Circular Saw
What is a Circular Saw?
With the possible exception of the electric drill, the hand-held circular saw is the power tool most often found in the average homeowner’s tool chest. It is easy to use, affordable, and astonishingly flexible and practical. The portable circular saw is designed to cut lumber and boards to size.
The vertical angle of cut can be adjusted from its standard ninety degrees to forty-five degrees, or to any angle in between. The depth of cut can be adjusted, too. A typical seven-and-a-quarter-inch circular saw will cut to a depth of two-and-a-quarter inches at 90 degrees. At a forty-five-degree angle, the saw will cut through a two- by-four on one pass, a thickness of one and a half inches.
These saws can also be fitted with masonry or other specialty blades for cutting other materials. Blades with a wide range of teeth configurations for cutting wood are also available, though a combination blade, which crosscuts and rips, may suffice for most or all of your needs.
Using a Circular Saw:
Types of Cuts with a Circular Saw:
Various models require different-sized blades, among them blade diameters of six and a half inches and eight and a quarter inches; the most popular by far, however, are the seven-and-a-quarter- inch models. Most portable circular saws have electric motors with two or more horsepower that turn the blade at about five thousand revolutions per minute; capacities and revolutions per minute vary from model to model.
The motor is protected in a housing, the blade by a fixed guard on top and a retractable guard below. There is a handle on top, and a sole plate or shoe on the bottom. Some models come with an adjustable T-guide.
Parts of a Circular Saw:
Source: Bob Vila