How to use a circular saw to do more
The trick to most difficult cuts is to make sure the saw is guided by the fence, which keeps the saw on track better than using the notched guide in the baseplate.
On most building and remodeling jobs, you’ll hear the wail of a circular saw. It’s the perfect tool for cutting 2-inch material for framing and with a versatile 18-tooth, 7-¼-inch blade a circular saw can slice through those studs and plates all day long.
But you can do a lot more with that circular saw, including more delicate work. Straight cuts requiring precision, right-angle bevel cuts, long rips, and even compound angle cuts can all be done with a basic circular saw and the right technique. Here’s how to use a circular saw to do more.
How to use a circular saw
Her is the trick to use a circular saw to do more. To make most of these more difficult cuts take a little extra time to make sure the saw is guided by the fence, which keeps the saw on track better than using the notched guide in the saw’s baseplate. Even short cuts across a 2×4 are better and squarer using a speed square that you can hold next to the timber with your free hand. Pressing the side of the baseplate into the square as you whip across the 2xs ensures a nice flat, right-angle cut. This is even more important if you’re cutting a miter for a corner joint that needs to fit tightly.
Before making the cut, mark the cutline, set the baseplate at the required 45-degree angle, then check the depth of cut. A good rule any time you are handling a circular saw is to set the depth of cut so that no more than three teeth will project beyond the material. This reduces the chance of the blade being caught in the kerf (the cut you are making).
Milwaukee’s 6390-21 features a tilt-lok handle that adjusts to 8 different positions to make precise cuts easier to accomplish and helps maintain a clear line of site to either side.
And while you might slide the saw into the job to double check you’re right on the cutline, pull back and get the blade up to speed. Starting the blade in contact with the job is a sure way of kicking out a chunk of material and marring the cut.
Support the material you are cutting and if possible, try to cut the piece so the baseplate is on the supported piece, not on the scrap that will fall away. It is very difficult to maintain the angle of the blade, especially toward the end of the cut, if you are trying to cut and support the saw at the same time.
Angle cuts, as opposed to bevels are often needed for framing, decks, railings and fascia boards. Again, using a guide is good practice. Use a protractor angle-guide set at the required cut angle and hold it with your free hand. Use this, not the cutline as the guide, pressing the baseplate side into the angle guide.
The blade guard often requires a little extra push as it swings up out of the way at the beginning of a cut. Sometimes when making an angle cut and especially when making a compound angle cut, it’s good to pull the guard clear of the job as you start the cut. Because the saw requires one hand on the trigger and the other on the blade guard grip, this is not as dangerous as it might sound.
Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of a guide and, in that case, you’ll be relying on the notches on the front of the baseplate to guide the saw. Get to know which notch is guiding the blade when it is a straight cut and which is used for a beveled cut.
If you are ripping a bevel along a board, mark the cutline along the length. Better yet, find a piece of straight scrap and clamp it in place as a fence. If the clamps are getting in the way, you might be able to screw or nail the fence in place just while you complete the bevel. Then you can concentrate of keeping the baseplate firmly against the fence and advancing the saw smoothly for a nice clean, accurate cut.
—By Steve Sturgess
