Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - craftsman circular saw, good shape but doesnt work

hey all i have a craftsman circular saw 7 1/4" and i bought it brand new a few years and its not been used very much at all cept for personal use from time to time its in good shape still but it quit working one day and its not the trigger switch i bypassed it and it still doesnt work, it is model number 3315.108340 and R9728

any ideas what can do with it ?
is it worth anything in some other way ? i have case and papers on it and all but no receipt and i think warranty on power tools is only 1 year,

where/how is a good way to pick up a good used skilsaw or other better brand circular saw in a small town ?
need some ideas, i cant afford a new one,


thanks for anything

Moderator note: Email address removed as per forum rules.

Id definately bring it back to sears. That shouldnt happen and they should either repair it or replace it.
Too new to die on you!!

hi,thanks, i was told that power tools only have one year warranty though,

so i dont know ?

thanks

Cant hurt to try.
Other than that, there may be repair shop nearby..or garage sales?!?!
What's it not doing?
Not running at all?
Motor humming - attempting to kick in but wont.
Maybe the motor/coils or brushes are bad?
Could be a few things.

It sounds like your motor is fried. I would take the saw back to Sears, they are very good with customer service. Maybe they will give you another one. It's worth a try. If not, a motor replacement won't cost that much-about a $100.

Personally I wouldnt spend $100 bux to replace the motor...when you can buy a new saw for that amount of money!

fast68,

I agree that an older inexpensive saw would not be worth repairing.

Depending on your nature you may be able to complain loud enough at the Sears store to get some consideration on another one.

My experience is that most power tools are quite comparable within a specific price range.
That is, you get what you pay for.
If you are able to check the connections in the saw and the brushes, any repairs beyond that would be as was said, too expensive.

My favorite circular saw I purchased in 1974 and is the first saw I ever bought.
A 7" Craftsman that fits 7 1/4" blades and is one of the lightest saws I have ever seen.
I use it hard and all I've done to it is replace the cord a few times.

I havent seen the newer Craftsman saws, but when I was looking for a new saw a couple of years ago, the 1 thing I didnt like about the craftsman was the safety switch you need to release to pull the trigger. It was a 'thumb' button and I found it awkward to press the safety button with my thumb and then pull the trigger at the same time.
I like my Skillsaw as the safety button is on the side of the grip which makes it easier to press and pull the trigger.
I also like the Makita saw..which I will buy when I need a new saw. No safety button at all and a wider soleplate. When you reach a certain level of workmanship..the safety button isnt really necessary IMO.. but I realize the mfgr's do it for the average person. Just my $.02 worth.

mines not a safety trigger one, its a newer black plastic cheapo one still though i figure i bought it as early as 98 or 99, hardly ever used it, brushes and connections are all fine,

just a craftsman POS

they arent what they used to be, ill never buy a craftsman new anything ever again

junk crap

im gonna look for a skil saw or something that someoen can sell me, used one, i cant afford anything new, how much should a good shape heavier duty better(not plastic case) brand used 7.25" circular saw go for ? 50 bucks ? 75 ?


thanks

Not sure about south of the boarder, but here in BC you can get a new skilsaw for like $79CAD...so it would be cheaper in the US!

Unless something has changed recently, Craftsman power tools are made by Ryobi.

Unless something has changed recently, Craftsman power tools are made by Ryobi.


for how long have they been building craftsman ?
i notice that black and decker circular saws sure appear awfully similar to craftsman quality these days

at least with these saws i know,

thanks

Not sure about the Craftsman>Roybi connection.. but B&D is made by DeWalt...for the diy'er (B&D) VS the professional (DeWalt)..from what Ive been told.

interesting, but not surprised

anyone know more about who owns what these days or in the past ?

or how to go about finding a good used skil saw, etc. in a small town such as where i am at ? other than yard sales and auctions, cuz very few exist here,

thanks

I would pick up a cheap saw from Ryobi for light use at HD, or a Skil from Walmart. I have a 12 amp Ryobi, works great, use it on lots of projects. I picked it up at Home depot for 49 Bucks. It worked great for building a deck, If I was going to build a house I would look at something else.
Alot of these tools today are made by the same OEM for other stores brands to slap their paint/label on. kinda of sad.I thinks Sears switches their powertool supplier daily. I can't keep up with them. I wonder how long Sears will hold on to the Craftsman label.

Some interesting notes: Milwaukee is now owned by Ryobi

Black & Decker owns Porter-Cable, Delta, DeVilbiss Air Power, Oldham Saw, Flex brands, and Dewalt.

