11 WORST CIRCULAR SAW MISTAKES!! And How To Avoid them...(DON'T DO THESE THINGS! Kickback/Binding)

this is the most useful tool in carpentry and also the most dangerous in my just2 power tools video i discussed why i thought the circular saw was the most important solid diy or could own but i've always been nervous to recommend this tool to carpentry newcomers because it's so powerful and there are so many ways to mishandle it i'm going to do a lot of videos about the circular saw in the future but right now i want to start off by discussing the 11 worst mistakes you can make and how to avoid them that's coming up next on this carpenter show i'll mention real quick that i picked up a fresh circular saw for this video it's a corded makita which i think is the best circular saw on the market nikita did not send this to me i bought this i've always bought makita's it's all i've used since i was little because they're just the best all around saw i'll link some below in the description if you're looking for one this model is just over a hundred dollars or over about 160 if you want the carrying case which i still think is a great deal for such a quality tool you can easily use this salt for 20 plus years if you just take care of it that said let's get on with our list and we'll start off with the worst of the worst mistake number one getting in the cut path a circular saw is basically like a free hand table saw they have 13 to 15 amp motors which spin a seven and a quarter inch blade at upwards of 5000 rpms that is a lot of cutting power a 12 inch miter saw has a similar yield with a bigger blade and fewer rpms so you get the same power in this little handheld saw as you do in that big bench mounted saw but the difference between the shop saws and this smaller one is that the circular saw has no fixed path the only thing keeping your circular saw in line is your hand and your wrist and your arm so it's capable of taking these huge lurches the first mistake is putting any part of your body in its cut path this includes putting your free hand in front of or behind the saw don't do that also don't put your knee leg or foot behind the saw or in front of it always stand just to the side of the cut path when you're using the saw and whenever possible keep both hands on the saw and don't reach beneath your piece when you're cutting this could put your fingers in the cut path from below instead use clamps to hold your piece steady and get your free hand out of the way this is so important because it has a lot to do with mistake number two binding the blade blade binding occurs when a spinning blade receives too much pressure from the wood it's cutting through i talked about this a lot in my most important word in carpentry video watch that video it's the crux of everything we do when we're cutting but in short when the saw cuts a path the blade sits in the channel it has cleared this channel is known as the curve the curve is a safe bubble for the blade to spin in it keeps the blade free of contact with the walls of the cut however if you twist the saw while cutting pressure will build against the blade this pressure will cause the saw to kick and jump backwards out of the cut this is why you have to keep appendages out of the cut path kickback can cause the spinning blade to leap at you so don't twist the saw while you're cutting keep pushing it in a perfectly straight line also make sure your piece is supported near the cut this will keep the cut line from collapsing if you don't have proper support for the piece it will bow as the saw passes through it the bending material will begin to squeeze the blade once again causing it to bind and kick back in both cases binding is caused by too much pressure on the saw blade itself the motor bogs down and the saw leaps out of the cut that's how disasters occur so avoid it this brings us to mistake number three failure to prop the cut in order for a circular saw to work the saw blade has to extend beyond the bottom of the piece you're cutting this causes a problem because anything below your piece is in danger of being cut you can't just cut flat on the floor or on your work table because you'll cut through those surfaces you need to prop up your piece to cut it the easiest way to do this is to just put some scrap wood beneath your material you can space it so that your blade avoids the scrap blocks but the saw is still firmly supported or you can place the blocks in the cut path and just let your blade pass through them that's really the easiest way you avoid some of the problems that spacing blocks underneath can cause like unintentional binding when you space them too far apart for some cuts i even sometimes just hang the waist end off of my work table and make the cut like that gravity pulls the waist piece down naturally preventing some binding but this is trickier to do and it gets dangerous if your waist end is too long which creates a cantilever if you need to cut near the center of a piece you're better off propping it up make sure you have the most support directly beneath the weight of the saw and that the material isn't bowing inwards i often space blocks about two inches to either side of the cut path then i have extra blocks to support the far ends of the material nothing is likely to move or jostle this way mistake number four setting the saw blade too deep as i said the blade has to extend through the full depth of the piece you're cutting but it doesn't have to extend too far you should have less than a quarter inch of exposed saw blade hanging below your material more than this causes instability because it creates more blade surface that can bind up anything beyond a quarter inch isn't helping it's just increasing the chances of kickback while you're cutting also keeping it at a quarter inch guarantees that you aren't cutting too deeply into your prop blocks this would just bog the saw down unnecessarily and on that note mistake number five adjusting the saw while it's in motion to change your blade depth you often just release a lever and swivel your sole plate up or down i shouldn't have to say this but don't do this while the saw is spinning i see diy is trying to make plunge cuts like this all the time but i think that's a bad idea the moving components are meant to stay locked during operation that includes the bevel feature and depth set also mistake number six don't retract a spinning blade this is when you finish a partial cut and then yank the saw out while the blade is still in motion you see this on job sites all the time and i'll admit that i've done it more times than i can count pro carpenters are just always in a rush and we come to overly trust our skills but diyers don't need to do this instead wait a few seconds for the saw to spin down then retract it this will prevent binding that happens if you twist the saw on the way out that would cause a really weird kickback also you can easily screw up a good cut this way when the saw nicks the