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.

Miter Saws & Compound Miter Saws Buying Guide

Miter Saws and Compound Miter Saws: The Motorized Revolution

It wasn't that long ago that making accurate crosscuts in wood required a skilled hand, a sharp handsaw, and a chunk of time. But in the early 1970s, a new saw began to appear on job sites that promised to speed up these cuts: the motorized miter saw. A simple miter saw is essentially a lightweight circular saw mounted on a spring-loaded pivoting arm supported by a metal base.

While these relatively small, inexpensive saws don't have the cutting capacity of a radial arm saw, they are very portable and rugged enough to stand up to daily use (and abuse) on the job and survive the pickup truck ride to the next job.

Cutting Capacity

A miter saw with a 10-inch blade and a hefty 12 to 15 amp motor can make quick, accurate 90-degree cuts in two-by-fours and two-by-sixes. If you rotate the blade left or right, they can also make miter cuts, and some of them can be pivoted past 45 degrees in one or both directions. But 10-inch saws have one major limitation: cutting capacity. Most of them are limited to about a 5 1/2-inch cut at 90 degrees, and even less when cutting miters.

For this reason, some manufacturers also offer miter saws with 12-inch, 14-inch, and even 15-inch diameter blades, which enables them to make cuts that are wider (up to about 7 1/2 inches) and higher (up to about 3 1/2 inches). For some users, this capacity still isn't enough for the job, which is why the pricier but more versatile, sliding compound miter saws have become so popular. In fact, regular chop saws are disappearing from the marketplace.