One thing that I have done is go cordless and use the Milwaukee M18 Fuel. I use it almost 90% of the time and only use my cord saw when I am doing a very large project.

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I've had the m18 fuel saw for years and use it over the corded saw. Game changer on projects.

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I have a nice Dewalt corded saw and a few years ago I wanted to try a cordless saw. I went with Milwaukee M18 Fuel because at the time it was the only one with a standard 7 1/4 blade (I actually sold all my old dewalt cordless tools and switched everything to milwaukee based solely on the fact they had a 7 1/4 blade cordless saw). It came with a high demand 10 amp hour battery and I haven't opened my corded saw since. I built a 12x22 deck last summer and it made all the cuts and I think I only charged it two or three times total during the whole project. It has been awesome and I can't imagine ever using my corded saw again. I won't sell my corded saw just in case but that cordless is just so handy and cuts about 90-95% as well. More than enough trade off for the handiness of it. I was an 18 volt dewalt guy for years and have been very happy with the 18 fuel milwaukee's. 20 volt Dewalt may be just as good I just don't have any experience with those. Also know that 20 volt Dewalt and 18 volt fuel milwaukee are basically the same thing they measure the volts differently one is I believe peak voltage vs standard or something like that they are basically the same power level.

What are you going to do with it? Are you a carpenter that is framing houses all day every day? Or are you looking for a saw to do projects around the house on the weekend?

If you are just doing projects around the house, you can't beat the 20v Dewalt cordless saw. Get a spare battery or two and your set for 99% of the household projects. Cordless is nice cause there is no fuss with extension cords and it's powerful enough to get most jobs done.

If you're framing houses all day, every day, I wouldn't recommend a cordless saw. Get a corded saw from a reputable name like Makita.

Not framing houses, just projects on things my wife asks me to build.

I'm curious about the craftsman comment, is craftsman not a very good company? I only ask because growing up, every tool i saw was craftsman.

I find that a quality blade makes more difference than the saw itself. I really like the dewalt 40 tooth. Works great on everything from thin plywood to building large projects.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00697YRLG?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I'm in agreement with most of the suggestions. If you have some battery powered tools already then I would buy a cordless one that brand(I have a milwaukee cordless that's been great). If not probably another corded one. Milwaukee, dewalt, makita, etc.

Word on the street is craftsman power tools have gone down in quality the last 10 years ish. Don't have any myself just what I've heard

Craftsman tools are kind of hit or miss. My understanding is craftsman doesn't make any tools they are only a brand name and the tools are made by someone else and always have been. However I think the quality of the the manufacturers they used has gone down hill considerably. Some older craftsman tools rival the best made, I have some box end wrenches and sockets that were made by Armstrong and considered top shelf but during the same time they had some made by other manufactures that were less than desirable but you have to know the stamp codes and all that to know whether you have the good ones or the bad ones. I think in general since going to lowe's their quality has somewhat improved over what it had become at sears but it was pretty low at sears at the end.

If you want to go down the rabbit hole of hand tools the guys over at garagejournal will help you go as far down that hole as you want. Admittedly looking back I may have gone too far myself but I really enjoy working around the house with quality tools. I have changed the majority of my craftsman stuff out for S&K for the house and gearwrench for the truck in case they get stolen. I have been going through my tools over the last few years and slowly changing them out to some quality stuff. Chad's Toolbox has a lot of quality european tools and Harry Epsteins out of kansas city has a lot of american made stuff which I prefer.

I have a rigid that I like. Needed one in a pinch because my old cordless tools quit taking a charge. It has held up well

Anyone using harbor freight? The last time I needed a circular saw was 9 years ago. I am planning to build a small shed this year and would break it out for a fence in the next couple years then it might be another decade before I need it.

In other words, if durability/longevity is of no concern then it may be good for a couple jobs? Alternatively, if they are awful out the box then I'd spend the extra $100.

Take Stanley, Black, & Decker forexample

They try to have tools at various price points that are targeted at various buyers.

B&D - Entry Level Tools
Craftsman - DIY, good value and will last a long time for the user that uses it for various home projects.
Dewalt - Construction grade tools

Craftsman is probably fine for your description, but the dewalt is only $30 more and is a better saw.

The Craftsman we grew up with is not the Craftsman of today. Even their hand tools have slipped some in quality.
That said, I have a 30yo craftsman corded saw (7-1/4) that still runs great but is hefty.
Last year I bought a cordless BL Makita 6-1/2 that I use for breaking down plywood because its lighter and more nimble - I also have a couple other Makita 18V & 36V tools so I'm invested in the brand.

I only buy Milwaukee power tools these days.

I will also add my day job is construction project management on commercial projects, while I don't do the work I see what tools do the work. With very few exceptions everyone uses dewalt or milwaukee (probably 70/30 dewalt) cordless tools and beat them to hell. As far as framing and corded saws you see mostly worm drive saws and add makita to that list.

As far as harbor freight they have their place. If I was going to cut a lot of cement board on a job I would probably buy a harbor freight for that and just throw it away after save the wear and tear and your good saw. I buy stuff at harbor freight for certain projects.

I bought a craftsman 7-1/4 in 1990 and it still functions like new. I borrowed a friends Skil saw to use while mine was at the ranch, and i found it to be every bit as good as the craftsman.

Ended up with a 7 1/4 corded dewalt, was roughly $99.

And may have found a way to spend some more of the covid stimulus after looking at miter saws and their prices.