ROCKWELL / WORX Rockwell Versacut 4.0 Amp Ultra-Compact Circular Saw with Laser Indicator and 3-Blade Kit with Carry Case – RK3440K

I purchased the Rockwell VersaCut in January 2013 and used it, in conjunction with other saws I borrowed from my step-father, to assist in laying 1300 square feet of oak flooring (3/4 inch by 3.25 inch). I installed all the flooring on the 2nd floor of my home, and I used the VersaCut on around half the cuts I made to save me numerous trips up/down the stairs. The saw worked great, cutting through the flooring with no problems, and the sawdust was in very fine grains (powder-like) and easily removed with my shop vac or a regular home vac. I tried using the vacuum attachment that was included with the VersaCut, but didn't find it very useful (it kinda got in the way). I didn't use the guide to cut boards length-wise since I was able to borrow a table saw that performed that task very well. I ordered a set of Oshlun blades at the same time I ordered the VersaCut, it looks like they will fit it just fine but I have not used them yet and am still on my first "wood cutting" blade that was included with the VersaCut (so the included blades seem to be pretty durable). Other than the vacuum attachment, which did not seem to work that well, I am very pleased with this Amazon purchase. It does take a while to get used to using this saw (pushing down and forward simultaneously), but it performs quite well once you acquire the proper technique.

I bought this hoping it would be a nice alternative to my cicular saw when cutting things 1-inch thick and less. Just used it for the first time on some 3/4" plywood and it did just what I had hoped. I have a few Rockwell tools (JawHorse and Sonicrafter) and all are solid quality tools. This is no exception. You can't cut 2x4s with it, but as long as you realize its limits (designed in), its a great addition to a workshop. I wish that the ratings would allow me to give this a 4 7/8 star rating because I have 2 comments... 1. I had to put a little bit of duct tape around the vacuum attachment because my vacuum's end was a bit bigger (1/16") than the attachment's outer diameter. To be fair to Rockwell, I don't know if this is the fault of my vacuum or the Versacut. 2. As much as I like the "plunge" design, it would be nice if this had a convenient means of locking down the blade to not require the "plunge". Neither of these issues were serious enough for me to even drop my star rating to 4.5. I'd recommend this to a friend without a doubt. One other thing... the last two tools I bought from Rockwell were in strong tool-bags rather than the typical molded plastic boxes. I love this! Much more useful 'cause I can throw other handtools in the bag as needed.

