Help me buy a saw for DH!

[Carhootel]

yes, I'm a late shopper I want to get DH a saw for father's day, he recently built himself a desk and used a handsaw to do it, which I know was a bit of a pain. He would love to do more around the house projects like bookcases and toy chests so what kind of saw should I get him? circular? miter? table?

TIA

[Beauchamp]

Well, my DH needs a saw, and my dad recommended I get him a reciprocating saw. He said Makita is a good brand. A reciprocating saw is pretty versatile, but is not for really long, straight cuts. (I think that is more of a table saw, mitre saw, etc.)

[gwen's mom]

My husband, who is in construction and owns all of the saws you have mentioned, says that a circular saw is the most universal and practical. He recommends a table saw as a second choice and a miter third.

[yeahwhat]

Originally Posted by gwen's mom

My husband, who is in construction and owns all of the saws you have mentioned, says that a circular saw is the most universal and practical. He recommends a table saw as a second choice and a miter third.

For projects like you mentioned above, I agree with the order of priority. A jigsaw is useful when you want less straight, but still careful and controlled, cuts.

[beanma]

Yes, get a rechargable battery powered circular saw. We recently got one for our kitchen reno that came with a drill/driver, too, that also used the same kind of battery. It's really nice to have two batteries so when one dies you can just switch out with the other one and charge the first one up. Really nice not to have to worry with a cord, too. For a desk, I think a circular saw or table saw would be the way to go unless he just really likes working by hand in which case maybe some more hand tools would fit the bill. A miter box is only for making angled cuts, so very useful for that, but not for other things.

A jigsaw is very handy, too, for making curves, etc, but it's a bit like trying to draw a straight line freehand.

hth

[HeatherAtHome]

We have a jigsaw with a laser on it. Once you mark where you want to cut, it's fairly easy to line it all up and cut straight. We wanted to keep tools to a min and figured a jigsaw is more versatile. Takes longer to cut big sheets of wood etc, but it seems like we do mostly smaller cuts and appreciate the detail you can get with it.

[kittywitty]

Miter saw!!!

I do a lot of woodworking and this is hands down the most useful and practical. A jigsaw is nice, but I'm spazzy and prefer a scroll or band saw for those applications.