Skil 7-1/4 in. TRUEHVL Cordless Worm Drive Saw

A cordless worm drive that feels ready for real work

Cordless worm drives used to feel like a compromise. After a full month of framing, ripping sheets, and cutting stacks of rafters with Skil’s cordless worm drive, I don’t feel like I’m giving anything up. It’s a legitimate replacement for a corded mag saw in day-to-day production, with a few caveats you’ll want to know about before you switch.

Build, balance, and the left-blade sightline

The saw’s magnesium motor housing, gear case, and shoe keep it as lean as a worm drive can be. Bare, it’s just over 11 lb; add the 48V pack and it’s a heavy saw. The good news is the balance is excellent. The battery sits inboard and tight, so the center of mass lands right where your trailing hand grips. That makes it easier to place precisely on layout lines and less fatiguing than the raw number on the scale suggests.

I’m a right-handed cutter and prefer a left-side blade—this one gives a clear sightline without having to lean out over the cut. The guard tracks smoothly, and the lower guard lever is easy to reach when you want to start a plunge.

The integrated rafter hook is stout and sized well; it hangs off a 2x cleanly without rattling.

Power and cut quality

This saw is about torque and control. The brushless motor and worm-drive gearing deliver a smooth, confident cut that doesn’t bog in dense framing lumber, LVL, or wet PT. No-load speed is listed at 5800 RPM, but what matters is how it holds that speed under load. On long rips through 3/4-inch ply and repeated crosscuts of 2x SPF, I never had to baby the feed rate to keep the blade moving.

With the stock 24-tooth blade, it blasts through framing. Swap to a 40T or 60T and you can get splinter-free sheet cuts that rival a track saw when paired with a straightedge. For bevel rafter cuts and birdsmouths, the cut face stayed clean, with minimal wandering. The electric brake is quick—typically a second or two—enough to make set-downs safer and faster between cuts.

Accuracy and adjustments

Out of the box, the shoe on my sample was dead flat and square to the blade. The depth-of-cut at 90 degrees hits a full 2-3/8 inches, and at 45 degrees it’s 1-15/16 inches—enough to take 2x in a single pass on a bevel cut. The bevel range runs to 53 degrees with positive stops at 0 and 45. Those detents hit true on my saw, and the scale is legible. The bevel and depth levers have a reassuring clamp without needing to over-torque them.

Fence slots are clean, and the front handle lets you steer the saw along a chalk line without fighting the shoe. If you care about fine finish cuts, you’ll appreciate that the shoe edges are straight and parallel; running against a guide is predictable.

Dust management

There’s an integrated dust port and a vacuum adapter in the box. Hooked to a small extractor, chip capture is genuinely helpful—especially when trimming doors or working inside finished spaces. Outdoors, I usually skip the vac, but it’s nice to have the option. Without extraction, it throws chips like any worm drive.

Battery platform, runtime, and charging

The TRUEHVL 48V pack and charger are built with heat in mind. The pack’s cell management kept temperatures in check during hot attic work; I never had a thermal shutdown, and the charger’s built-in fan cools the battery aggressively. Skil calls the full charge about an hour. That matches what I saw from empty to full; from roughly 20–30% to topped off landed in the 25–35 minute window.

Real-world runtime always depends on material and blade. Using the included 24T blade on SPF framing, I could work a morning on a single battery—plenty of 2x crosscuts plus some ripping. On more demanding days cutting LVL and repeated 45-degree bevels, I’d swap packs around lunchtime. The manufacturer’s claim of roughly 425 cuts per charge on 2x material felt believable; my counts typically fell a bit lower when mix-in ripping and bevels entered the day.

A practical note: the packs are big and not interchangeable with common 18V/20V platforms. If you live inside a single-brand ecosystem for all your cordless tools, understand that this battery system is its own thing. With two packs and the quick charger, I never had to stop work, but it’s worth budgeting for the second battery from the start.

Ergonomics and user experience

• Grip and triggers: The handle shapes are classic worm drive—substantial, grippy, and confidence-inspiring with gloves. The trigger pull is responsive without being twitchy.
• Line of sight: Excellent for right-handed users; left-handed users may prefer a right-blade saw, as usual.
• Brake and guard: The electric brake speeds workflow, and the guard retracts smoothly without snagging on bevel starts.
• Noise and vibration: It’s a worm drive—there’s a growl—but vibration is well controlled. Long rips feel planted rather than buzzy.

Blade compatibility and arbor

This saw uses a diamond arbor (13/16-inch). Many professional-grade 7-1/4-inch blades include a diamond knockout for worm-drive saws; make sure the blades you’re buying have that feature. If your shop is full of standard 5/8-inch round-arbor blades without the knockout, you’ll need to stock up specifically for this saw. The included 24-tooth carbide blade is solid for framing and gets you rolling out of the box.

Blade changes are straightforward with the on-board multi-function wrench. The spindle lock is easy to access and secure.

What I’d change

• Weight: The weight is part of the worm-drive DNA, and the balance is good, but overhead work and long one-handed cuts will fatigue you faster than with a lightweight sidewinder.
• Battery ecosystem: TRUEHVL isn’t a universal shop battery. If you’re hoping to share packs across drill/drivers, lights, and nailers, that’s not what this system is about.
• Dust port fit: The vacuum adapter works, but the connection could be tighter with certain hoses. A short section of friction-fit rubber hose solved it for me.
• Charger footprint: The fast charger is big. Not a dealbreaker, but plan your charging station accordingly.

Reliability notes

During testing in hot weather, I had one instance where the pack flashed a warning and wouldn’t charge immediately after a heavy rip session; it cooled for a few minutes and then charged normally. Otherwise, the pack and charger behaved predictably. As with any high-output cordless saw, keep the vents clear and avoid baking the battery in direct sun between cuts.

Who this saw is for

• Framers and remodelers who want corded worm-drive performance without dragging cords across a jobsite.
• Carpenters who value the left-blade sightline, torque, and cut feel of a worm drive.
• Crews willing to run a dedicated battery system for their primary saws, ideally with two packs per saw to keep production continuous.

If you do most of your cutting on sawhorses and keep a vac handy, the dust port is a useful bonus. If you primarily do overhead or ladder work, the weight may steer you toward a lighter rear-handle or sidewinder.

Bottom line and recommendation

Skil’s cordless worm drive delivers the core promises that matter: real worm-drive torque, accurate cuts, stable magnesium build, and a battery/charger combination that sustains a workday pace. It is heavier than many cordless options and asks you to buy into a standalone battery system, and you’ll want to mind blade compatibility because of the diamond arbor. Those trade-offs are easy to accept when the saw cuts as well as it does.

I recommend this saw to pros and serious DIYers who prefer the cut feel and line of sight of a worm drive and want to cut the cord without sacrificing performance. Pair it with two batteries, keep a framing blade and a fine-tooth blade in your kit, and you’ll have a capable, jobsite-ready cutter that earns its keep.