This has been one of the most carefully researched products I've purchased lately. In addition to reading all of the Amazon reviews (and dozens of others online) and watching several videos, I went to several stores to test how various types of mini saws felt in-hand. Here is a summary of the results: TYPES OF SAWS: This is a mini circular saw, which means it has the same type of serrated blade as a full-size circular saw only smaller. There are a handful of brands making this style of saw. There is a similar type of saw from some other companies (Dremel is one of them) that look similar but use a grinding wheel type cutting edge rather than a serrated saw blade. And there is a category of saws that are about half the size of a full-size circular saw, most of which are battery powered. All of these are designed for portable hand-held use cutting primarily in a straight line, as opposed to a jig saw or saber saw. Other types of saws available are bench saws, band saws and miter saws which each have their own characteristics. WHO IS THIS FOR: Like any tool, choosing the right type of tool can make the job easier. By its nature a mini circular saw is not designed for cutting thick wood or use for extended periods. It is not intended to cut intricate designs nor complex angles. It can be considered an occasional saw for such tasks as cutting trim, flooring, trimming paneling, plunge cuts (for example cutting a hole for an electrical outlet in wall paneling), and in the case of some of saws thin metal, PVC piping, tile and other relatively soft materials. WHAT ITS NOT: There are occasional comments that this saw will not cut 2 x 4's and other thick materials. No, that's not what it's designed for any more than one would use a teaspoon to stir cement or a whisk broom to sweep an auditorium. This is not the tool to own if you are only going to have one saw in your workshop. A full-size circular saw can't be beat for cutting 2 x 4's. IS IT SAFE: No. No power tool is safe and among the least safe are power saws of any type. All power tools must be used with common sense, whether you are an experienced carpenter or an apartment dweller who dabbles in light fixit work. But used properly and prudently it is no less safe than any other saw with a rapidly rotating blade IS IT EASY TO USE: While the VersaCut is indeed truly versatile and relatively lightweight, the design leaves a lot to be desired in terms of being to hold it comfortably. To be able to wrap my hand around the barrel and squeeze the trigger the natural position for my wrist was to hold the saw counter-clockwise at about a 10 degree angle, which of course would not be a correct cutting position. When I rotated my wrist so the saw was at the correct angle it felt very uncomfortable. Adding to that is that I had to stretch my index finger to be able to reach the trigger. At that position it was hard to be able to control the saw without wobbling it from side-to-side and to be able to press down firmly enough to keep the blade guard pressed against the material I was cutting. In addition, the plastic barrel was hard to hold for more than a minute at a time because my hand got sweaty and tended to slip against the plastic. I found that all of this improved significantly when I wore a knit workshop glove with a leather palm and fingers (which should be SOP for such a tool anyway). The difference was night and day in being able to hold the tool and operate the trigger. WHICH ONE TO PICK: Among others I own a full-size circular saw, a power miter saw, a power jigsaw, power saber saw, Dremel tool, and oscillating tool with saw blades. My application is short cuts on flooring, paneling, cabinetry, trimming shelving and similar work. This dictated a small circular saw to quickly cut smooth squared ends. I looked at the similarly shaped Dremel-type saw and did not choose it because it uses a grinding-type edge rather than a serrated saw blade. I found those types of saws prone to burning the wood, nicking the finish of flooring/paneling, and being slow to use, not to mention dulling more rapidly than a serrated blade. I looked at the battery powered mid-size saws and while very inexpensive they were not all that much lighter than my Skil saw, were underpowered and subject to short battery life. My final choice was the 4" version of the Rockwell (Compact Circular Saw) Rockwell RK3441K Compact Circular Saw Kit which is larger, heavier and lacks the fancy depth adjustment plate/blade guard of the VersaCut. The problem was that they are very hard to find and the fact that the VersaCut came with 3 blades and a finish protecting plate for only a few dollars more made it a little bit of a better buy and slightly better suited to cutting 1" or thinner wood plus sheet metal, tile and more. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IMPROVED: 1. The weight distribution and handle design 2. The trigger location (I would put it on top to push down with the thumb) 3. And most important, I would add a handle on top to stabilize operation and to be able to press down directly on the spring-loaded depth gauge/blade guard. 4. I have yet to meet a handheld saw that can cut a flawless straight line and the VersaCut is no exception. Having the laser guide and ESPECIALLY the parallel guide helped tremendously. My first task was to use the tool to finish a Pergo flooring project for which I had to cut several 3" wide strips lengthwise, something that would have been a major challenge for any other tool. I messed up of the first cut because I took my eyes off of the parallel guide for a second. After that with my hand resting on top of the tool the rest of my cuts were perfect. Again, a handle on top would have been very helpful.

Absolutely love this saw for cutting fence boards to measure on a vertical angle. A very unique saw indeed! It is really cool, efficient and easy. Only dislike I have is having to push hard to plunge the saw deck down onto the board in order to gain full depth and cutting purchase of the saw blade so it can do it's work. Need to use a little muscle and then you get used to it. I wish that the saw blade could be fixed by having the ability to lock the blade into position without having to push down and plunge as cutting vertical or horizontal makes cutting a straight line difficult. If this could be solved it would be the best mini saw out there in my opinion. I certainly do not regret buying this as it is a loaded saw complete with a laser tracker which is only visible in dim light conditions. I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed owning this saw.

