Cordless Circular Saw Nirvana....

[Radian]

Bill and others have advocated the use of a cordless circular saw for builds.

I've sat on the fence in this regard waaaaaay too long, but I feel my wait has paid off. All the right technologies have finally come together in the latest crop of cordless power tools.

Suffice to say, I'm in heaven.

[Chris_Allen]

I realise that the bettery clips into the handle but it still looks tiny!

I love my table saw but cutting full sheets of ply on it is a two person job and takes up more space than I have.

[Radian]

FWIW it's got a rather large grip, but indeed, the standard M12 pack is dwarfish....but for good reason. There's always the XC pack for the long haul.

What really threw me for a loop was, in combination with the Freud blade, just how quiet this thing is.

I'm talking a dumb-near "cutting at 3 o'clock in the morning, garage door open, without waking the neighbors up" level of quiet. Not that I'm recommending that, but seriously, it's a possibility now that I'd have never previously considered.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I realise that the bettery clips into the handle but it still looks tiny!

Tiny is all you need to cut 1/2" plywood. Remember that a standard circular saw is sized to cut 1.5" thick lumber. That saw is a bit small, with only a 5.5 inch blade. Mine has a 6.5 inch. One advantage to the larger blade is the wider availability of good blades, like the pictured Freud. Years ago I had a 5.5 and I couldn't get high quality blades for it.

[67baja]

I haven't seen the M12 circular saw, but will probably get one when I find one in stock at Home Depot. I absolutely love the M12 tools. My tool collection probably has 15 or so M12 tools right now (several impacts, several flexible cameras, pvc cutter, pex pro expander, several Hackzalls, sub scanner, multimeter, hammer drills, radio, drivers, 2 multi-tools, hoodie jacket, ratchet, flashlights, etc.). The Milwaukees are pricey, but in the 4 or so years of collecting and using the M12s, not one has failed me.

[Radian]

I think it's finally starting to click with some of the sales folks that just because something is smaller, it's not an excuse to skimp on all the features.

The stigma being that "smaller" implies "P.O.S."

"Oh, it's just a trim saw...no precision required."

Like Bill was getting at, now they actually make quality blades in the smaller sizes. They finally put a real motor, controller, and shoe on them.

No replacement for a bigger blade or a table saw when required, but using the smaller cordless to build an entire cabinet wasn't even a possibility just a few years back.

Did I forget to mention how quiet this thing is?

[Drey Chennells]

Nice saw dude! My Milwaukee tools just won't die