# Bosch GKS 190 or Makita 5007N



## Ahmed Affara (Jun 23, 2016)

Greetings from the Sunny Dubai :smile:

I am new to woodworking and have been into it for 2 years, I am basically learning from YouTube and practicing.

Recently I decided to start practicing power tools along with hand tools, so I am buying some quality tools to be considered as an investment and last for long.

Now, I want to choose a Circular Saw and as a big fan of Makita, I was very interested in the Makita 5007mg (or mga) however could not find it here in Dubai and online it is mostly 120V which is a bit of a trouble.

Found 2 options which are Bosch GKS 190 or Makita 5007N and was wondering if I can get some feedback about them before deciding.

Have heard that the GKS does not accept most of the blades because of the size of the arbor, is that true?

PS: This saw will be used as a portable device and not converted to a table saw.

Thanks in advance :wink:,

Ahmed


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Ahmed welcome to the forum. I think as a general rule Bosh tools are rated very high with good customer service. That said I think you will get good service from either.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

If you can get in touch w/ their customer service they should be able answer any and all of your questions..

Bosch CS here in North America can be reached via telephone, email or live chat... 
also we have the CS5 and CS10 models in corded...
if your model is like ours (voltage aside) it is an excellent piece of machinery...
perhaps someone from the UK. Europe or SA would have personal knowledge of the bosch....

I have a decades old 5007F(?) but it seldom sees use because of how it fits my hand...
other wise there's nothing negative to offer

of the three brands of saws I have...
Milwaukee..
Bosch..
Makita...
they are used by preference in that order by myself and the employees....
they are all very good machines, well made and the only thing that matters to the user is how it fits the hand and how comfortable it is to use...

I believe comfort compliments safety...


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

Stick486 said:


> I have a decades old 5007F(?) but it seldom sees use because of how it fits my hand...


I have that problem with shovel handles, lawn mower handles, and paint roller handles.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I have a Makita and find it works quite well. It feels right in my hand. That said, Bosch equipment is really excellent. Find out about the arbor question and if it is standard, then blades are not likely to be a problem. I suppose you have access to Freud blades, and bet that they make the correct arbor size for Bosch.


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## Ahmed Affara (Jun 23, 2016)

Thanks all for your comments.

So I was doing my homework and went to Ace Hardware (the only international hardware store over here) and checked the GKS 190, it seems good and the size and weight is pretty good, however I got more confused as I found that the blade is 184mm instead of 190mm.

On Bosch UK website it is 190mm
On Bosch Malaysia website it is 184mm 

The Bosch representative was not there so I asked the Ace staff about it and he actually had no idea about the arbor/bushing size and got a measure tape to check, anyway I took a picture of the specs. and thought of sharing it with you.

@DesertRatTom: I don't think that it is the standard size and this is why I am checking before deciding however I think worst case scenario that will be ordering them from Amazon or Ebay.


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## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

Stick486 said:


> I believe comfort compliments safety...


First , Welcome Ahmed. I am confident you will find our little place a friendly, welcoming, informative place.
@Stick486 It is very rare (as in never) that I have anything to add to what you have to say that I cannot pass up this opportunity>

Comfort *is* an important part of safety!

(full disclosure: I have not read any posts beyond the one I quote, so apologies to anyone who made the same point.)


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Welcome Ahmed. The 184mm size is the standard size for North American circular saws (7 1/4 inch in Imperial measure). They are sold here by the millions and average ones sell for about $7-$9 each here in Canada. The standard arbor size is 16mm approximately. 5/8 inch is the listed size but it is very close to 16mm and I'm not sure if the small difference would matter. Our saws might accept the 190mm blade but I would want to make sure that it did not interfere with the blade guard.


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## Ahmed Affara (Jun 23, 2016)

@Cherryville Chuck: Thanks for the info, it is a bit challenging here because of the imperial/metric measures, I get almost all my info online from people in US or Canada and I envy you guys for your access to the tools and the prices :grin:.

Apparently I found that the common blade size here is 185mm (fits makita) and the 184mm is very limited.

While searching I found that Bosch made several versions of the GKS 190 with different wattage and sizes.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Ahmed the measures given for blades is often what we refer to as "nominal" measure rather than actual measure. In other words the actual measure is often off by 1 to several millimetres. According to the specifications of the Bosch it will accept the 7 1/2"/190mm blade. It says minimum of 7 1/4" blade but this is only because it affects other specifications like depth of cut. If you wanted to use a 6" blade you could as long as the arbor hole is the same.


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## Ahmed Affara (Jun 23, 2016)

Hi Charles, what you said actually makes sense about the 1 millimeter. I think the one available here though is the 3601F230.1 or similar which shows the min and max as 7 1/4" 184mm, for safety reasons I will try to reach out to Bosch customer service specially as it is my first circular saw.


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