Circular Saw Safety

Now for those of you that have used a circular saw very little and that I have instilled a fear of even picking a circular saw up let me tell you that a saw is a safe tool if used properly. Proper, safe procedures of using a circular saw are easier to learn than improper procedures. You could not pay most of the carpenters I know enough money to read and use the information in this article. They know it all. They are the ones you want to stay away from when they make a cut. For your first few hundred cuts, I suggest not using a SPEED® Square as a guide. Make your mark, then draw a line on the board and make the cut. It takes a little longer, but it will build your confidence, using a saw. Never depend on a blade guard to protect you from getting cut. Blade guards are a piece of machinery and they are notorious for hanging up and not going back down, especially when you drop the saw on the guard a few times. The question is not if a blade guard is going to hang up; it is when. Keep the guard lubricated and keep the housing clean of pitch and sawdust. On a new saw or old saw, check all of the screws and bolts and make sure they are tight. About 75 percent of carpenters keep their guards tied up. Some carpenters know how to use a saw, but a lot of them don’t. Never cut a board backwards, as the picture shows. When you cut about three- fourths of the way through the board the saw will bind and kick back. This is very dangerous. You are not in control in this position, all you have to do is get on the other side and make the cut and let the small piece fall to the ground. One more thing: If you are cutting a board and the motor slows down, you are either crowding the saw (pushing too hard), cutting on a bowed down table, have a dull blade or you are into pitch tension. Pitch tension, when cut into, will close or open the saw cut you have made. I have cut into some 2x12s and the saw would bind in the first 6 inches of the cut. I would get the saw out and the saw kerf that I cut would be closed. I was ripping a 1x12x8 one day and ripped it about 4 inches and looked at it and it opened up nearly 2 feet at the end where I started, pitch tension. This is usually in heart sawn wood (center of the tree). Pitch tension is created by kiln drying the wood to fast. If you are cutting a crowned board, start your cut on the crowned side. The pitch has activated on the crowned side, and the kerf will open as you cut. The pitch will close your kerf on the sagged side.   If your saw slows down and goes to binding, stop the motor and pry the blade out of the cut. Try to cut it from the other side or throw the board away. injuries” on the Internet and look at the pictures. They are horrifying. I have asked many major carpentry associations to print this saw procedure. If they would and all people using saws would follow these circular saw procedures, exactly, to the letter, injuries using a circular saw would almost come to a halt. Take it slow and easy when you start using a circular saw; follow these instructions down to the last letter. About the Author Visit his Web site for procedures for using a miter saw and a table saw. The author welcomes questions about using a saw and can be reached at carpenterbook@yahoo.com.

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