material keep those lines neat let the saw spin down then pull it mistake number seven removing the blade guard here's another completely ridiculous thing that i see on job sites and something that i personally never do pro framers will often pin back their blade guards to keep them out of the way for fast cutting or they might remove them completely don't do this they shouldn't be doing this you definitely don't want to the blade guard is there to prevent the spinning blade from contacting anything it springs back the moment the cut is finished obviously without the guard the blade is more likely to cut you but just as bad if it lands blade down while it's spinning it's going to run away like the road runner i've heard of job site nightmare stories where runaway circular saws have cut off people's fingers and toes not worth it keep your blade guard on and make sure it works if your guard stops working it's time to retire the saw or at least install a new spring likewise mistake number eight don't set a saw blade down this one is a little more of a gray area you're never supposed to set a saw blade down just in case the guard didn't spring back if it didn't spring back it might go running so instead you're supposed to flip them over like turtles i know this is good common sense but it is hard to commit to sometimes when you're working doing this just makes them harder to grab because the handle is then upside down if i'm not in the position to do it this way i have some other options the first and most important thing is that i check the blade guard before i put it down i look at it after every cut to make sure that it's sprung back this is just a good habit to get into and i wait for the saw to spin down before setting it somewhere it can't cause harm if it's not spinning another thing i do seriously is set it down in that open carrying case whenever i can other carpenters are probably going to say that i'm crazy for doing this but i've always seen it as a great option the case has a gully for the blade to sit in so it's shaped perfectly it's also soft and it won't scuff the sole plate like concrete will never put a saw on concrete it'll scratch everything it cuts afterwards and since i tend to do my cutting in one place for a while my case is typically right there beside my cut table i just reach down and put the saw in it if the case isn't there i will sometimes set the saw on my lumber so that the blade hangs down over the edge but this can be unstable so i can't necessarily recommend it whatever you do your best bet is to check the blade guard after every usage let the salt wind down then put it down safety first mistake number nine starting up with contact you should never spin up the saw when the blade is already in contact with wood a lot of people try to do this when they're finishing off a cut they make a partial curve in a board then they have to change position to keep going but when you're preparing to start up again make sure you pull the saw back just a little bit so it's no longer touching wood at the front of the blade now you can start up your cut without contact when the saw is spinning at full speed gently continue the cut starting up with contact can cause the saw to buck up which is how accidents happen it can also damage the wood you're cutting or the saw itself because it has to start spinning with a lot of stress the saw blade should spin up free of contact then cuts can be made mistake number 10 cord drag as you make a longer cut like a rib the cord on many saws can get hung up on the end of the board it'll slide with you for a while then suddenly it'll catch and stop the saw from moving if it pulls too hard it can twist the blade and once again this causes binding and kickback as you're making your longer cuts consider holding the cord in your free hand for a while until you can safely hang it off to the side make sure it doesn't trail and catch on the end of the board you can also cause this problem by stepping on your own cord so before i make every cut i consider where the cord is and where it's going to wind up i take care of that before i start cutting cord control is a big part of saw safety and mistake number 11 forgetting trigger discipline just like when you're handling a loaded gun you don't ever really want your finger on the trigger until you're ready to pull it when you're carrying a saw around between cuts keep your finger off the trigger just carry the saw with the rest of your hand three fingers in your thumb grab the pommel with your free hand if you need extra support just don't use that index finger after you've made your initial lineups you can go ahead and put your finger in the guard pull the trigger and let the saw spin up when the cut is finished release the trigger and take your finger right back out of the guard keep it this way until you set the saw down or get ready to start another cut it sounds obvious but a lot of diy-ers fire up saws on accident when as i mentioned they step on their own cords the saw yanks down and they squeeze the trigger this is easily fixed by just keeping your finger out of the trigger guard so that's it 11 circular saw mistakes and how to avoid them as i said i'm going to be doing a lot more circular saw videos in the future because they're so useful but they're all so dangerous always use extreme caution when you're working with circular saws don't use them for the first time without supervision and never handle them recklessly in the end you're entirely responsible for your own safety that said what did you think of the video was it helpful would you include anything i didn't mention please let me hear about it down in the comments also i'm going to link several circular saws down in the description makita is my favorite but i'm going to link several other popular brands as well feel free to browse them and remember that when you shop through these links we receive a small commission at no extra charge to you it helps us keep making videos and we greatly appreciate the support as always thanks for watching be sure to check back in for more videos coming up soon and please consider subscribing and hitting that little bell button to turn on notifications that way you'll know the moment we post something i'm ethan james with the ioscarpenter.com i'll see you next time you

Channel: The Honest Carpenter

Views: 1,020,740

Rating: 4.9362016 out of 5

Keywords: common circular saw mistakes, circular saw guide, circular saw safety, circular saw tips, circular saw tricks, how to use a circular saw, how to use a circular saw to cut wood, circular saw, skil saw, circular saw tips and tricks youtube, circular saw tips and techniques, circular saw safety video, circular saw kickback tips, saw kickback, the honest carpenter, circular saw blade, circle saw, cutting with a circular saw, circular saw pro tips, circular saw tips for beginners

Id: YPz1orpvbyI

Length: 11min 45sec (705 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 28 2020