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The added expense is well-worth it, though. The most outstanding feature of this saw is how incredibly quiet it is. All told, I invested an additional $30 or so for the cord plus $20 for a Freud combo blade. I believe I couldn't have made a better choice in purchasing a new CS.
More weight means less chance of the thing flying up at me on a mis-feed. I take issue with the idea that you can't find the plug at Lowes or Home Depot; because, I found it at 3 different Lowes stores in my area. My blender makes more noise than this saw while not under load. I found a Cooper Wiring Products L5-20R for about $15 at Lowes and also bought a 12-ga 25' extension cord. However, it would likely put this saw just out of the price range for some--as it's already between $150 and $200. The thing to be aware of is this: You are looking for a NEMA L5-20R, not L5-20P. I wired the plug and the saw works perfectly. This saw is a monster.
Put it to a sheet of plywood and it's only a slight difference in db's. I understand the complaints about Bosch not including a Twist-lock cable with this saw. The "R" and "P" refer to "Recepticle" and "Plug," respectively. It acts toward wood the way the Little Shop of Horrors plant was with blood--FEED ME.It's a little heavy, but this is not necessarily a bad thing for a HANDHELD wood-eating machine.
This sacrifices some durability but cuts the weight of the saw down by 2lbs. Top quality saw that's built like a tank. Or, like a lot of people do, just junk it. If that's too heavy go with the Skil HD77m. The only problem with them is the direct plug feature.
Much of the steel is replaced with magnesium alloy. I would highly recommend the Skil HD77. It is nice to plug your extension cord directly into your circ saw but this feature will wear out with use. This is a decent saw. You'll end up have to gut the direct connect and add a cord to your saw.
It is rather heavy, tops out over 16lbs I believe.
The only thing better is having an 8 1/4 wormdrive. With the sky hook and cord lock it was great to take up on rafters and roofs. I used this for a few weeks on a job site after one of my guys brought it from home. Best saw for plywood hands down. The weight of it doesn't matter when everything you cut comes out better and the saw doesn't bog down no matter what you are throwing at it.
Mine arrived looking like new a year ago, and still works perfectly. This is a really great saw. I almost hate to use it--it is such a beautiful piece of equipement.
The clerk at the Bosch Service center just shrugged and said he could special order it. But this time I got lots of problems from both. The clerks don't even know enough about this saw to understand it does require a twist lock and not a regular plug as Amazon states in the description. My advice to you is buy another saw unless you really want the grief and added cost in both time and money.
I have ordered several items from Amazon with no problems. You will not get the Twist Lock Plug that is nessessary to have before you can plug the darn thing in. I'm not a contractor, just a home owner. Good luck. Why. You would think that Bosch would not be so stupid to leave this critical accessory out. I even drove across Dallas to the Bosch Service Center (a couple gallons of gas and lots of traffic) to pick one up after I called to make sure they had one in stock. I need that saw tomorrow.
I will try to make something that will work from an extension cord (12Ga) and a twist lock connector I picked up at Home Depo ($48.38). Don't buy this saw unless you want a lot of grief. Think you might pick one up at Home Depo or Lowes. I have a number of Bosch tools and I am very happy with them.
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