Black & Decker 15 Amp 7-1/4 Inch Circular Saw

Why I reached for this saw

I put this Black+Decker circular saw to work on a weekend of mixed tasks: breaking down a couple sheets of 3/4-inch plywood, ripping and crosscutting 2x4s for a small deck repair, and making a few 45° miters for trim blocking. It’s a straightforward, corded 7-1/4-inch saw with a 15-amp motor and basic adjustments—nothing fancy, but on paper everything you need for general carpentry. After a few hours of cuts, some blade swaps, and a bit of setup, here’s how it actually performed.

Build, balance, and ergonomics

At 11.1 lb, this is on the heavier side for a homeowner-focused saw. The upside is stability without much chatter; the downside is fatigue if you’re making lots of overhead or long freehand cuts. The rubber overmold on the main handle is comfortable and grippy, and I never fought the trigger reach. The auxiliary area up front gives you a natural spot for the off-hand to guide the shoe. Sightlines to the blade are acceptable from the left side, and the guard retracted reliably during plunge starts and bevel cuts.

Fit and finish are what I expect in this class: stamped components with some play that you can work around with careful setup. The shoe isn’t the stiffest out there, so I got the best results by letting the saw do the work, avoiding side load, and using a guide on anything that mattered.

Power and speed

The 15-amp motor spins at a claimed 5,500 RPM, and it feels honest. On framing lumber, I could lean into the cut without a bog, and it kept its speed through knotty SPF. On plywood, it tracked well as long as I stayed mindful of feed rate. If you’re stepping up from a lighter-duty 12-amp or older cordless saw, the jump in headroom is noticeable. There’s no soft start, so the motor kicks up to speed briskly—standard fare for a corded consumer saw.

Noise is on the high side, especially under load. It has that high-pitched, metallic whine that’s common with thinner stock blades. Hearing protection isn’t optional.

Blade quality and the easiest upgrade you can make

Out of the box you get a 24-tooth carbide blade. It will make wood into smaller wood, but the difference after swapping to a higher-quality blade was night and day. With the stock blade on 3/4-inch plywood, longer rips started clean but drifted toward fuzz and minor tear-out; heat built up and I could feel a hint of wobble if I pushed too hard. Switching to a premium 24T framing blade for construction lumber and a 40T general-purpose blade for sheet goods tightened the kerf, improved tracking, and reduced noise and vibration. If you buy this saw, plan on budgeting for at least one better blade; it unlocks a lot of the saw’s potential.

Accuracy and setup

Before I made any critical cuts, I checked alignment. The blade was square to the shoe at 90° after a quick tweak of the bevel stop, which is typical for a new saw. The shoe-to-blade parallelism was close enough for practical use, but I still got straighter results with a guide rail or the included rip fence.

Freehand, the saw tracks acceptably on framing lines, but the shoe can wander if you muscle the cut or if your stance pulls sideways. Using a clamped straightedge produced reliably straight rips on 8-foot plywood. With the rip fence, I was able to make repeatable 2-1/2-inch rips in 2x material; the fence is short and you do need to keep consistent pressure at the front of the shoe to avoid a slight arc at the end of long cuts. For tight tolerance work, a guide is the way to go.

Line-of-cut indicators were close to the kerf at 90° and 45° once I verified where the blade landed. As with most saws in this bracket, a quick scribe or a test cut before your “real” cut saves headaches.

Bevel and depth adjustments

Bevel capacity is 0–45°, and the lock lever holds firmly once set. There aren’t micro-adjusts, and the scale is small, so I set bevels with a square rather than relying on the printed marks. Bevel cuts through 2x were clean and the saw had no trouble clearing the material. Depth adjustment is quick, with a max of 2-5/16 inches at 90°. Setting blade depth to just over the material thickness reduced tear-out and effort, as it should.

Cut quality and feel

• Crosscuts in 2x4s with the upgraded 24T blade were fast, square, and consistently clean enough for framing without sanding.
• Ripping 3/4-inch plywood with a 40T blade and a straightedge produced smooth edges ready for glue. Without a guide, the saw tended to drift a hair over long runs; this is more about shoe stiffness and technique than raw motor power.
• Bevel cuts at 45° tracked fine, though I slowed the feed rate slightly to keep the guard moving cleanly and avoid pushing the shoe off-line.

Vibration with the stock blade was noticeable; with a better blade, the saw settled down and felt much more composed. This reinforced my impression that most of the “roughness” in the cut is blade-related rather than motor or gearbox.

Dust, visibility, and general use

Chip ejection kept the cut line visible in most orientations. I had no trouble seeing the kerf with the light to my left, and the guard didn’t hang up on thin veneers. There’s no elaborate dust collection here; plan for the usual sweeping or cutting outdoors.

Cord management matters with corded tools, and I found it easiest to loop the cord over my shoulder on long rips to keep it from snagging on the sheet edge. It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference in maintaining a straight line.

Durability and warranty

I can’t simulate years of jobsite abuse in a weekend, but nothing about the saw suggested fragility. The guard snapped back reliably, the bevel and depth locks didn’t creep, and the shoe stayed true after several drops onto plywood offcuts. The included 2-year limited warranty is respectable in this price class.

Who it’s for—and who should look elsewhere

This is a good fit for DIYers and homeowners who need a capable corded saw a few times a month for projects and repairs, or even as a backup saw on a framing site. It has enough motor to push through common building materials, the capacity to handle standard 2x lumber at 45°, and the basic adjustments you need.

If your work demands repeatably straight, finish-ready edges freehand, or you need the stiffness and precision of a pro-grade shoe and fence, this isn’t that tool. You can absolutely produce accurate results with a straightedge and a quality blade, but the saw doesn’t mask sloppy technique, and it doesn’t have the shoe rigidity of premium pro models.

Practical tips to get the most out of it

• Replace the stock blade immediately. A better 24T for framing and a 40T for sheet goods cover 90% of tasks.
• Square the blade to the shoe at 90° and verify at 45° before your first project; adjust the stops if needed.
• Use a clamped straightedge or the included rip fence for long rips; don’t rely on freehand for critical cuts.
• Set blade depth so 1/8–1/4 inch of tooth protrudes below the workpiece to reduce tear-out and effort.
• Let the saw reach full speed and feed steadily—don’t force it. That reduces heat, noise, and deflection.

The bottom line

Recommendation: Recommend with caveats

I’d recommend this Black+Decker circular saw to DIYers and budget-minded users who are willing to pair it with a better blade and a straightedge. The 15-amp motor has honest power, the 5,500 RPM speed helps keep cuts clean, and the 0–45° bevel with a 2-5/16-inch depth gives you the range you need for typical home projects. Accuracy is there if you take a minute to set it up and guide it; out of the box with the included blade, cuts can feel rough and the saw is noisier than you might expect. If you want pro-level stiffness, refined cut feel, and dead-straight freehand tracking, you’ll want to spend more. But as a dependable corded workhorse for general wood cutting—backed by a 2-year limited warranty—it’s a solid value once you make the right blade upgrade.