Customer Reviews

Skil HD5510 6.5 Amp 5-1/2-Inch Circular Saw

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought Skil's little 5 1/2" three years ago. I have NOT used my 7 1/4" since! This feather weight lets you work all day long without fatique. I have so much more control with this saw, its a miracle. A couple of cautions though. Its kind of hard to find replacement blades for it. B&D's Piranha blade is very good, if you can find one in the 5 1/2" size. Also, its a left hand setup. The motor hangs off to the right. If you rip using a nailed down 3/4" straight edge where the motor rides above it (most righties do,) the maximum depth of cut is fairly shallow (about 1") Other than these two limitations, best buck and a quarter I've ever spent on a woodworking tool.

There are very few skil tools that capture my attention. Most are consumer grade like Black and Decker or Craftsman. The wormdrive saws and this trim saw are the exception. They represent the best of the industry. You may laugh at this little saw but it is a wonderful tool. It has full ball bearing construction. It is a professional tool that cuts beautifully. Glides through wood like a fish through water. I bought mine used at a pawn shop but it runs like a top after 6 years of use. You wouldn't believe it but it spanks Porter Cables saw boss any day of the week. Although it has a smaller motor ,6.5 amps Vs.9 amps ,it cuts circles around the PC. The PC never feels like it's really going to take off in the cut. It cuts O.K. but it never glides through like this little skilsaw. I wish you could run them side by side so you could feel the difference. It's incredible. I thought it might be an isolated case but I tried several sawboss saws and they were all the same. New blades old blades pine , plywood or oak it doesn't matter This saw really goes to town. It's perfect for trim or framing. The only thing I can say bad about it , is you can't cut a 45 on 2x lumber with it. Other than that , it's flawless. Highly recommended!

Great saw. Light weight. Left side cut is great for right handers. Cuts 2-by with ease. The Light weight makes it the choice for cutting off rafter tails. But...good luck finding a replacement blade for it. Amazon does not sell them. Neither does Loews or Home depot. Black and Decker did make a blade for it but I have not seen them for some time. Buy the saw but find a source and stock up on blades for it.

I bought one of these about 15 years ago and it's still going strong. When I first brought it out to the jobsite most of the crew laughed, inside of two months three of the other guys had bought one! It's especially handy when working on shingles or anything on a scaffold. The older I get the lighter I like my tools to be and this saw couldn't be much better. A great product, if it broke tomorrow I'd leave the job and go buy another one and I can't say that about many of the tools I own. Truly indispensable!

90% of the work I do is installing doors and windows in older homes. I use this saw to cut siding back and interior trim to allow for the new windows or doors to fit properly. This saw is perfect for this. It is light weight and the right size to get into those tight spaces. It hasn't lacked in power to do any of this. The one disappointing shortcoming of this saw however is it will not cut all the way through a 1 3/4" door. It lacks an 1/8" at the most to be able to do it. I have to pull my 7 1/4" saw out for that. You should also be careful of the base. My saw fell from 3 feet onto carpet and the base bent on the corner. I was able to bend it back but be careful.

I agree with these reviews. It is a very useful saw and I prefer it over the PC saw boss. I hardly ever have this saw out alone but it sees a fair amount of use. We treat it a little specail and make sure we don't through it around. I do wish it came with a case because like I said I think of it more of a precision tool. I have over the years bought hundreds of tools worth tens of thousands of dollars. I would rate this little saw in my top ten.

I got this saw to replace my 18v DeWalt 5-3/8" cordless trim saw, which is underpowered and can't handle much more than thin plywood and short cuts on 2x4s. The Skil saw completely blows it away in terms of power. I did like the fit and feel of the DeWalt better, but that was probably due more to the fact that it was cordless than anything else. The Skil saw is a terrific alternative to bulkier and heavier 7-1/4" circular saws. I almost never need to cut wood that thick except on my table saw anyway. I have a feeling my 7-1/4" circular saw is going to collect a lot of dust now that I have added this smaller Skil saw to my shop.

The only reason I gave it four stars rather than five is that it didn't come with a rip fence and because the arbor hole in the saw blade that came with it is considerably larger than the arbor on the saw. The rip fence can be purchased separately, but it seems kind of chintzy that they wouldn't include it. As for the blade, well, I'm not sure what they were thinking.

I purchased this "little" Skill about six months ago. I think I have only used my worm drive a couple of times since! For remodeling and trim/millwork, this saw does the job. It gets in tight places, is really light, and a regular little workhorse.

I would say that the only glitches that I can find with this saw are: The trigger, and the adjustable blade location markings on the front of the shoe.

The trigger is a soft pull (very nice for the proffesional) and has no "click" or any type of resistance to turning on. I have accidently turned the saw on while adjusting the depth or pulling the guard up! Resulting in a few close calls until I got used to the "touchy" trigger.

The open/adjustable blade location area on the front of the shoe tends to catch on the edge of the material sometimes. I took a file to this area, almost right out of the box.

Overall, I love this saw! You can't get a better little saw for a C-note! Some siders I know use the little Makitas, and I have used them. The little Skill doesn't give up anything to the makita. And the makita is like $100 bucks more!

I've always thought a smaller, lighter more compact circular saw would be better for the type of work that I do. Now that my saw has arrived, I realize how right I was.

This is really one easy to use saw. I bolted on a new carbide blade and found that I no longer dread jobs that call for a circular saw. I doubt that I'll ever pick up my 7 1/4 circular saw again.

This saw has plenty of power for cross cutting 2 x 8 and is very easy to control when cutting plywood panels. I appreciate the left hand blade which makes it much easier to control exactly where one is cutting. The blade guard moves out of the way easily and the entire saw, from the long heavy duty cord to the saw housing, speaks quality.

Home Depot carries 5 1/2 inch carbide tipped circular saw blades with the required 1/2 inch arbor for just under $10 so keeping myself in saw blades will not be a problem.

This saw is by far the easiest circular saw I've ever used. I've used it on 3/4" plywood and 1" and 2" lumber and it has handled all of it with ease.
Unfortunately, there is a very limited selection of blades for this saw (there's really nothing else like it on the market). I found a 18 tooth carbide tipped blade by Skil that I've used on it from the start, and this has worked great.
Before I purchased this saw I noticed that I had never seen one for sale in a pawn shop or used tool store or on E-bay. Now that I have one I know why.