I own sixty-eight circular saws, and that’s utter lunacy, part four- the 100 series
We’ve met the first, second, and third generations of porter-Cable saws and familiarized ourselves with the Guild lineup; now, we'll be taking another trip down memory lane in more ways than one as we put the spotlight on the family of orphans that was founded on the first power tool I ever owned, the model that sold me on Porter-Cable for life, the 100 series of saws.
Left to right: 157, c. 1958, 108, c. 1956, 115 c. 1954, 115 c. 1956, 146a c. 1960. Photobomb by 596, who wandered into the wrong family reunion.
When I first laid eyes on the saw that would change my life, it was sitting in a wooden box of organ donor power tools at work. The fellow who did the power tool repair before me was known for ( how shall I put this) unreliable attendance, disappearing for days on end. I was tasked with becoming the new tool repairman, both due to my mechanical abilities and my peculiar habit of showing up for work, whether I wanted to or not.
My first action was to clean the Augean stables that passed for a scrapyard. Dozens of boxes of power tools, not sorted by anything but brand, were crammed on every available shelf. I cleaned and organized for days, but above all, I pruned mercilessly. It was in the midst of a purge that would have made Marie Kondo wince that I unearthed the 115.
It was love at first sight.
To this day, I have no idea why it was scrapped; perhaps the owner didn't want to pay for the basic maintenance it needed. I used a buffing wheel on a spare motor, some bearings, brushes, a cord, and a touch of paint ( this family is one of the last made with cast in "cartouches"- most later saws used stickers)to breathe new life into the 115 and lo, there it was, fully functional, pleasingly shiny and smooth as silk. I was proud of my success, fascinated by the looks and fee,l and just plain happy about my neat saw.
Needless to say, I was hooked.
In 1953, the 115 stepped into a crowded but booming post-war marketplace; everyone and their aunt Tilly were snapping up modest ranch homes that cried out for fir plywood built-ins, porches converted into sunrooms, and all manner of limed oak furnishings and the power tool made the leap from an industry-only frill to being found in every neighborhood ( if not every garage) in one great stride. There was no limit to the number of manufacturers making power tools by the mid '50s, some good, some bad, some truly feculent. In addition, people wanted their money's worth out of a tool purchase.
The 1950s brought us phenomena such as The Drill That Does Everything, using your radial arm saw to rip/launch southern yellow pine projectiles at the wall, and the belief you could somehow learn to frame an addition on your salt box from a three-page article with five pictures. There was a niche to be filled; the public wanted a circular saw that had the power and build quality to do serious work at a price that would allow you to buy, say, a drill or jigsaw as well. The 115 answered that need, and it did it so well that it was produced virtually unchanged for nearly a decade.
The 115 was marketed as a 7" saw ( marked prominently on the integral upper guard, between the screw holes), which seems odd but made perfect sense in a time when Black and Decker made saw blades with a 1-1/8" bore. Proprietary sizes of blades and belts ( Skil was guilty of that one) increased the sales of accessories by forcing the buyer to come back to the manufacturer ( you may sell only one razor, but if you design it right, you'll sell that person a lot of razor blades. At least, you did before disposables were a thing). This was less objectionable in the era before big box stores; your local hardware probably carried only one or two brands of power tools, and department stores that sold a bit of everything were just getting into the handyman act. Rationale besides, the 115 can actually accept a 7-1/4" blade with room to spare, and most users do just that. The later 146 was committed to using a goofball blade size, but more on that in a minute.
The earliest 115 saws can be recognized by the old-fashioned narrow base and the black "Guild style" tag on the motor housing, but the distinctive feature is the flat recoil spring that operates the lower guard, looking for all the world like a miniature drill press return spring. This feature is shared with the 108,
an 8" saw that bears some cosmetic similarity to the 115 but differs in several respects. The 108 was a companion of the 115 from the word go but never really took off ( it was only offered for four years, though the successor model, the 168, limped along until 1962 ). The lack of popularity is understandable, as the 108 is truly the Edsel of Porter-Cable's 1950's saws; the closed-loop handle was a reversion to the K-8 and in offering a grip for ripping and crosscutting, did neither very well- the ergonomics aren't quite right. Add this to a conical motor housing that didn't allow setting the tool on end ( the later K-series saws didn't, either, but they made up for it in a number of other ways. The 115 and descendants had a bakelite, or plastic ring mounted to the motor housing to correct that failing, but the 108 never got one) and the captive lower guard required the jackshaft to be dismantled to clean the guard spring, and it's easy to see why the 108 had no progeny ( the 168 is essentially a 108 in everything but name). Both the 155 and the 108 were sold as "contractors Specials" in a case that was thus marked.
The next development appeared in 1956 when Porter-Cable made what is basically a slightly smaller version of the 115. The 146 was a 6-1/2" saw, which is nonsense ( the A-6 was considered a 6-1/4" saw. Horsefeathers!) and is nearly indistinguishable from the 115. The 115 had been retrofitted with a wrap-around base and the torsion spring that every Porter-Cable and most other manufacturers would use afterward ( some makers went in for the less reliable Don't-Slam-The-Screen-Door expanding spring system), but the 146 started out that way. Later versions of these saws had a smaller guard lever fitted, with a protrusion for the thumb to catch. Production of the 146b would cease in 1962.
The final member of the team was what may be the first left-handed helical geared circular saw, the anachronistic 157,
The 157 is a series of firsts; the first left-hand Porter-Cable, the first saw with a stamped steel base ( excepting the peculiar special order K-88a I rebuilt a few months back), the first heavy-duty saw to use a drop base design. As it sits cheek to jowl with a number of Porter-Cable's earlier saws, the 157 is almost jarringly modern in appearance, and it proved the wisdom of offering a lower profile saw with a rear-mounted handle more suited to cutting sheet goods ( the early saws have their handles on top for a reason. They were designed mainly for cross-cutting framing lumber, an action more easily performed with the saw underhand than out in front (remember, generations of carpenters considered their left knee to be a species of sawhorse, and cutting with one hand while holding the board in the other was common practice). The 157 is a bit unwieldy, as the saw, though left-handed, must be used right-handed due to the proximity of the upper guard ( my wife, who has hands the size of an average fifth grader’s, doesn't have that problem, so it may just have been designed for carpenters with baby hands). The user winds up with his arms almost crossed, standing in the path of the blade and dust. Despite the odd handle configuration, the 157 layout would reverberate down the decades, even though the saw itself was discontinued by 1960.
Our players:
115 ( 115a, 115b): 4,500 rpm, 7" blade,12-1/2 lbs
108: 3,400 rpm, 8-1/4" blade, 13-1/2 lbs
146 (146a, 146b): 3,670 rpm, 6-1/2" blade, 11 lbs
157: 3,675 rpm, 7-1/4" blade, 13 lbs
The 100 series saws are, as a class, highly practical saws, lighter and easier to use than their predecessors, with some of the best lines of the entire lineage ( even the 108 is good looking if a trifle ungainly). By far, the best of the breed was the 115, and future saws did well not to stray from such successful DNA. This saw is praiseworthy for the surprisingly compact frame, substantial power, and sleek contours. The 115 is still a common sight and can usually be found at a reasonable price. If you're in the market for a good circular saw, I highly recommend picking one up.
I'm very glad I did.
