I have the Bosch 1677M-100 7 1/4" Worm Drive. Sorry about keep mentioning reviews at Amazon, but I was a tool buying fanatic, yeah had a bad case of tool buying fever for a few years, but I used to research the heck out of every tool before buying it. So I became, due to no fault of my own, one of the top 500 reviewers at Amazon. Actually I hit number 150 out of over 60 million Amazonians, but have not been contributing very much for a while. So here goes, if you want to read my review on the Bosch 1677 Worm drive, Amazon chose it as there most helpful review, and featured it on this page. I really love the saw. It's artwork.
The real beauty of it is how unbelievably quiet it is for a circular saw, and it cuts a straight line by itself, at least it seems to, instead of the typical circular saw experience, of trying to follow the line, it veers off a little bit, so you force steer it back on track, or back it up a little then proceed, leaving an uneven also, then the blade wants to bind in the cut, and jump out of the track and kick back at you. I do not experience that with the Bosch worm drive. Like I said, aim it right to start, and it almost cuts along the line for you.
The realizable difference between a standard circular saw and a worm drive are several. A worm drive has a transmission, which gears it down. It is like trying to climb that hill in your car in first gear instead of fourth. So it is slower but has a lot more torque. You can get through some wicked stock without any complaints from the saw. The problem is that the transmission weighs more. So it is heavier to lug around.
Interestingly, SkilSaw was bought by Bosch, so they make both. The SkilSaw has a 13 amp motor, the Bosch a 15. The
Bosch which has more magnesium in it, weighs a couple of pounds lighter than the Skil as well. The SkilSaw has been a construction standard for a long time. The Bosch costs only 20 or 30 dollars more than the Skil, at least the last time I looked it did, and you get a more powerful motor, and lighter weight. They are both great saws.
The other thing about the Bosch worm drive is its incredible accuracy. The shoe plate is perfectly paralell to the blade, so you can straight edge off of one side of the shoe plate, and know you are getting a blade that is cutting perfectly paralell to your straight edge. Makes it possible to use a higher tooth blade, and get crazy smooth cuts.
The blade angle was set up nicely from Bosch and is fully adjustable, so yes it cuts a perfect 90 as well. I would not hesitate to use this to do finish grade woodwork, and sometimes do.
As far as handling goes, the rear handle worm drive is great to get behind, and plow through your cut. If you are up on a ladder, or in a position that you have to make a left to right cut across the front of you, the rear handle position is workable but not ideal. So Milwaukee came out with a circular saw with an adjustable handle. So it becomes a top handle, as well as a rear handle, and a few positions in between I think. (I don't own one)
Finallyl, I ran into a framer in Home Depot one day, and was asking him for some input on what he liked to use on the job site, and he mentioned that the Porter Cable 314 4.5amp 4 1/2" trim saw is what he uses for everything. That is also a worm drive. Some of the reviews at Amazon reveal that the sole plate is not properly aligned with the blade, and that it did not hold up cutting 2" oak, but the carpentar in Home Depot claimed it went through everything. (He is most likely cutting 2/12's max 1 1/2" material of soft pine. He loved it because it was so lightweight. (It only weighs 7 pounds, as compared to 15 for the Bosch) yet had the added torque of a worm drive, although it only started out at 4.5 amps. I see Norm Abrams using one on the New Yankee Workshop all of the time. He does it for his precision cuts in the shop as a light duty saw. If you can work out the bugs of sole plate misalignment, depending on your needs, that may be a saw to have.
Maybe I am giving you way more information that you are looking for, but when I am buying something, the more I know, the better off I am.
Last edited by Bob Feeser; 01-10-2008 at 12:42 AM.
"Fine is the artist who loves his tools as well as his work."