This is a review of Rockwell RK3440K mini circular blade saw with a laser cut-line indicator. Although some advertisements tout a "multi-purpose tool", most tools excel at one task. Where some circular saws perform well as cut-off saws (a saw intended to repeatedly and readily cut off work piece ends), the niche for the subject Rockwell saw is plunge cuts. Plunge cuts rely on the lower portion of the circular blade being exposed so it can enter the work piece. The Rockwell saw is very well engineered and constructed. The battery-operated laser projects a red line that accurately aligns with the cutting blade. The blade is on the left side of the motor. The sawdust exhaust nozzle is out of the way of the alignment indicators. The 3 3/8" blade is capable of making accurate plunge cuts up to just over one inch in depth. The saw base has markers to show where the blade is positioned for various cut depths. A smooth, thin, planar, plastic shoe may be attached to the base underside to prevent scratching of the work piece. An accessory fence (adjustable in distance from the blade) comes with the tool. As a result of the tool design, the complete saw base can rest on the work piece and be accurately aligned before the saw is brought up to speed and plunged into the work piece. One risks kick backs if the saw is not at full speed before plunging. The two finger controls on the saw were easy to distinguish and selectively energize. The party (review elsewhere) who purchased this tool to cut 2 x 4s may have overlooked pertinent specifications listed by the manufacturer. I did not purchase the Rockwell saw to cut fire wood or construct a dog house, outhouse, shed or a house. In order to accommodate a taller refrigerator in a oak kitchen cabinet I needed to trim away the upper edge of the cabinet. The Rockwell saw performed the linear cut admirably in just a few minutes. As far as I am concerned, the saw paid for itself with that one task.

My wife and I decided to replace all 24 of the 25+ year old windows on our home. One of the more challenging tasks was coming up with a way to cut the 3/8" cedar siding back from the window frames far enough to clear the old window's mounting fin and also clear the new windows mounting fin. The RK3440K proved to be the perfect solution. The blade to edge of table distance was such that I was able to run the saw around the perimeter of the old windows to expose just the right amount of area behind the siding. The saw is also lite enough to be handled easily one handed on a ladder (this would be difficult and dangerous with a standard circular saw). A couple of folks have mentioned that you have to be careful to make sure the blade is at full speed before pushing it down otherwise you'll get a nasty kickback that is likely to mar up your work surface. This is true and I did have a few times when I got my coordination out of sequence. I figure it's just the nature of the tool's application that the operator needs to accommodate. Also, the supplied blade handled cutting through nails well. I didn't cut through a lot of nails, but the few I did hit didn't seem to bother the blade much.

This is a 2-part review. The saw is really quite well made and comes as a very generous kit that will work extremely well for the right applications. Part 1) Item returned because it was not accurate enough for my purposes. I wanted to cut perfect finished edges on plywood and this just wasn't able to maintain a perfect 90 degree edge. This was due to 2 factors: A) The plunge track had too much play and the return spring is just too stiff for the plunging to work smoothly with a better/tighter toleranced plunge track. The spring is so stiff that one really has to work against it and that extra arm force tended to cause the motor to rotate in my hand. A longer, more robust front plunge hinge barrel would help control this rotation. B) The saw's very tiny size means that the blade has to be super thin so as to minimize cutting resistance that would otherwise stall the motor, and that thin blade is extremely flexible, which pretty much kills getting consistent 90 degree edge control and it makes straight long cuts very difficult to accomplish -- the blade is extremely squirrely due to its flexibility and the fact that it is such a small diameter that it is prone to wandering. The other problem is that the saw is so small that its application is very limited to certain highly specific tasks. It is underpowered for efficient break-down of 3/4" plywood sheets, which is what I wished to use it for. Because it has only 1-1/16" depth of cut (fine for 3/4" plywd) that means it can't be effectively used w/ a saw track system that has guides that actually control/engage the saw's base. The reason for this is that tracks for breaking down 4x8 sheets are all longer and they all work by having a saw whose base is keyed to ride on top of the track, and that added track thickness erases the saw's 1-1/16" cutting depth. That said, the combination of the saw's thin blade and laser guidance are the very best I've encountered on any tool; the laser line is wonderfully thin, and the thin blade means that for once the operator can safely "split the line" to get a perfect cut. If one is better at controlling this saw than me, that is a very cool feature. Part 2: There is an early review for this tool written back in 2010 and it had a tremendous negative impact on many potential buyers of this saw; after reading that review and trying this saw, I am certain that reviewer is a web troll and he created a completely bogus review just to build up peoples' safety fears and do harm to sales of this product. After using this tool, I completely disagree with his entire review -- I can only assume he made a wrong choice, like me, or had some axe to grind. For example, anyone who has even a 10th the experience this joker claimed to have has certainly used cordless drills and electric meat knives with more torque induced danger than this saw, and this saw's retractable blade nearly completely eliminates the possibility of getting cut. It really seems the only 2 ways to cut oneself is to either intentionally defeat the safety feature of the retraction or to intentionally press the spinning blade into oneself by doing the Darwin move of cutting a piece of wood that one is resting on one's thigh, duh.