Bosch/Skil

Who's sleeping with who...now-a-days...
Not sure where youre at, fast68, but KevnB has a couple of good suggestions there.
Even IF the saw is (only) Ok.. it'll probably do the job ...with a new sharp blade installed..and you dont push thru your cuts..but let the saw and new blade do the work.
I know many a time, I may try to push the saw thru the cuts...VS letting the saw/blade do the cutting and just have me, guiding it thru the cut....which is the correct way to do it anyhow!!!
I know alot of times I just want to cut the piece ... now..and fast. So a little more time & patience could make a mediocre (sp) saw work 1/2 decent with a new blade..and some patience.
Just my $.02 worth!!

My Craftsman saw:

The power cord went bad but looked good. Broken wire inside the cord.
A second problem I had, the fan blows saw dust into the brush holders. the brushes got stuck from saw dust

Hi
Check your cord might have broken wire in it if you rool the cord around it for storage.
I have makita saw i bought 24 yrs ago and run fine it's a 13 amps and lot of power
I burn 1 sears, 1 bd and skill before i bought the makita
Seam i cant burn that one lol lol

cheers

pg

Like Jatco said, a good blade is what is important. A good blade can really supercharge a DIY/light use saw, more so than a ok blade on a contractor grade saw.
I spoke too soon about Sears craftsman line, I just heard K-mart bought all of Sears today for $11 billion:eek:, I wonder how this will affect the craftsman tool line. :confused: http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=Business&cat=Kmart___Sears

Holy Sh**. What is this world coming to!!!!
I'd like a piece of that cake!!!
So.. I guess we go to K-mart for sears tools.. LOL.. What next!!
Like I said before...
WHO... is sleeping with who???
So long as the 'quality' (warranty issues) remains intact... I dont really care where I buy what from whom!!! - You know what I/we mean!!!\
Geeze.......welcome to the New Corporate Structure(s)!.........Yikes

Hey Jatco, where are you shopping ? The current low end Skil 7 1/4 has been available around Vancouver area for $52-57 for a while now, also cheaper makes around 39-45 in Walmart , Princess Auto. (i don't know about the quality of them though) get what you pay for I guess.
For what it's worth I still have the original Skil 7 1/4 i bought 22 years ago, ,still works great but i've retired it with honours. I have now in daily use a Skil 5150, B&D Sawcat , Makita and my big favourite - Skil Magnum77. That baby's a bit heavy, but outperforms any handsaw I've ever had.
I also won't buy from Sears again after getting a belt sander four years ago, the drive belt broke in six months, they wouldn't replace it and I had to pay $36 for the belt. ( their excuse was I was giving it "professional use" and it was intended to be a 'handyman' tool ) figure that one out !

You're right nomind. If I remember, the $79.price included the case. I did buy my skilsaw for around $59. (w/out case)..at HD-BBy...near me. Its the only circular saw I own...and has held up quite well..for the money! ..but I still like the Makita!

ive been in the construction industry for many years and by far the saw of choice is Dewalt. You can buy one for 120.00 and it is well worth the money. you get what you pay for

You ask if there's anything you can do with that saw. My suggestion would be to look around and find someone with basic diagnostic skills. The problem should be fairly easy to pinpoint. At least you'll have an idea if it's worth fixing - relative to the cost.

As we know, Sears (Craftsman) builds no tools. Contracted tool manufacturers build the tools to their spec's. A tool is as good as it's total design. Years ago, Emerson Tools built Craftsman power tools. Great company. Now last I read it's Ryobi. If the tool doesn't provide good service, Sears shares in the blame because their engineers helped design it.

Sears still sells excellent hand tools (imo). And they even sell some very good power tools. But there's no denying that the overall quality steadily declined over the years. Hopefully, they're getting back on track as evidenced by certain table saw models.

For what it's worth, I still use an aluminum bodied Craftsman 7½" CS I bought way back in 1964. The reason I still use it is because it runs as strong now as it did then - and it gets tons of use. And it holds a line as though it was on rails. Point is, they 'did' make some good tools at one time.

When this one finally takes the ol' dirt nap, I'll probably go with either Porter-Cable, Milwaukee, Bosch, or Makita. Can't go wrong with any of them.

Aarno

I would pick up a cheap saw from Ryobi for light use at HD, or a Skil from Walmart. I have a 12 amp Ryobi, works great, use it on lots of projects. I picked it up at Home depot for 49 Bucks. It worked great for building a deck, If I was going to build a house I would look at something else.
Alot of these tools today are made by the same OEM for other stores brands to slap their paint/label on. kinda of sad.I thinks Sears switches their powertool supplier daily. I can't keep up with them. I wonder how long Sears will hold on to the Craftsman label.

