Circular saw for a beginner - corded vs cordless

FreeBear

Nearlyold said:

FreeBear said:

ozaz said: Most immediate need is to re-arrange my kitchen a bit which will involve some cuts in kitchen worktop. Next is to build a storage bench for hallway. Both will involve relatively long straight cuts.

Cutouts in a (laminate or solid wood) worktop are best done with a router. If you are doing any joints (either straight or mitred), a jig is essential. If the worktop is being scribed to the wall, then a router is needed. But you do need a bit of practice before using one in anger and you must pay attention to the direction of cut lest you chip/gouge a corner.

A circular saw is good for long straight cuts, but you can't do internal corners (that's where a jigsaw is useful).

If you mean for sink cut outs and alike - actually you can with a Plunge Saw. I find the problem with jigsaws is that it's only too easy to end up with the bottom of the blade cutting the worktop in a different place to the top of the blade 

What I meant was you can not get right in to the corners to full depth with a circular blade - There will always be a bit that doesn't get cut neatly. So you either end up having to finish with a hand saw or jigsaw. The alternative is to smack it with a hammer and then clean up with a chisel or router... Or you can finish with a multitool and a deep cut blade.

daivid

How about a hand saw (couldn't see it mentioned so far) for cutting to near size before using the router? Shouldn't cost more than £10 for a good one, and if only doing one or two straight cuts won't be much slower (possibly quicker even) than setting up a circular saw, applying the extra ppe and clearing up the mess (or setting up the extractor). Before fitting my kitchen I bought a nice Dewalt corded jigsaw thinking I'd use it lots, I used it to cut out for the sink and then it sat in a cupboard for 3 years before I made good use of it again.