I was watching a you tube video..and left the following comment...I figured I would share it here since i bought my versacut on amazon...the gentleman that was reviewing this saw was so biased towards a full sized circular saw...I figured I would share why I love this saw instead Here is my answer to him and my review I am a woman that likes to build things ..fix things ..etc I know people that are comfortable with big circular saw would agree with you. Someone like me that has an aversion to huge saws not only because of the danger, heavy size...and the sound..I cannot take the sound of huge circular saws I wear hearing aids..with and without them that sound cuts right through me ..no pun intended...My dad always used a circular saw ..he was a builder..my mom and I share the same hearing problem would freak at the sound...so we used every saw but...that circulr saw lol we were almost phobic about it..meanwhile we use a chain saw like a boss LOL go figure.. Enter versacut ..a smaller saw...has the safety feature of the push down plate...and suddenly this girl is cutting wood and building things..and the plunge cut YES i needed that...I also love that It sounds fine to me....I immediately felt comfortable cutting plywood and other wood for projects...I felt safe and I totally got into wood work...I finally made stuff out of all that wood I was saving in my garage that ONE DAY I would make stuff out of....from this Great experience ...I also got a blade runner..most excellent little portable table saw and I have the sonicrafter..jaw horse sheet master and the portable jaw horse...I went with Rockwell as the brand made great tools for a beginner like me that did not intimidate me. I always wanted a little woodshop but the circular saw always put me off...this little saw got me started ....Like I said I can see why someone like you that has no qulams using a full sized circular saw...more power to ya...for me this littlw saw has gotten me on my way to making things...and getting over a phobia i had of circular saws...maybe one day a full sized is gonna make its way into my little wood shop..for now this is great..

This tool is awesome!!! comes with blades to slice through different materials. very smooth action cutting and they thought of extra gadgets to help you cut straight lines. What precision, easy to use, plunge cut, compact, easy to handle, plenty of power. I bought this to replace my circular saw and I don't regret it. The only downside is it can't cut deeper than 1 1/8 (ie: 2 x 4) but you just flip it and rip through it again.

Muy práctica y de buena calidad.

Muy buena calidad completo de accesorios, sin embargo es muy complicado lograr cortes rectos y bien hechos Se complica mucho presionar para bajar la hoja y mantener la linea de corte correcta. El laser solo se ve si no hay mucha luz Es para cortes no muy precisos de piezas no muy largas

Excellent and versatile tool........comfortable and easy to use, especially in situations where space is at a premium. Powerful yet light. One of those tools that actually delivers on it promises. Good job, Rockwell. And the price from Amazon, delivered free to my door, was excellent.

Better than expected Not as loud as expected Nice compact design and easy to use. If you need the laser, you're a dunce and shouldn't be using power tools.