Some interesting notes: Milwaukee is now owned by Ryobi
Black & Decker owns Porter-Cable, Delta, DeVilbiss Air Power, Oldham Saw, Flex brands, and Dewalt.Bosch/Skil

Yikes I didn't know Ryobi accuired Milwaulkee :eek:
that sure doesn't build my confidence, hope they leave a good thing alone.
didn't know about Porter Cable belonging to B&D either.
I just saw a program on History channel about tools today
showed Craftsman circular saws being made @ Ryobi :mad:
I didn't know this until today.
I have a Craftsman 18V drill /light combo and 14.4V angle drill
& 75th anniversary 3/8" drill.
very dissapointed to know those may be a Ryobi product
and will most likely be the last Craftsman power tools I buy.
I have a Ryobi 3/8" drill that has worked ok for me ( I only paid $15.00 on clearance @home depot believe it was $30.00 regular price)
its done ok sofar, but haven't used it allot.for what I paid for it I couldn't go wrong.
guess it still comes down to how much you use it and most are sufficeint for occasional home use. personally I'd prefer to have something that will last me a lifetime though.
you guys might like the show on History channel about tools if you get it.

BTW: Fast 68 do you have a voltmeter?..you can check the cord for continuity to make sure there are no breaks in it. (unplugged w/o power)
allot of times the brushes go bad on motors
I learned allot about it with my remote control cars I used to mess with
might be able to polish the armature and the faces of the bushes if you can get to them. also I think you can check the windings with a voltmeter
( I believe for continuity as well) hope that helps

MorPowr
- I really feel that you're badmouthing Ryobi without sufficient exposure to their tools.
I personally have owned, or at least used hundreds of power tools of almost every brand with the excepion of Ridgid. I will certainly say that ALL of the big brands make SOME excellent tools. Not all of their tools are up to "brand standard".
- BUT in many cases Ryobi also makes a really good tool at half the price or less. My Ryobi 14.4 drill may not last as long as DeWalt, but I can buy almost 3 of them before I can pay for the DeWalt !!
- My Ryobi recip. saw may not be as powerful as Milwaukee, BUT it does the job, cutting wood up to 1 1/2" thick . For $69, I'd sooner carry that in my truck than a $200 Milwaukee !!.
- My Ryobi Laminate trimmer is actually BETTER than my other two, DeWalt and Porter-Cable !!
A big point for me is I have a truckful of tools, - I've been robbed twice, once in broad daylight with an alarm! If my tools had all been big name, I'd be 5-6G in the hole instead of 15-1800 !
I've noticed that throughout these columns, MANY experienced craftsmen have said this very thing. - Not knocking the big brands, but Ryobi is often more bang for your buck. :cool:

Yikes I didn't know Ryobi accuired Milwaulkee :eek:
that sure doesn't build my confidence, hope they leave a good thing alone.
didn't know about Porter Cable belonging to B&D either.
I just saw a program on History channel about tools today
showed Craftsman circular saws being made @ Ryobi :mad
I didn't know this until today.
I have a Craftsman 18V drill /light combo and 14.4V angle drill
& 75th anniversary 3/8" drill.
very dissapointed to know those may be a Ryobi product
and will most likely be the last Craftsman power tools I buy.
I have a Ryobi 3/8" drill that has worked ok for me ( I only paid $15.00 on clearance @home depot believe it was $30.00 regular price)
its done ok sofar, but haven't used it allot.for what I paid for it I couldn't go wrong.
guess it still comes down to how much you use it and most are sufficeint for occasional home use. personally I'd prefer to have something that will last me a lifetime though.
you guys might like the show on History channel about tools if you get it.

BTW: Fast 68 do you have a voltmeter?..you can check the cord for continuity to make sure there are no breaks in it. (unplugged w/o power)
allot of times the brushes go bad on motors
I learned allot about it with my remote control cars I used to mess with
might be able to polish the armature and the faces of the bushes if you can get to them. also I think you can check the windings with a voltmeter
( I believe for continuity as well) hope that helps

When I say Ryobi, I mean Techtronics Industries, which is a Chinese, Hong Kong base company, they own all the companies, including Ryobi,Ridgid, except for the rights to Ryobi in Japan. I personally can't keep up with it. But take a look at Techtronics Industries, see what they full out own,have rights to, trademarks ownership , etc,it's kinda of scary. And now the recent sale of IBM pc division to a Chinese firm. I don't like how the U.S. is shooting itself in the head, over trade, with all these ass backwards,bottomline policies.:mad: But I will leave it at that,since the is a thread on a circular saw :D Here is a very interesting article from the WSJ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/12/26/financial1038EST0037.DTL&type=printable

