Although I am not a great handyman I get by. I know my circular saws from my reciprocating saws, my regular drill from my hammer drill, my sledge-hammer from my claw hammer. So when new ideas or technology comes on the market and we get a chance to review it I jump at the chance. That’s the case with the DualSaw Destroyer CS 650, a new type of circular saw.
Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.
What makes the DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 unique is the fact that instead of only one blade to cut, it uses two blades that counter rotate to make cleaner cuts, reduce kickback and allow you to cut forwards and backwards. Let’s check it out.
The DualSaw Destroyer CS650 has the following product specs from the DualSaw website:
- MOTOR POWER… 13A / 1550W
- VOLTAGE… 120V / 60HZ
- BLADE DIAMETER… 6 1/4″
- SPINDLE SPEED… 4200RPM
- MAX CUT DEPTH… 1 3/4″
- WEIGHT… 9 LBS
The DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 comes with the following:
- DualSaw Destroyer CS 650
- Carrying case (not shown in the picture)
- Handle
- Blade wrench
- Lubricating sticks
- User manual (not shown in the picture)
- Two proprietary carbide tipped saw blades
From the top of the saw you can see the handle, the lubrication unit and the top of the blade guard. The lubrication unit is used to feed in the included lubrication sticks used when cutting soft metals.
From the right side you can see the blade housing, blade guard. the front of the lubrication unit and the DualSaw logo
On the left side you can see the spindle lock, the safety button, the blade guard, handle and the product information including the serial number.
Looking at the bottom of the DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 with the blade guard open (note: I used a screw to lodge the guard open it will normally stay in the closed position with the help of springs) you will see what makes this saw different from other conventional saws, the dual blades. You will also see the saw trigger. One thing you may notice is that this saw lacks a base plate. This can be great if you need to get into tight spaces but not so great if you are trying to make long straight cuts.
The selling points for this saw are the dual blades and the counter cutting action, or the “counter rotating dual blade technology”. The crux of all this is that by rotating two blades in opposite directions you will be able to achieve cleaner cuts on a variety of materials including but not limited to woods, metals, plastics and even tile (with an optional diamond blade set). The DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 comes with a pair of Tungsten Carbide tipped blades allowing you to not only cut wood, but also various metals. To be honest with you, although the technology intrigued me (two blades rotating in opposite directions) I was a little skeptical about the claims of a better, easier, cleaner cut so I did some comparison cuts to see for myself. To be upfront here, when cutting wood I would prefer to use my table saw, but that is not always practical when working in remote places or cutting items in place. My standard go to circular saw is an old reliable Skilsaw, it is a simple but reliable saw. I made a few cuts on a 2 x 4 with the DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 to get a feel for it. The one thing I did notice is that there is no bottom plate. The blade guard completely covers the front of the blades making it tricky at times to start your cuts. The lack of a bottom plate also means you will have to practice to get the depth of your cuts right. I don’t know if the DualSaw Destroyer CS650 actually made my cutting any easier than when I made the same cuts with my Skilsaw. In the above picture I did not cut the 2 x 4 all the way through to let you see the difference of the widths of the cuts. As I would expect,the DualSaws cutting width is slightly wider. As for the finish of the cuts on a 2 x 4, they both seemed good, but I can see how on some other thinner material that the DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 could deliver a cleaner cut with the dual blade set-up. I did make an interesting observation during my testing. While the left side of the cuts are indeed cleaner looking at them from the top, the right side is not as clean and it is the same on the underside of the 2 x 4.
I was limited to the types of materials I had to test the DualSaw Destroyer CS 659 on, but one item I thought would be a good test for how clean of a cut is made was PVC pipe. If you have ever cut PVC pipe you know that it can end up with little plastic shavings still attached to the pipe that need to be removed. The DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 did a good job cutting this material. As you can see by the above picture, that when I stopped part way through the PVC pipe you can just see a little shaving of plastic showing on the pipe. When I finished the cut all the edges were clean and smooth.
So, what’s my bottom line here? I actually have mixed feelings on this one. I like the concept, I like the versatility with the type of materials it can handle and the 13 amp motor (although it may be a bit underpowered for real heavy-duty use) is powerful enough to handle my needs. I am not keen on the $198 price, the weight (listed at 9 pounds) and the fact that I have to disassemble the handle every time I want to store the saw in the carrying case. One other item worth noting here before I wrap things up, although the user manual does list a variety of metals that the DualSaw can cut through, it would be nice to know some recommended thickness limits.
When all is said and done, I honestly think the DualSaw Destroyer CS 650 is a good tool, but it may be more tool than the average Gadgeteer may need, especially with many cordless combo kits available in the same price range and having tools specific to the task you are doing. If you need a circular saw to do a variety of cutting jobs, on a wide variety of materials, without changing the blades and with a clean finish, you may want to check out the DualSaw CS 650.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by DualSaw. Visit their site for more info.
Product Information
| Price: | $198 |
| Manufacturer: | DualSaw |
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To me the biggest pro to dual direction blades is in the handling. They generally allow for finer control (I guess they could be “cleaner” cuts) and less of a inclination to “Get away from you”. If you are cutting thicker or harder materials, you will notice a substantial pull as the saw bites into the material and attempts to ride away. This is greatly reduced with dual direction saws.
this tool really caught my interest.
in use, the footless blade guard means you don’t eat quite as much debris as you do with an angle grinder.
the lack of a foot means you don’t have the necessary control on long cuts.
I ended up taking mine back and buying a better angle grinder. there just wasn’t enough benefit to justify the expense.
if you keep yours; Teflon spray lube does make the blades bind less {the spray helps on any blade for that matter).
@craig: Thanks for the input craig. While I don’t usually have complicated or weird cutting situations I can see how this saw could come in handy. I do agree that on long straight cutting situations this saw is a no no. Next time I use the saw i will have to try your Teflon spray lube.
do you have 220v , elec plug with 3 terminal , does this saw cut all kind of metal
How come when I’m cutting the blades just stopped
Have you checked to see if they are warped? If they are warped they can bind up. How long have you had them?