I was reading the specs on the Ryobi Circular Saws at the Home Depot
website and I noticed they were several pounds lighter than even the
Skill Magnesium saw. I think they have a three year warranty and
they are 14 amps so I am thinking of trying it out as I could really
appreciate a light weight saw. It has a 90 day exchange warranty
at the Home Depot store and If I use one all day every day I will
know in less than 90 days if they are just a consumer grade saw
made for infrequent use. they do advertise "heavy duty for all day
use however" Seriously less than 8 pounds for this 7.25" sidewinder.
Anyone else have any experience with the Ryobi Circular saws ??

Whole saw is plastic, built like crap, you will be exchanging it. If you want a light saw, that's reasonably priced, and performs well, check out the Ridgid Fuego 6 1/2.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-F...ID-Fuego-12-Amp-6-1-2-in-Magnesium-Compact-Framing-Circular-Saw-R3204/205076385

I bought it for overhead use and I like it so much I barley bring out the Makita Mag anymore, and the Mak is a damn good saw. Not sure which saw your comparing to, but the Makita MG5007 is only 10.125lbs and the Ryobi is 7, so not 8 lbs difference. Fuego is 8lbs.

 

Thanks for your comments tccoggs..... regarding your credibility.....
I just want to ask you tccoggs whether you have ever actually used
the Ryobi saw or is this just your opinion from picking up in the store.
I dont have anything against plastic.... I would acknowledge plastic
to be more fragile but if I can save 20 or 30 percent of the
weight I might like a saw that I could treat very delicately in order
to get the weight savings. I want to point to the most expensive
Ryobi ($69 Home Depot) that says it is heavy duty and can be "used all day".
In particular I will be asking Ryobi whether the motor is ball bearing
or bushing.. That right there says a lot regardless of the durability
of the plastic housing.

However, for the cheaper models ( $39) ... surely bushing motors....
at seven pounds for some jobs .... (and the 90 day replacement guarantee by Home Depot ) I would be willing to use one and just plan on swapping it out every sixty days just to get the weight savings.

 

My dad has one and I have used it. The blade guard will snap right off if you are all rough with it, and the shoe is very thin metal. At some point swapping it every 60 days just isn't worth it. Get a better grade tool, the Fuego is only 1lbs heavier. My current Corded Circular saw list:

Makita 7 1/4", original Japanese made, 25 yrs old. Brick but solid, still works great

Makita 5 1/2", Original Japanese made, great trim and plywood saw. Mainly use it in the shop

Makita 4 3/8, use it for scribing and cabinet work

Makita 5007MAG 7 1/4, most used general purpose saw before I got the Fuego

Milwaukee, Tilt Lock 7 1/4. Won't it at a contractor show, nice saw but its a shelf decoration right now. Might give it to someone that needs a saw.

Makita Hypoid 7 1/4, Heavy, Japanese quality, Used for heavy duty cutting, gang cutting plywood, roofs, etc.

Ridgid Fuego 6.5 inch. First saw off the truck these days. Great combination of power vs. weight.

Skill 5550. My first saw at the age of 14. Bought it at Pergament Home centers for $39. Bronze Bearings, sounds like crap, but won't die. Have a diamond blade on it and cut brick and block with it from time to time.

 

The op is a ryobi troll.

And I have to say, there was a time that men use to swing the biggest hammer they could, today they try to swing the lightest. Grown ass men complaining about a nail gun that weighs 16 oz more; kinda sad in my book.

 

Yea I became a PANSY when I started using power tools. Real Men
from Portland use only hand tools. Aint that right ?

 

Thanks for the tip on the Rigid Fuego.

My secret weapon for about ten years has been an old SkillSaw Professional 7.25" model with a thin kerf 6.5 Marathon blade
in it and the smaller blade increases the blade torque ever so slightly
and that plus the thin kerf allows for that saw to zip through 2X lumber
at 90 degrees like butter.

You ought to try the 6.5 blade in a 7.25 saw. Dont worry you still get
plenty of depth for 2x lumber.

