Thanks for the information Chris. Is there a Japanes source for purchasing these more solid bases?

My 10" and 13" hand held circular saws were purchased from a Japanese gentleman in California. His company's name is Aqua Stone. I don't know for sure but there might of been some funny business involving trade issues between the US and Japan when I purchased them.
I say this because the saws were purchased around 5 years ago but seem to be of a make quite older. That said they were obviously unused, but the Makita repair shop says they are they are "obsolete".
Well they have worked fine but are quite a bit louder than the newer ones and the arbor/spindle on the 10" saw is 1" vs. the newer 5/8".
My 13" is actually in the repair shop right now and I am unable to photograph it for you. When it returns I will send you a photo/model #.

13" is a great size. It will cut almost 5" deep.

The repair shop says that parts for the saw maybe difficult to impossible to get in the future. He thinks that I should not sink money into the repair it needs.
We'll see.

-Collin