Don't Try This DANGEROUS CUTTING TECHNIQUE! (Here's How To PLUNGE CUT W/ Circular Saw Instead!)

so this year I'm going to talk about some controversial cutting techniques and today's video is about one that I personally think you should never use it applies to the circular saw and it's called loose plate cutting it's basically a plunge cutting method and it's dangerous especially for diy-ers today I'll show what it is why not to do it and I'll also show some proper plunge cutting tips and techniques that's coming up next on the honest Carpenter show so we use plunge cuts to make cuts that start in the field of the board rather than at the edge that's how you cut out an interior portion of a board It's Tricky for a circular saw because the forward spinning teeth are meant to engage the edge of the board and pass into it making plunge Cuts requires that we expose the bottom of the spinning blade and lower it into the board there are some really dangerous ways to do this and loose plate cutting is one of them in the loose plate technique the operator will loosen the sole plate of the tool and let it swing free the line the blade up with their cut Mark set the sole plate flat on the piece and then lower or plunge the blade into the stock I've actually seen a lot of Pros use this method they'll often even do it for Edge Cuts where they're gain cutting multiple pieces of stock like making stair stringers if Pros want to do it that's up to them but diy-ers and newcomers should really never do it and why it's because the sole plate is a crucial feature for stability safety and depth control and it can't do its job if it doesn't tighten down basically we set our sole plate level to control the depth of our cut this keeps us from having too much blade extending through the bottom of our stock excessive blade depth presents three dangers one is that it increases the potential of cutting through something beneath your stock you can get two and a half inches of exposed blade on most seven and a quarter inch saws so on three-quarter stock you'll have an extra inch and three quarters hanging free hacking things up down there you don't want any uncontrolled cutting with a circular saw it damages surfaces and it increases friction which leads directly to problem number two having this much blade penetration raises your odds of binding that's because more blade surface area creates friction in the cut walls if you twist this much exposed blade you can get a really big kick and this is very likely because of problem number three a loose plate decreases stability the bottom of the flat sole plate is smooth and wants to slide around so if you don't have a fixed pressure point the saw gets squirrely really fast because of this you can easily twist the saw if you're not careful get more friction on the exposed blade bind up and then kick with a loose plate you're having to control too much at once lining up the kite pulling the guard lowering for the plunge and setting the Final Cut depth it's just an insecure way to cut do it the safe way instead keep your sole plate at a fixed depth when you plunge and here's how you go about that process to begin Mark out your cut path making all relevant lines visible then lift your stock off your cut table by putting prop locks beneath it I like to use two by material because it gives you a lot of clearance underneath Now set your cut depth by loosening the sole plate lowering your blade until it extends about a quarter inch beyond your stock and re-tightening your plate here to make the kite you want to use the front of the sole plate as a stable Pivot Point try to line up your Blade with your cut Mark by siding from above you can use the zero increment Notch as a pretty quick line up then try to get more accurate by siding down the wall of the blade you can gently tap the blade to the surface as well keep in mind that the blade tooth is slightly wider than the blade and then it's going to leave about an eighth inch notch or a curve you want your curve on the appropriate side of the cut line I did a whole video on that so check it out if you're new to the channel but beyond that I do much of my lineup as the saw is cutting and I do it slowly lift the blade guard lever with your free hand with the saw stable at the front pull the trigger and let it spin all the way up but make sure that the blade is not yet in contact with the wood now slowly lever the saw downwards and watch the score line as it appears is it right where you want it running perfectly parallel to the cut path if not you can tweak very slightly right now making just the shallowest cut when your lineup is good gently lower the blade all the way into the material keeping the saw stable and steady don't let it run backwards you never want a circular saw to move backwards at all when your sole plate is sitting flush on the material you can release the blade guard lever or keep it lifted it's up to you but you now want to begin driving the saw forward along the cut path just like a normal cut if you reach a cross mark or a final a point just stop as you touch it when you're done cutting let the blade spin down then remove the saw that's how you make the hole cut if you wind up with inside Corners like this you can just finish them with a jigsaw or a handsaw and here are some things to remember wear safety goggles because you have to sort of look over the saw when you're cutting and particles can leap up also make sure your cut surface isn't too high because your elbow already has to get really high when you're making this cut and you don't want to sacrifice control or a good angle and be careful that you're not starting too far back circular blades can overcome when you finally sink them so I just try to get close to my starting point but not go over don't put your free hand behind the sole and don't grip the material with your fingers underneath I like my freehand riding somewhere on the sole body possibly even on the plate for a controlled side rib and the most important tip never do the worst plunge attempt which is lifting the guard and trying to float the blade down into the material this is the ultimate No-No it's even worse than loose plate cutting it lacks in any stability it's likely to kick and it's also really unlikely to give you a clean cut so keep your plate fixed when you plunge and be careful with a little practice you'll get good at it Carpenters out there do you agree that loose plate cutting is bad or do you utilize it for certain Cuts let me hear about it down in the comments I'll link some saws and Blades Below in case you're looking for anything so feel free to check those links out as always thanks for watching and be sure to check back soon for more videos coming up and please consider subscribing and hitting that Bell button to turn on notifications that way you'll know the moment we post something I'm Ethan James with Giannis Carpenter I'll see you next time foreign

Channel: The Honest Carpenter

Views: 155,109

Keywords: circular saw, plunge cut, how to use a circular saw, circular saw tips, circular saw safety, common circular saw mistakes, how to plunge cut with circular saw, plunge cut circular saw, circular saw basics, circular saw pro tips, skil saw, circular saw tips for beginners, plunge cut compact circular saw, power tools for beginners, the honest carpenter, circular saw kickback, cutting with a circular saw, how to use a circular saw safely

Id: 31kNJ_pqIx4

Length: 6min 11sec (371 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 08 2023