Turns out the Ryobi saws do use ball bearings in the motor and I might
just try their 7lb 13 amp model with a 6.5" blade just for overhead
cutting and rafter tails etc. The thin twisty bottom plate wont likely
be a problem overhead etc.

 

Ive used a couple ryobi tools. Their table saw; garbage. The fence was the most frustrating thing I have ever touched. It was a home owners.

Ryobi hammerdrill. Trash, couldnt drive a screw into cedar fence boards. It was a home owners.

Theyre homeowner grade by and large and will lead to frustration and wasted time.

As far as the weight thing goes, most construction jobs require endurance and strength. No sense making it harder than it needs to be sure, but I go through several young men a year trying to find one that is physically capable of working at a moderate pace for eight hours. Its a generational complaint that as a cell phone society the children we are raising are getting SOFT.

 

Where can I buy this amazingly powerful and light saw?
:thumbup:

 

As far as I can tell, they sell a 13, 14 and 15 amp saw at
7.0, 7.3 and 7.9 pounds at Home Depot.

I will probably get one for overhead one handed work and
activities like trimming rafter tails etc. I will treat it with kid
gloves as it is reasonable to expect that in giving up all that weight
you will be also sacrificing a lot of strength. I did however
see in their schematic parts diagrams that all their saws use
real ball bearings on both ends of their motors.

Like I mentioned earlier as nearly 100 percent of my cutting
is at 90 degrees I will be installing 6.5 inch narrow kerf blades
to increase perceived power.

 

Not saying that putting a 6.5 inch blade on a 7 1\4 is bad but the 7 1\4 won't reach the designed rim speed of the blade with a 6.5. Will probably cut a little slower.

 

TC - put your thinkin cap on. A 6.5 blade makes the saw perform
more like a worm drive saw. So you know just because the blade turns
more slowly doesnt mean it takes longer to finish the cut. With the
extra torque you get to push harder through the cut and you finish faster.
Besides.... there is no such thing as "designed rim speed." Only "maximum"
rpm to keep the blade from slinging carbide bits at your face.
The same is true with table saws. ie 10 inch blade on 12 inch saw etc.

 

I just wanted to add a point of clarification. Using a smaller blade
will increase the speed of cutting but at the sacrifice of quality and
smoothness of cut. So watch out on table saws.... and dont go
that route on a miter saw unless you are using it as a chop saw.

The worm drive saw makers know the best speed for rapid cutting
as they have a transmission and could choose any gear ratio they want.

The Sidewinders saws have to follow the optimum conditions for
best power from the motor since it is direct drive so to speak.

 

No sidewinder comes to mind that is direct drive. Pinion & helical, which also allows mfr to determine blade speed vs worm & spur.

From the electrical end of things both are very similar. Both use "universal" motors, which characteristically develop more horsepower as the rpm goes up, and have high rpm speeds compared to brushless motors.

I'm guessing on average, 10,000/15,000 rpm or so.

You could put an eyeball on the armature end and rotate the blade to see what the ratio is.

 

:whistling Help me :blink: :whistling


A discussion about putting a smaller diameter blade on a Ryobi saw to improve it's cutting rate, by being able to push harder. Because the Ryobi saw is lighter????

The relative optimal rate of cutting does not vary much from same manufacturers between 6,7 & 8 Blades made for similar use. It's about rate of feed based on typical RPMs of each saw as opposed to blade.

Fact is using an abrasive blade that wears out ... the smaller it gets the less you can cut per minute, even if you push harder.

I'm not a ryobi fan. The shop plunge router I bought for general abuse because of price. Amazing how the help can destroy expensive tools and you only find out when you need to do what they really do well. The Ryobi just ate a collar adn almost forked the bottom of an assembled cabinet... because it's sloppy as hell. Get's stupid hot cutting what my similar sized Porter cable can do... Over amp'ed and under powered. ANd hell ya it's lighter :thumbsup: That's Ryobi - not this professionals choice for most projects :blink:

 

Just buy a mag 77 and quit arguing .

 

 

I have a couple pc saw bosses for trim which i love but don't think anything beats a mag for framing.

 

True, hard to beat that much power on a skinny base for framing. That PC splits the difference and it's a really nice, lightweight saw, but the base is pretty wide.