The Circular Saw: Everything You Need To Know
With the circular saw, you will have a sawing machine that has a jagged circular blade. It can be hand held or mounted on a table and it can run off of a batter, a small fuel engine or electricity, which is more common.
Out of all of the sawing machine options, the circular saw is the preferred choice because of the ability to make a wide variety of cuts such as a cross, straight, angular or circular cut. They are fairly easy to handle and the basic design of the circular saw allows for easy maneuvering. There is a trigger switch that is used to operate the saw.
The main differences that you will find in this type of sawing machine is the types of blades that are used and the torque. The torque and the blade type are co-dependent so you always want to make sure that you are keeping that in mind in order to get the desired function you want.
The blades within the circular saws are either mounted to the drive shaft or the mounted motor can drive them. The sawing machine blades will also vary in terms on the use you intend.
If you simply want to re-saw wood, the smaller blades for the circular saw will work just fine. The High Speed Steel and the Tungsten Carbide Tipped saws are for cutting through rough timber. If you desire to cut through metal, you will need to go with the blades that are large in diameter and that use rotational speeds that are fairly slow.
When looking at torque, you need to know that this is the rotational force that is exerted by the blade of the circular saw. There are double gear drive sawing machines out there that will have high speeds but will have the low torque which will cut great through thin material. Worm gear saws are saws that can quickly change their motion in right angles. The cold saws will have a slow rotations speed but a high torque which is great for cutting thick material.
In most cases, while using a circular saw, the material that is to be cut is clamped down on the work table using a vice or clamps. Materials to be cut should be measured and marked along the cutting path using a pencil (the marking process may be repeated to ensure accuracy). The saw usually has a line on the foot plate that can be lined up with the markings on the material to be cut and be used to show the path the saw is to follow.
Keep the circular saw blade about one inch above the material you are cutting when you start. You will hit the trigger switch and then slowly guide the saw along the marks you created. It is extremely important to make sure that the blade has completely stopped moving before you set the saw done after you are finished with your cuts. You can also adjust the bevel on the saw in order to make the best angle cuts possible.
The work table saw is an exception when it comes to circular saws, where the saw is fixed and instead the material is moved slowly into the rotating blade.
Luis Torres is Owner of CML Machine Tools, a located in Boksburg, South Africa. For more information on circular saw cutting equipment, go to
categories: circular saw,circular saws,CNC machines