Woodworking Tips for Using Your Circular Saw

Circular Saw Woodworking Tips

A circular saw is a absolute necessity for a carpenter on a construction site, but there are a number of uses for a circular saw in fine woodworking projects as well. For instance, when used with a straight-edge, a circular saw can cut sheet goods such as plywood as accurately (and with more ease) than a table saw. With special blades, a circular saw can even be used to cut curved shapes. Learn how a circular saw can be used on your fine woodworking projects. 

Circular Saws

While the table saw is probably the most useful power tool for a woodworker, for a carpenter on a job site, the most useful power tool would probably be the circular saw. A quality circular saw can be used for a wide variety of tasks both on a job site and in the wood shop, as the same tool can cross-cut and rip boards, both square to the face and at bevels of up to 45 degrees. Here are some tips to consider when choosing a circular saw.

Circular Saw Measuring Jig

When working in your shop, your table saw is always at the ready for making a variety of cuts quickly and easily. If you are on a construction site, you don't have that luxury. You can, however, make a considerable number of similar cuts on a job site using a circular saw, a straight-edge and a circular saw jig. In this guide, learn how to make a circular saw measuring jig that will let you align your straight-edge to make precision circular saw cuts quickly and easily.

Panel Cutting and Ripping Jigs

The main purpose of a woodworking jig is to make a difficult task easier, safer or easily repeatable. While many commercial woodworking jigs are available on the market, a number of woodworking jigs can be built in the woodshop. Two very useful homemade jigs are used for panel cutting and ripping boards using a circular saw. By following the step-by-step how-to instructions in this article, you can make these jigs and use them on your woodworking projects.

Insider Information About Circular Saw

Cut through a two-by-six or a piece of plywood with a hand saw, and there's likely to be not just a lot of huffing and puffing, but a meandering line as well. Yet switch on a circular saw, and the cut will come out straight and easy.

Circular saws are the workhorses of any construction job, from framing an addition to building a tree house. They glide through lumber in seconds, and can be fitted with an assortment of blades that rip through everything from nail-embedded wood to concrete blocks and bricks.

The saws come in a variety of sizes, but the most popular contains a blade 7.5 inches in diameter. The blade on most models can be adjusted to cut on a bevel up to 45 degrees, which is useful in cutting boards to frame the pitch of a roof. Larger jobs, such as cutting the timbers used for post-and-beam construction, require saws with blades of at least 12 inches in diameter. Correspondingly, lighter saws with reduced blade circumference should be used for smaller projects such as cutting plywood or two-by-fours. Regardless of the size of the blade, circular saws come in two varieties.

Worm-Drive Saws

A worm-drive saw is the toughest, most powerful circular saw, making it the right choice for heavy-duty jobs like framing an entire house or sawing through concrete. The saw derives its name from a pair of gears, the worm and the work gears that position the motor shaft and the blade at right angles to each other. This gives the tool its characteristically broad shape.