The circular saw is the most dangerous, misused, abused tool in the construction business.

When they made the first portable, electric circular saw they put the motor on the right, the blade on the left and the handle was above the blade. When you made a cut and got to the end, the weight of the then big and heavy motor would naturally make the saw fall off to the right and butcher the end of the cut. So, an individual came up with the bright idea of putting the motor on the left and the blade on the right, which left the main weight of the saw and the majority of the base on the stable member of the cut. They didn’t realize that with the blade on the right, a right-handed person had to lean over the top of the saw to see the line of the cut.

A few years ago Porter-Cable came out with the 345 saw boss and the 423 Mag, blade on the left, and moved the handle where it has equal gravity pull when you hold the saw and make a cut. Craftsman also has a five-and-one-half-inch saw like this. Now some other manufacturers are seeing the light. Before this, all right-handed people had were worm drives with the blade on the left.

If you use your right hand to run a saw, buy one with blade on the left; if you use your left hand, buy one with the blade on the right. It is very dangerous to be leaning or out of position when making a cut and you need to see the line to
make an accurate cut. The position of making a cut with an electric saw is the same as making a cut with a handsaw or hacksaw. The cut line, the blade, your forearm, elbow and shoulder should all be in one straight line.

First and foremost, when you go to cut a board make a mark for the cut. You need to check your tape and make sure the hook is not bent. Buying a good tape is an investment in your job, not a cost.

Measuring and cutting lumber to length is the most important thing you will do when building a structure if you want the building, structure or cabinet to be plumb and square.

The mark on the left in this photo is the way about 90 percent of the carpenters I know mark a board. Then they make a mark with a SPEED® Square on some part of it and then cut on the left of the line sometimes and sometimes on the right of the line. Who knows?

The small straight mark on the right is the exact place you want the blade to cut and is the correct way to mark a board; the wing mark on the left of the small mark is the waste side, and wing is waste.

Now we come to one of the most overlooked but one of the most important
procedures in using any power tool—plugging in the tool cord to the GFCI power cord.

Always let this procedure remind you of loading a gun. Keep your finger off of the trigger (switch) until you are ready to make a cut. It's the same principle as keeping your finger off the trigger of a gun until you are ready to make a shot. When you plug a saw into a power cord you have created a power supply for a tool that could easily kill you or maim you for life. If you plug a tool cord in backwards (and it can be done) you have created reverse polarity, and it can kill you. Ask any electrician.

Do as this picture shows; get some Wite-Out and paint the wide prong side white (wide-white). This is the white (neutral) wire in the cord. Then you won’t have to look each time and try to figure out which way the prongs go in.
This little suggested procedure could one day save you or someone else’s life.

Always have a good crowned table to cut on. Never cut a board in the middle that is just lying on two saw horses, it will sag or collapse about two-thirds of the way through the cut and bind the saw and cause the saw to kickback at you. The only time you can safely cut a board using only two sawhorses and no frame table is when you are only cutting an end off.