Sawing, cutting, and trimming are indispensable processes for working with boards, planks, boards, sheets, and other wood material. A circular saw is an essential tool for any builder, repairman, furniture maker, carpenter, or woodworker.
How to choose a circular saw? There are many criteria by which one chooses the right tool. These are the volume, type, duration of work, the power of the tool, and its performance. These circular saw guide reviews would be helpful in selecting a circular saw for a specific application.
3 Types of Circular Saws
There are three basic types of circular saws:
- Stationary;
- Manual;
- Combination.
Stationary type saws are professional wood cutting machines. They are in wide demand for home and garage work. A tabletop circular saw has a complete work table to which the saw is attached. You can not detach the saw and use it without a special table. The table or floor type design requires more working space. But such a saw is indispensable when you need to cut boards lengthwise or work with a large amount of wood.
The manual type of saws includes a fairly diverse list of products: network handheld circular saws, cordless circular saws, and mini saws. Such models are the cheapest. It is convenient to work with them in the yard or on the construction site, as you do not need a special table and a lot of space.
The combination type of circular saws is a stationary type tool. It is usually presented in multi-purpose woodworking machines or can still be associated with crosscut saws, where the combination machine quietly performs the function of cutting at angles and longitudinal trimming of wood.
Criteria for Choosing Circular Saws
You can use a circular saw for professional activities or household chores. Depending on the purpose and conditions of use, there are the most important criteria for your consideration.
Diameter of the disc
The bigger the diameter of the saw blade, the thicker the beam or other material it can cut. But it would be a big mistake to buy a tool with the largest disc of 210 mm preventively. For a large disc, you need a powerful motor. And this increases the weight of the tool and its dimensions. It is very physically demanding and causing fatigue. It is much more convenient to work with models with a disc diameter of 160-190 mm. Therefore, choose the diameter of the circular saw blade based on the size of the workpieces you have to process.
Saw power
A circular saw can be divided into three main power groups: less than 800 watts, from 800 to 1200 watts, and more than 1200 watts. It is better to choose a tool with more power for longer working hours and an extensive lifespan. Models with power from 600 to 1000 watts are suitable for household chores, and for private and intensive use, it is better to choose saws from 1200 watts.
Functionality
There are some useful additional options for circular saws:
- Soft start;
- Cutting depth and blade tilt adjustment;
- Parallel stop.
Mostly, people need a circular saw in the household only for repairs. This is an occasional use. It makes no sense to buy expensive, powerful models for this purpose. Thus it is better to choose a circular saw of medium size. Those who specialize in repair and construction need durable, efficient, and high-precision tools.
Think in Advance
Take into account the above recommendations for selecting a circular saw. All the tips described here are based on many years of experience with circular saws and wood. Do not ignore the advice and buy what you do not need. Do not try to save money and buy a device with less power; otherwise, working with wood will be difficult.
I like that you mentioned that the thicker the beam or other material that a circular saw can cut, the larger the saw blade’s diameter. I’ll be sure to share this with my cousin, who has been considering making an investment, so she knows to keep it in mind. I’ll assist him with it by consulting the circular saw guide as well.