ToolBox Blog

Tool: Skilsaw Model HD77M – 7 1/4″ wormdrive circular saw
Date of Service: November 2005

With it’s 15 Amp, 120V motor spinning a 7 1/4″ diamond-arbor blade at 4,600 RPM the Skil Model 77M weighs in at 14lbs. This saw has been my right hand so many times it has become an extension of my arm.

Features:

• 13 amp motor, 4,400 RPM
• Light magnesium housing provides durability – 3-pounds Lighter than the HD77
• Precision machined worm drive gears for maximum power
• Includes saw, blade, blade wrench
• 7-3/4-inches; 14-pounds; 1-year warranty

Experience:
From my very first job as a carpenter to my jobsites 20 years later the Skilsaw Mod. 77 is the only circular saw I use. Through thick and thin this saw has cut it all from framing to trim, from plywood to timber, from steel plates to concrete pads. This saw truly is an extension of my arm. Of course, cutting overhead with a 15lb. saw will give you a sore arm after a while.

I was trained in carpentry in California. I don’t know how a single state could claim the fame of the model 77 but even now when I boast about the wormdrive people ask if I’ve come from California. I just can’t understand circular saw people. I’ll never switch, I can’t drive one for $h*T and they kickback in the most unreliable way.

According to OSHA rules General Contractors in Calif. have to provide safety meetings on a regular basis. On one of my first commercial jobs safety was no joke and our meeting agenda included tool lectures, like how the wormdrive Skilsaw is safer than a circular saw by design. I guess the advantages of this saw were ingrained in me from the start but the saw has really stuck it out and I know I can rely on it to function for an extraordinarily long time.

Ironically just after the safety meeting I learned how you can duct-tape a garden hose to the front of the saw and cut concrete slabs. I don’t think they teach that one in school but I used it many times in such a way. It would be impossible to count the rafters, stringers, studs, sheathing or floorboard in construction and demolition that even one of my Skilsaws has sliced through!

Comments:
The chord may break loose after dropping the saw from the roof by it’s chord so many times, easily replaced. I don’t have any complaints about this saw. I like both the heavier and not-much-noticeably lighter SHD77M. I’ve learned to do just about anything with this saw but in all my years, unlike some, I have never pinned the guard back on my saws!

My first Skilsaw was stolen. It’s replacement I gave away when I bought a new one. The next three various Skil Model 77′s that I bought are still put to work around the year, despite New England temps. Not one has died on the job.

Own it, it’s the best. The Skilsaw Model 77 is indispensable and the quintessential carpenter’s saw.

Links:

Skilsaw Model HD77 at Skiltools.com

Skilsaw Model HD77M at Skiltools.com (Product Data)

Skil HD77M 7-1/4″ Magnesium Worm Drive Circular Saw Skilsaw on Amazon.com

Skil SHD77M 15 amp 7-1/4-inch Mag Worm Drive Saw at Amazon.com (where I got mine)

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Oddest thing happened while writing this blog: I had the page open for the Mag 77 at the Manufacturer’s website but didn’t finish making my article. When I went back to get the link to the Model 77, the page was down. Apparently Skil, a subsidiary of Bosch, let their domain name expire!

skiltools.com

Expired - Renew Now!

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