Side note on that old saw of mine: I had a mechanic steal it from me about 20 years ago. I managed to locate it at a pawn shop, and convicted him of "receiving stolen property". Needless to say, I'm rather fond of that saw after all these years, and it's still awesome in a cut.
While the battery operated saws are probably great for knocking a 2x4 off at the right length, they'll never even come close to ripping a 2x10 narrow enough to fit that 9" wide gap in the floor of my trailers. Most folks don't make custom widths of standard lumber, but that is my most common use. I try to buy just the right amount of 6", 8", and 10" wide lumber, but sometimes that just doesn't work out.
Most of my other carpentry can be done with a chainsaw, or this little toy:
on this:
Unfortunately, a miter saw won't rip lumber, and I don't own a portable table saw. I haven't touched that old Shopsmith for 30 years.
Time for a little tale: I don't do enough carpentry to justify owning the above contraption. While it is the best saw I've ever used, I just cannot justify the nearly $1000.00 that it cost. I was doing a landscape installation right by the front door of a large commercial property, a local factory for a national food chain you would certainly recognize. I was using a gas powered chop saw to cut our 6x6 timbers where needed, and their management decided that it looked unsafe, despite the fact that I showed them how it never even kicked back while held with only one hand. So they insisted that I go purchase a suitable "safe" saw that I could add to my final bill as a change-order. So... I got the best I could find. It still cost me at least a 1/2 day's wages for my crew, however.
It's a really cool machine though. It'll casually chop off a 6x12, although mitered cuts at that size become difficult.
So... I keep my worm drive handy for ripping lumber. As you can tell, none of these tools, if battery operated, would be useful 10 years from now. While "battery operated" is great in some places, I believe they are only practical for the tools you are going to wear out in a couple of years. I'd never consider battery operated for a tool that should last 30 years. 'Cause the batteries
won't, regardless of how much you use that tool.
Which brand did you decide on and are you satisfied with it?
then again maybe im the one who does it all wrong. One thing to be noted about worm drive saw is that the handle is all the way in the back so they feel heavy , i try to angle my workpiece downward so gravity helps me pull the saw trough like when holding lumber with one hand and holding the saw with the other
