Skil wormdrives have been a West Coast staple for decades. After recently rebranding itself as Skilsaw, the company introduced a beam saw it calls Sawsquatch—a 10 1/4-inch blade-left wormdrive (SPT70WM-22). Our crew has been using beam saws since 2002, so I wanted to try this one out. Tools of the Trade [a sister magazine of PDB] contacted Skilsaw, which sent me a Sawsquatch.
Blade-Left Beam Saws
Several companies make 10 1/4-inch blade-right sidewinders. But as a West Coast framer, I like a blade-left wormdrive. In his Roof Cutter’s Secrets, Will Holladay mentions a few blade-left beam saws that were available decades ago. Today, we have even fewer choices when it comes to that kind of tool. In 2002, we bought a Big Foot Tools adapter kit and turned an old Mag77 into a 10 1/4-inch beam saw.
The adapter kit worked well and continues to work well. We used the adapted saw so often that we bought a second Big Foot in 2006. That one wasn’t a kit; it was a Big Foot 10 1/4-inch saw on a Bosch body. It too works well. …
This article first appeared in Tools of the Trade. To read the full version, click here.
