I mounted my DeWalt 708 to a couple of 2x12s atop two saw horses and plugged it in. I though since it had been a good week and a half to give some of the tools a try. I started with the DeWalt 369CSK and cut down a 2×4 to make sure the circular saw did not scare me. I then went for broke (and gusto) and clamped a piece of 2×4 to the fence of the 708, offset it R45, and pulled the trigger …
Folks, keep in mind that in grade school I opted out of wood shop, and spent a few brief months in metal shop. I did not know what to expect +20 years later so I was not about to let wood (and especially metal teeth) ruin my day.
Wham! That 708 is one mean monster. AND I LOVE IT! HAH!!! It went through the 2×4, in its clamped up-right position (not laying down), like a hot knife through butter! Woohoo, give me something else to cut!
After shocking myself in to the ease in which I could miter 2x4s together, or rip the circular saw into them I wanna try something bigger! The animal in me started to come out. I felt like grunting as Tim Allen would on Home Improvement!
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Step one....count yer fingers
Step two.....make the cut
Step three....recount fingers
if steps one and three match.......repeat.
There's your safety thread! Now have at it.
I always suggest fully clamping the workpiece down....to somethat's not gonna walk on ya......to get used to a circular saw. That way...both hands can go where they're supposed to. Hold firmly......have a sharp blade.....avoid any knots and nails...till ya get the feel for it. Takes a few weeks till you're hanging way too far of an unbraced extension ladder over-reaching to try to make the one handed cut above yer head with the guard wedged up with a shim. ...standing on the cord....
Those professional moves will come naturally with time!
Biggest tips.....any tool....never force it. Change bits/blades whe she's unplugged!
Before you cut...look to see which body part it's gonna cut off....then move that body part......and cutting away from ya is usually the best policy. Have fun, Jeff
* Jeff J. Buck/ Buck Construction/ Pittsburgh, PA *
2nd Generation Buck Const, 3rd generation Craftsman
20 YRS. in the biz and I still grunt as one of my tools kicks to life. The "soft start" on some of them are a nice safety precaution, but once that tool starts hummin`....LOOK OUT!!!
I think if that instinctual growl ever dies down, I`ll look for another line of work.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Maybe that's why I get so depressed when I get jobs that involve nothing more than painting...I don't get to fire up the arsenal!Steve
S.J.MERRETTE Carpentry & Construction • Robesonia, PA
Nothing is impossible...It just hasn't been done yet.
You might try a saw like a friends distant relative used to use. He had a black and white picture of the rig. Picture a pickup truck. 2WD jacked up and blocked in place with what looked like a 30" diameter circular saw blade bolted where one of the wheels should be. In the picture you can see a trough of some sort to support the work and what looked like a stack of railroad tie sized pieces of wood in the background. The picture was from the 30s. Now thats a circular saw. Ooo....ooooo....oooh.
Throw on a turbocharger. Add some nitromethane. Ratio lifters.....Well you get the idea.
Sounds pre-OSHA. Joe H
Sounds way cool
Sawin some oak or maple and come to a big knot, just drop her into crawl gear and hit the gas RRRRRUUUUUMMMMMMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sawin clear pine ... over drive and crank up the radio!!!!!!!
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That's it, a Radio!No more, "Am I getting too load with ths saw?"