KevinB - Thanks, that was a neat post, and an amazingly informative link - scary!!
-Just one question re. your post - Are you saying that Ridgid may be as good as Ryobi ? :p

KevinB - Thanks, that was a neat post, and an amazingly informative link - scary!!
-Just one question re. your post - Are you saying that Ridgid may be as good as Ryobi ? :p
LOL,thats eggzactly what I'm saying nomind :D . You know what though I would really like to know what the difference is between say some Dewalts/B&D models, Ridgid and Ryobi,etc.
Morpower what is the name of the show the history channel? Is it Made in America with Cliff or another show?

LOL,thats eggzactly what I'm saying nomind :D . You know what though I would really like to know what the difference is between say some Dewalts/B&D models, Ridgid and Ryobi,etc.
Morpower what is the name of the show the history channel? Is it Made in America with Cliff or another show?

Hey Kevin,
I tried finding it history channels webpage (www.historychannel.com)
but couldn't find a link for you. I beleive it was modern marvels but not certain. it wasn't the show with a.k.a."Cliff" though.
I just got my Milwaukee newletter and it had a small article in there too about the series. sorry wish I had more info for you.

MorPowr
- I really feel that you're badmouthing Ryobi without sufficient exposure to their tools.
I personally have owned, or at least used hundreds of power tools of almost every brand with the excepion of Ridgid. I will certainly say that ALL of the big brands make SOME excellent tools. Not all of their tools are up to "brand standard".
- BUT in many cases Ryobi also makes a really good tool at half the price or less. My Ryobi 14.4 drill may not last as long as DeWalt, but I can buy almost 3 of them before I can pay for the DeWalt !!
- My Ryobi recip. saw may not be as powerful as Milwaukee, BUT it does the job, cutting wood up to 1 1/2" thick . For $69, I'd sooner carry that in my truck than a $200 Milwaukee !!.
- My Ryobi Laminate trimmer is actually BETTER than my other two, DeWalt and Porter-Cable !!
A big point for me is I have a truckful of tools, - I've been robbed twice, once in broad daylight with an alarm! If my tools had all been big name, I'd be 5-6G in the hole instead of 15-1800 !
I've noticed that throughout these columns, MANY experienced craftsmen have said this very thing. - Not knocking the big brands, but Ryobi is often more bang for your buck. :cool:

Sorry wasn't my intention to offend you Nomind, or anyone else.
just personally dissapointed I paid more for something I thought was a better
quality product. only to find out later it was practically the same thing.

I've been at Sears on numerous occasions lately when they blew off a customer wanting to get a tool repaired under warranty because they
decided the tool was "commercial" usage. seeing that didn't inspire my confidence in thier product either.
hopefully Ryobi treats thier customers better.
If it does what you need it to do great. and I think for most people it probablly does a suffcient job, especially if you only use it a few times a year.

and I've been ripped off even in my own driveway so I can relate to that point, after a couple years I still haven't been able to replace a few of those things I lost. luckily my power tools aren't typically in my truck.

Part of my opinion of Ryobi is from feedback I've heard from freinds who are in the trades and thier experience with failures of Ryobi products.

Hey MorPowR, - no sweat, - you certainly didn't offend me ('bout the only way u could do that is steal my beer or woman (in that order) :p )

Seriously, I just didn't want to leave you thinking Ryobi is junk when many of us guys use them everyday and swear by them.

I know what you mean about the Sears "commercial duty" bs. they did that to me 3 yrs.ago with a belt sander I'd barely used. -That was the last power tool I ever bought there

Take care, Nomind :cool:

thanks morpower I got the same newsletter, I looked it up it's called "the toolbox", the bad news can't find it anywhere on the history channel site. They are alittle behind overthere, they still sell most of their episodes on VHS, I guess what can you expect from a channel called the history channel :D

thanks morpower I got the same newsletter, I looked it up it's called "the toolbox", the bad news can't find it anywhere on the history channel site. They are alittle behind overthere, they still sell most of their episodes on VHS, I guess what can you expect from a channel called the history channel :D
lol Hey Kevin,
I found my Milwaukee newsletter and went to look it up
on thier site and couldn't find it there either.
Grr I wanted post here and know when the next episode was so I could see it too. If I find something out I'll let you guys know.
Ralph