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I wanted to make some face plates from ABS plastic. I also wanted to do a decor around the house with 2x2 plywood, build a shed in the back yard. Need something very mobile, cordless and small which does the job.
Now you throw "build a shed" into the mix?!?!? And cordless as well? You sound like some customers of mine who "just wanted a little program to total up payroll hours..." and after I said "Okay" added in with an innocent looking face "...and can you make it compute deductions, vacation time, overtime, and fill in existing forms from three different government agencies?"
The best old saw for you is named "Bob" and he charges $20/hr.
If you are going to cut a bunch of plywood and build a shed, just go buy a regular, corded, 7 1/2" circular saw and a variety of blades. (plywood, and carbide toothed combination) And GET SAW HORSES. People (and I have been one) use all kinds of expedients trying to avoid spending $40 on a pair of collapsible saw horses; those expedients are almost always dangerous.
BE CAREFUL! I have been working around power tools for 45+ years now, and circular saws, table saws, radial arm saws, shapers, planers, and routers still scare me to death. And alcohol or weed must never be consumed until all power tools are off and in their boxes.
If you are going to cut ABS you probably need a J16/sabre saw. And you're going to need to sandwich it and cut it on the edge of a good rigid work surface (you did buy the saw horses, didn't you? A 4 foot square piece of 3/4" plywood laid over your two new saw horses will make a good work table) to keep it from chipping and shattering all over the place. I would probably use Masonite for the sacrificial sandwich, it's cheap.
I'm looking to start some home projects and I need a portable small cutting device. That would cut 2 x 2 plywood, pieces of plastic and whatever else I need. Any recommendations?
As previously mentioned, you’re asking a very general question. Pull up dome YouTube videos for what project you will be doing or what pipe or other specific material you will be cutting and the proper tools will most likely be shown.
Otherwise, you could hit a Home Depot with your credit card and purchase at least 6 of the most commonly used power saws and then select battery or plug in as well!
DeWalt Sawz-All with a wood-metal blade. Jack of all trades but CERTAINLY a master of none. Mini circular saws will cut straighter, but this will not be a high-RPM saw if you're concerned about using them, but instead reciprocating. Will work for narrow boards but you just don't want to count on a straight edge if cutting down a 4 x 8...
OP - I’m about 75% through installing an engineered wood floor in my basement. I’ve used my table saw (Dewalt), compound miter (Craftsman) and cheap band saw (Ryobi), in addition to my handheld little “cutting tool”.
I’ve done many a project, and ditched the battery aspect years ago. For mobility - I bought a portable table thingy majiggy that allows me to attach any of the above mentioned to it, wheel it to the location needed, and an extension cord.
What you’re wanting to do - table saw and a miter is my suggestion, if you want some degree of precision with your cuts.
It's surprising to me how a saw that can cut metal is not good for cutting wood or plastic vise versa. It is my impression that all the saws have a blade on them and it is for cutting. I'm not a professional by any means so I don't need to buy one for each type of work. I just need something that is very safe to use for a person like me and super portable, small, light and gets the job done.
I think what I may need is a reciprocating sawzall. It can be used for everything and is cordless.
If you are going to cut a bunch of plywood and build a shed, just go buy a regular, corded, 7 1/2" circular saw and a variety of blades. (plywood, and carbide toothed combination) And GET SAW HORSES. People (and I have been one) use all kinds of expedients trying to avoid spending $40 on a pair of collapsible saw horses; those expedients are almost always dangerous.
BE CAREFUL! I have been working around power tools for 45+ years now, and circular saws, table saws, radial arm saws, shapers, planers, and routers still scare me to death. And alcohol or weed must never be consumed until all power tools are off and in their boxes.
If you are going to cut ABS you probably need a J16/sabre saw. And you're going to need to sandwich it and cut it on the edge of a good rigid work surface (you did buy the saw horses, didn't you? A 4 foot square piece of 3/4" plywood laid over your two new saw horses will make a good work table) to keep it from chipping and shattering all over the place. I would probably use Masonite for the sacrificial sandwich, it's cheap.
^^^^^This^^^^^
Building a shed will require a circular saw for cutting dimensional lumber to length, a few angles, as well as plywood. Cordless circular saws exist, but they won’t have the capacity to do much work in a day, as this type of work will drain batteries quickly.
A jigsaw/Sabre saw is appropriate for ABS, some wood (but not a shed), and sheet metal if you have the right blade and lots of patience. Again, don’t go cordless because of the power demands.
Neither tool is terribly expensive if you stick to the basic homeowner brands like Ryobi or Black and Decker. Those brands won’t stand up to continuous construction use, but that isn’t what you are looking for, so stick to the entry level stuff.
