Power saws - jig saws, and circular saws

Prices for guidance only, correct at time of writing

Power saws are the second most useful power tool after a drill. They take much of the effort out of DIY jobs and just as importantly, they don't suffer from fatigue in the way that your arm does so they can be used in a way that gives a more accurate and better fitting end product.

Jig Saws

A jig saw is a small power hand saw with a slimmish blade that can be used to cut straight lines and also curves of a fairly small radius. A very versatile saw used for relatively smaller scale sawing, rather than stripping long planks. Can be used for straight lines but requires setting up before hand with a straight edge (ruler, piece of wood) clamped in place to keep the saw from wandering off. There is no equally versatile substitute when it comes to cutting irregular shapes and curves.

Fine toothed blades are available for use with wood and metal that will give a very clean splinter free finish requiring minimal or no sanding.

Hand held Circular Saws

Hand held circular saws are used for heavy duty cutting jobs where the wood to be cut is measured in feet or metres rather than inches or centimeters. They are powerful saws and invaluable for cutting large timbers for all sorts of outdoor woodworking projects, slicing through 2" (50mm) thick wood in seconds.

They usually come with a "rip fence" an adjustable  guide that allows the saw to be run along a length of wood and cut it to a regular width. They are not a precision tool nor do they give the finest of finishes, but for quickly cutting large quantities where finish is not so important they are ideal. In careful hands they can be used to make strong and accurate joints in large timbers.

Bench circular saws. These are less versatile than the hand-held saws above, but are more accurate and / or quicker to use in a reduced number of circumstances. It all depends on what uses you will put your saw to. Table saws are good for the repeated stripping of timber and the compound mitre saw is used for off-cuts of longer lengths of timber. Both types are used for quick and accurate cutting.