E.H. posted,
I find the wider the base the more stable the saw therefore the more accurate the cut. With a small base one is more likely to tilt the saw slightly during the cut thus ending up with an out of square cut.
With the small/flexable base one is able to tilt the saw slightly to keep the cut square even if the surface is slightly out of square.(ex. hewn timber) This is refered to as putting a little english on it. The base is only a depth stop. It's not the saw that has to mind rough surfaces it's the sawer. Tom
