I need a circular saw for a few odd jobs. Nothing more than DIY. I was planning on spending £100 on a makita corded saw. However, a friend has suggested I spend £150 and buy a bare cordless Dewalt saw and use my two 1.3Ah batteries from my drill.
I don’t need a cordless saw, I’ll never be far from a plug socket. My drill doesn’t get a great deal of use (once a month maybe) so it would be good to get my monies worth from the batteries. That said when the batteries die that probably means a new drill and a new saw. A corded makita saw would probably last me a lifetime.

What do people suggest?

Corded if your wanting to cut wood,ply etc

Cordless for cutting your toast.

Seriously a 1.3ah battery won’t be up to much on a circular saw as they draw a fair bit of power.

A 240v Makita 5704RK would be great and under £100

Clicky

What he said…

Corded all the way unless you can afford something really fancy. I reckon you’d have to go 24V to get any power, and then you’re looking at getting on for £250-300 for saw & batteries.

Corded, you’ll get yourself a decent Makita/Blue Bosch/Hitachi for around the £100.

I reckon that my circular saw is probably the most dangerous tool power tool I own so when you get one, just be careful with it. It’s easy to be quite blasé with them.

What they all said, I have a cordless dewalt 18v saw that I use with my 2.6ah batteries for ripping thin sheet material but it doesn’t do many meters on a battery and gets bogged down on anything too thick/hard. I also have a corded rail saw that batters through most things all day long.

I’ve got a blue Bosch cordless for occasional use. It’s a nice little saw for small jobs, cutting down ply sheets, etc, but it’s nowhere near as powerful as the smallest mains saw.
If you already had some 3Ah Li-Ion batteries then the cordless might be worthwhile, but your little 1.3s won’t last long enough, so get the corded one.
You won’t go wrong with a Makita.

Cordless saws are a different creature really to corded ones. They’re good for nadgery freehand work. My makita one is back to front – blade on the left side of the saw so you can see it and work quickly and one handed. Battery life is better than you’d expect if you use the dedicated blades but long cuts or thick materials will bog you down. It totally goosed one of my batteries with one too, just working it too hard and getting everything too hot.

The cordless saws aren’t an alternative to a corded saw – they’re an addition to one and do certain jobs better than a corded one, or that a corded one couldn’t do.

I’d agree with that, my DeWalt is also ‘left handed’ and is ideal for the jobs I use it for but I think if you’re making a purchase for DIY/light trade then corded is the way forward.

Thanks everyone especially Kbrembo. That was the saw I’m looking at and didn’t realise Screwfix had reduced the price. I suspected my 1.3Ah batteries would be too small. My friend has only been cutting laminate flooring. Off to the shops tomorrow.
Another successful thread!

cordless drills, even 18V ones, are never drills, they are “drivers” and pathetic compared to a good old wired lump. (dont get me wrong, drivers are super useful for little quick drilling jobs)

i imagine a battery plunge saw will struggle pretty quickly and not carry half the speed, resulting in messy finish

I have a £50 b and q one. Corded and copess nicely with chunky wood and board.

Handy bit of kit but needs handling with care.

I cut ply and solid wood for a living and have just got Makita 18v jigsaw, plane and drill. I love them. The freedom that cordless offers is a godsend, the tools I have give me all the cut I need, and the lack of cord way makes up for a bit of hp that corded may give.

My advice would be not to bother spending that much for odd bits of DIY use. I have a £30 silverline/homebase/B&Q/cant remember and it has been fine over the last 3 or 4 years.