![]() It’s also important that a circular saw’s shoe be an accurate reference surface. So it’s obviously a breeze to use it for small jobs, such as cutting down a door or slicing garage shelves to length. That power and relative lack of heft make the 5280 very easy to handle when cutting framing lumber and plywood. The 5280 weighs 8.7 pounds (a pro-duty model of this type typically weighs at least 11), and it’s equipped with a 15-amp motor, as large as you’ll find on any saw. One of the most important features of any tool of this kind is a high power-to-weight ratio that helps you get more work done with less fatigue. But the Skil would be ideal when you’re building a shed, erecting wood and vinyl fencing, cutting shelves, or sizing plywood sheets before you feed the pieces through a table saw. But for that work, I’d probably go pro-duty, selecting a Skilsaw, Bosch, Makita, or DeWalt. Now would we recommend using this when building a house? Well, you could, and many a home or addition has been framed with a lesser tool. Although we didn’t mount a pro-duty blade on it, if we had, it would only have been better. We cut with the blade at 90 degrees to the shoe and at 45 degrees. We ripped and crosscut Douglas fir and sticky Hem fir framing lumber, made plunge cuts in solid lumber, and gang cuts in plywood. On the specifics, the Skil 5280 is a value-packed saw that cuts accurately and with power. And therein hangs a lesson: A tool need not be worthy of professionals to be very good. ![]() The Skil rids us of such pretensions, as it easily outclassed other inexpensive saws in our recent test. In the process, someone who evaluates this equipment for a living risks becoming a tool snob. Along the way, a reviewer can forget that more accessible models can also get the job done, many quite admirably, too. ![]() ![]() It’s too easy in this business to gravitate toward expensive, pro-duty power tools, which easily impress with their top-of-the line specs. When I think of the Skil 5280, a circular saw that costs just shy of $60, I’m reminded that the average person can struggle to get the money together for a decent set of tools. Comes equipped with a laser guide, if you’re so inclined to make use of it.What you need is a reasonably priced, easy-handling machine with good power and a light weight, all of which you get with the Skil 5280. The Takeaway: If you’re not a contractor, you don’t need a contractor-duty circular saw. ![]()
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