What is a circular saw?

Thinking about starting woodworking or DIYing? Are you are looking at tools and want to know what is a circular saw? Let’s define a circular saw.

A circular saw is a power tool that uses a toothed or abrasive circular shaped blade that cuts using a spinning motion around an arbor. The arbor holds the blade in one position and depending on the type of the blade, it can cut through wood, metal or other materials. It can be used for making straight cuts.

On the handle you have an on/off switch, so apart from operating with the saw, the handle is used for starting it.

The guards are designed to protect you from the spinning blade, so you will be safe while the saw will cut the wood like it is butter.

Circular saws have many other features – bevel adjustments, depth adjustment and so on.

But are all saws the same? Not really.

Circular saws are divided into many categories, depending on their use. If you are interested in particular types of this versatile tool, I recommend checking the trim versus framing saw comparison for additional info.

Apart from this, many gurus will suggest you focus only on portable circular saws, no matter what would be the main use of your saw.

Ever wondered what makes those model so special? Here is the answer.

What is a portable circular saw?

Many people believe that portable circular saws are the ones that use batteries, but don’t let that fool you. Electric circular saws can be also portable.

A portable circular saw is a saw that can be easily picked up and carried wherever you need to do the job. It is basically a type of a circular saw that is operated with a hand grip.

This type of circular saw is exactly what you need. A portable tool with so many features, great for a huge variety of tasks. They come at different prices, but you can find a quality one for around $50.

But with so many different manufacturers, which one should you go for? The shelf at the shop is full of these models and they just all look the same.

Lucky for you, I recently did a research and found the best quality circular saws for under or around $50. There some very good portable models as well, for if you are interested in finding a great model for a reasonable price.

Circular Saw Safety rules

When using a portable circular saw, there are some rules that you need to follow.

• Use proper safety equipment
• Make sure the blade is sharp enough
• Before you start cutting, let the blade reach its full speed
• Disconnect the power supply when changing the blade
• Clean the saw from sawdust
• Set the right depth
• Check the circular saw’s manual
• Do not carry the portable saw with your hands on the on/off switch

Most of the tasks you are about to do, will require straight cuts. That isn’t something you should avoid, as you won’t be able to build furniture in the right way.

However, that is not the point of this article. But, in case you still don’t know how to perform a straight cut, you can take a look at my article about how to perform a straight cut and use it as a guide.

So, this was the basics on what is a portable circular saw and how to differentiate it from other circular saws, backed up by some safety rules. If you have something to add, feel free to write it down in the comments section.