As others note, there are a reasons why there are many different types of saws. I own about a dozen different powered saws/tools and a similar number of hand saws, and I can see reasons for picking up a few more increasingly specialized items.
Now you throw "build a shed" into the mix?!?!? And cordless as well? You sound like some customers of mine who "just wanted a little program to total up payroll hours..." and after I said "Okay" added in with an innocent looking face "...and can you make it compute deductions, vacation time, overtime, and fill in existing forms from three different government agencies?"
The best old saw for you is named "Bob" and he charges $20/hr.
Isn't that a typical customer who pays for your services? In my line of work that is almost every customer. The amount of time I had to sit through CAB meetings to get last minute changes approved. Ughhh
It's surprising to me how a saw that can cut metal is not good for cutting wood or plastic vise versa. It is my impression that all the saws have a blade on them and it is for cutting. I'm not a professional by any means so I don't need to buy one for each type of work. I just need something that is very safe to use for a person like me and super portable, small, light and gets the job done.
It isn’t just about the material. It is about accuracy, cutting depth, speed, etc. A Primer:
Circular saw: Incredibly versatile, lightweight, reasonably powerful. A typical one will cut about 2.5” deep, so it is good for 2x lumber and plywood. It is tough to run a really straight line on plywood for any great length, you arelikely to get drift or waviness, but with care you can get reasonable results. They are terrible for cutting angles or compound angles with any accuracy. Their speed will tear up plastic, and blades arenot fine enough for metal. No possibility of cutting curves, not a wise choice for a plunge cut. Good likelihood of tearout.
Jigsaw. Small thin blade allows you to do finer work, cut curves, do interior cuts if starting with a hole created by a drill. You can cut plywood, but it will take forever and you will get lots of waviness and drift. You can cut 2x, but it pushes the limits of the blade and will take forever. Because of the slower speed and variety of finer blades, available, this is a good choice for materials like plastic or metal. No accuracy for angles, Little tearout.
Sawzall/reciprocating saw. This is a demo tools, or good for rough cuts. Crap for accuracy, straitness or angles.
Multitool. Niche device for plunge cuts, good for ABS, drywall, stuff like that.
Tablesaw. Stationary device, the portables are not worth purchasing. Way more 5han you are ready to take on. Great for long accurate cuts in lumber or plywood.
Compound miter saw. Another mostly stationary device. Almost the opposite of a table saw. Can only make short cuts across the wood, but very accurate and superb for any angles.
Router. Incredibly versatile with hundreds of bits. Think of it like a drill that can also drag the bit sideways to make a cut. Great for creating molding and edging wood. A specialty tool you will have no use for.
Each of the above comes in a variety of sizes, types of drive, accuracy, power, accessories, can handle all sorts of blades and bits. Track saws are a variation on circular saws, sliding compound miter saws are a variation on chop saws, etc.
Think of kitchen knives as an analogy. A butter knife, a steak knife, a paring knife, a bread knife and a chef’s knife are all knives, can sort of substitute for one another albeit badly at times, and are suited for particular jobs. Saws are the same thing.
Last edited by fishbrains; 10-23-2019 at 09:39 PM..
It's surprising to me how a saw that can cut metal is not good for cutting wood or plastic vise versa. It is my impression that all the saws have a blade on them and it is for cutting. I'm not a professional by any means so I don't need to buy one for each type of work. I just need something that is very safe to use for a person like me and super portable, small, light and gets the job done.
I think what I may need is a reciprocating sawzall. It can be used for everything and is cordless.
Well, being surprised is part of learning things.
As someone else noted, the sawzall is extremely useful for rough work and demolition, but will give very messy results for anything where you want even a simulacrum of precision. Also trying to cut plastic with it will probably be a total disaster as it just has a little vestigial foot. There's a reason why I have been using handsaws for 50 years, have owned a circular saw (with cord) for 40 years, but only bought my sawzall about 10 years ago.
Yes, you do need a different tool for each different type of work (within reason, of course). I have already told you the tools you need for the three jobs you've described: for building a shed or any similar construction, a corded circular saw. Same for cutting a bunch of plywood. Look at the guys building houses down the street, or replacing a roof deck; they are using circular saws. For cutting small pieces of plastic you probably want a sabre saw, but frankly if you're not doing a lot of that, just use a hacksaw with a fine pitch blade.
And believe me when I tell you that you need at least one crosscut handsaw. Trust me, it is EXTREMELY dangerous to try to cut 1/4" off a 2" long piece of wood using a power saw.
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And cordless as well? You sound like some customers of mine who "just wanted a little program to total up payroll hours..." and after I said "Okay" added in with an innocent looking face "...and can you make it compute deductions, vacation time, overtime, and fill in existing forms from three different government agencies?" 
