Worm Drive Saws and Blades

[John Mark Lane]

Hi Folks,

When I was full time in construction, we had worm drive circular saws that were basically considered the standard, IIRC. The big one was a Skil, and everybody had a little one from Porter-Cable.

Well, digging through my old tools, I found my old Porter-Cable trim saw. I went to Home Depot tonight to get a new blade for it...and bo and lehold, they don't seem to sell a 4 1/2 inch blade.

I jumped on amazon, and I found like two 4 1/2 inch blades, one of which appears to have a different arbor opening size. The only one I see that appears intended for the PC is $22.

I don't necessarily mind spending $22...but what's the deal here? Did these saws go out of style? Are they even still making them? Why can't I find any blades? Help!!?

[Nathan Palenski]

Is this the saw you have? Looks like took king carries at least one blade for it.

[John Mark Lane]

Yes, that's the saw. It's a great little saw. I always thought it was the "must have" saw for trim carpenters (which I was for some years). I'm glad at least it still seems to be in production. But... one blade? Jeez, is it really so rare a saw these days that the mainstream stores hardly even notice it? Just kind of curious. If so, what replaced it?

[Aaron Wingert]

All the cordless tool manufacturers came out with cordless trim saws, so you don't see to many corded trim saws around that often. If you ask me, I'd rather have the cord. I have the DeWalt trim saw (given to me as a gift), and it isn't worth the plastic it is made of.

[John Mark Lane]

Yeah, I have a Makita cordless. I've had it for probably ten years at least. I think it uses a 3 1/2 inch blade. It's more or less useless. Just doesn't have the power, as I recall, and the battery tends to wear down very fast. I use a cordless drill/driver all the time, and find it very handy (I have two Dewalts). But other than that I don't much care for cordless tools.

Frankly, I think the whole damn profession has declined.

But then, I've been known to be an old grump. Feh.

[Nathan Palenski]

Yes, that's the saw. It's a great little saw. I always thought it was the "must have" saw for trim carpenters (which I was for some years). I'm glad at least it still seems to be in production. But... one blade? Jeez, is it really so rare a saw these days that the mainstream stores hardly even notice it? Just kind of curious. If so, what replaced it?

I've only ever used 7 1/4" worm gears. I have a trim saw I got in a trade but its 5 3/8" which is probably even rarer.

[John Mark Lane]

I've only ever used 7 1/4" worm gears. I have a trim saw I got in a trade but its 5 3/8" which is probably even rarer.

Oddly enough, I think there were several 5 3/8 inch circular saw blades at Home Depot. I don't think I've ever seen a saw that used that sized blade.

I just found a Forrest 4 1/2 inch blade that's rated well for the PC 314. It's $50. Sheesh. It's mind boggling to me that I have to pay that much for a blade for this little thing. Mind boggling, and a little depressing. Not to be a Miniver Cheevy, but it just seems like so many things have declined in quality. At least around here, the trades are not so much a matter of pride and skill any more, as they are a way to make an easy buck off of clueless professionals.

Sorry...rant off. I just get fed up sometimes....

[Bill ThompsonNM]

When I did a search on amazon for 'porter cable trim saw'. Besides coming up with the saw it came up with at least 4 different blades that fit it on the first screen... Prices in the $10-15 range

[John Mark Lane]

Well now that's creative.

All I did was type in "4 1/2 inch saw blade". I got several blades, but only one with the right arbor size for the PC saw. When I tried your search just now, I got only three items -- the saw, a book, and one blade (not the one I got before).

It does look like you can find the blades, and not all of them are so expensive. It just seems like this saw isn't as popular as it used to be, so blades are not as common (eg, none on the Borg).

Anyway, thanks,

Mark