Hey guys.
Welcome back to the shop.
Today is an introduction to circular saws.
Let's get at it.
So what I have here in the shop is a Makita 7 and 1/4-inch
circular saw.
This is a corded version.
This is a saw that I have actually
had in the shop for quite some time.
So I just want to start with just showing you
some of the components before we actually start using this.
So first up, in this one, this saw, there's a cord.
It's powered.
You plug it in.
They do have battery-operated versions.
You have the blade, and then you have this upper guard,
and you have a lower guard.
The lower guard, now, is retractable with this lever
right here.
Next step would be the shoe, or the base,
or the bottom of the saw itself.
This is what slides over the material in which you're
cutting.
On the top, we have a handle.
We have a handle out back.
We have a handle up towards the front.
Next up is this lever on the front.
This allows us to adjust the bevel of the saw.
So if you loosen this, you're able to go from zero degrees up
to 45 degrees on this particular saw.
On the back of the saw is the height adjustment.
So if you're going through a thicker material, a thinner
material, you need to adjust how far the blade goes
through to the material.
So if you adjust this lever, you're
able to adjust then the height in which the blade or the depth
at which the blade goes through the material.
I'd like to talk to you about one more thing before we talk
about this saw's main uses.
So when it comes to changing out the blade,
each saw has its own specific tool.
But if I engaged the tool, you'll
see that if I tried to loosen this, that the blade spins.
So each saw has a blade lock, what
locks this out you're able to remove the blade.
This one's up front.
If you could take a look, it's a little lever.
And if I depress this, and I spin at the same time,
you'll hear it lock into place.
[SNAP]
Hear it?
Now I'm able to undo the blade to swap it out
for a different blade.
So that's pretty much all the basics of the saw.
Let's talk about its main uses.
As far as its main uses, the circular saw
is pretty much it going to be seen
doing the majority of its life two things--
first, it's going to be used a lot on dimensional lumber
like 2-by-4s, 2-by-8s, 2-by-10s.
It's going to be cross-cutting them,
making bevel cuts and notches and anything else that's
needed.
The other main thing that you'll see circular saws doing
is ripping sheet-good material, such as plywood, OSB,
and any other sheet-good material like this.
It is really good for ripping it in and sizing it
for each specific project.
Now, there's some other uses for it,
but really, the sweet spot for these circular saws
is in dimensional lumber and plywoods
and sheet-good materials like that.
So now there is a sort of big brother to the circular saw,
and that's called a worm-drive circular saw.
I don't have one in the shop, but let
me just toss up a picture of what one looks like.
Now, there's a lot of contractors
that prefer this saw.
It's great for if you're a framer.
It's a hard-working saw.
It's very torque-y because of the drive system
that's set up in this.
So there's a rundown.
Those are the two circular saws that you're
going to see out in the marketplace pretty much
the majority of the time.
Now that you know a little bit more about circular saws
and some of the parts and components and the main uses,
it's time to start putting this thing to work.
So in part two of this video series,
we're going to do just that, and I'm also
going to share with you some of the tips and tricks that I've
been shown over the many years of being in this industry.
If this video has been helpful for you,
hit the thumbs up button, subscribe
to the channel, of course, if you're not already,
and leave a comment below.
I'd love to know what circular saws you guys are currently
using or which ones you're thinking about buying.
So until our next video, stay safe, and we'll see you soon.
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