11
English
APPLICATION
CAUTION:
To make sawing easier and safer, be sure to move the tool forward in a
straight line gently. Forcing or twisting the tool will result in overheating the motor and
dangerous KICKBACK, possibly causing severe personal injury.
It’s important to understand the correct technique for operating your saw and to learn what the correct and
incorrect ways for handling your saw.
Equally important to working safely and realizing accurate cuts is correct preparation of the work piece and work
area prior to making the first cut with the saw.
• Hold the tool firmly with your hand.
• Avoid placing your hand on the work piece while making a cut.
• Place the work piece with the “good” side down.
• Securely clamp the work piece so it will not move during the cut.
• Place a clamp near the cut to further support the work piece.
• Draw a guideline along the desired path of cut before starting your saw or the cut.
• Move and keep the cord away from the cutting area. Position the cord to prevent it from hanging up on the work
piece and you from standing or tripping on the cord while cutting.
DANGEr:
If, while operating the saw, the cord hangs up on the work piece or
other object during a cut, release the switch trigger immediately. Unplug the saw and
reposition the cord to prevent it from hanging up again.
CROSS CUTTING AND RIP CUTTING
Cutting directly across the grain of a piece of wood is called cross cutting and is likely the most common type
of cut done with a circular saw. Cutting wood lengthwise, or “with” the grain, is called rip cutting. However, it’s
most often referred to simply as ripping. Both types of cuts are performed in the same manner with the exception
of the methods used to support and secure the work piece for cutting. After you have secured the work piece in
position with clamps or similar devices, prepared the work area, positioned the cord so it won’t be cut or become
hung up, performed the saw set up adjustments, made the necessary measurements, drawn a straight guideline,
and put on your eye protection, you can begin the cutting operation.
• Hold the tool firmly.
• Set the front portion of the saw’s base on the work piece to be cut without the blade making any contact. Align
the line-of-cut indicator notch on the right side of the base with your guideline.
• Turn the saw on by depressing the switch trigger and wait until the blade reaches full speed.
• Ease the tool forward over the work piece surface, keeping it flat and advancing smoothly while following your
guideline, until sawing is completed.
• Release the switch trigger. Wait for the blade to completely stop. Check that the lower guard has returned to
position surrounding the blade. Now you can safely remove the saw from the work piece and set it down out
of the way.
• To achieve clean cuts, keep your sawing line straight and speed of advance uniform.
• If the cut fails to properly follow your intended cut line, do not attempt to turn or force the tool back to the cut
line. Doing so may bind the blade and lead to dangerous kickback and possible serious injury. Instead, release
the switch trigger, wait for the blade to stop, and then remove the tool. Realign saw on a new cut guideline
and start the cut again.
• Avoid positioning yourself so that you’re in the path of chips and wood dust being ejected from the saw.
BEVEL CUTTING
Bevel cuts are made using the same technique as crosscuts and ripping described in the previous section. The
difference is that the blade is set at an angle (tilted) between 0° and 45°.
A bevel cut made at an angle to the edge of a board is called a compound miter. Some compound cuts may
require you to manually retract the lower guard to allow the blade to enter into and/or through the cut.
There are tools better suited for bevel and compound cuts than the hand held circular saw. Although the inner
line-of-cut indicator notch aids the operator in following their cut guideline, the tilted motor housing, however,
obstructs their ability to see the blade making accurate cuts difficult. Before taking on a project with numerous
compound or bevel cuts it’s suggested that the inexperienced saw user spend time making practice cuts in scrap
lumber to become familiar with and overcome difficulties associated with compound/bevel cutting.
