A circular saw is one of the most difficult tools to choose, especially for the beginner. Without understanding the parameters in detail, in the best case you can buy an expensive tool for professional use, overpaying in the end a significant amount for unnecessary additional functions and design features. In the worst case, you will end up buying a tool that will not be able to perform its intended function and will soon fall into disrepair. If you do not want to get into such a situation, pay attention to the technical features when choosing a circular saw.
Types of circular saws
- According to the scope of application, the tool is divided into two types:
- Domestic. Suitable for private use in the home workshop.
- For professional use. They are used in factories and enterprises, where a large number of workpieces of varying hardness must be processed daily. The difference from the domestic – greater productivity and engine life.
Differentiation by design:
- Manual. This type of circular saw is great for work in the home workshop. It cuts small parts from materials such as plastic, wood, has low power and low productivity
- Stationary ones are large in size (more than 20 kg) and require a specially equipped place for installation. Are usually purchased for furniture factories.
- Table saws are circular saws of small dimensions with the possibility of easy transportation. Suitable for construction, for example, small rooms, barns, baths.
The difference in the type of work performed:
- Cordless saw has its own power source, so it is used in cramped or hard-to-reach places, for example, to repair the roof at a high height. The operating time of such a saw is from 30 to 50 minutes, after which the battery must be recharged.
- Metal circular saw is the most universal type of circular saw, as it is equipped with a carbide-toothed multipurpose disk, which can easily deal with steel, pipes, profiles, tin, soft non-ferrous alloys, as well as various types of wood, etc.
- The plunge-cutting saw is designed to plunge cut anywhere, not just around the edges. For example, if you need to cut a hole in wood to install a sink, a plunge saw is your option. The tool’s design places the blade above the baseplate and only lowers when the start button is pressed. There is no bottom automatic guard. The cutting depth is adjustable.
Important specifications
Power is a parameter on which the density and thickness of parts to be cut depends, so treat this characteristic particularly carefully, otherwise there is a risk of wasting money. For example, if you bought a small power saw for cutting soft wooden parts, but did not take into account that knots are denser than the trunk, the tool will simply stall in the middle of work. For infrequent work in the home, choose a chain saw with about 1 – 1.2 kW, they are versatile.
More powerful motors provide stable operation, allowing you to operate the saw as long as possible without reloading. Models with more than 1.2 kW are considered the most productive and professional.
The speed of the disc is a parameter directly related to the cleanness of the cut, i.e., to the absence of splinters. The higher the speed, the easier it will cope with hard materials, such as steel or wood. It also greatly affects overheating of the workpiece (e.g. plastic can melt from too high temperatures). Therefore, when buying a saw choose the speed that best suits the type of work to be done.
The depth of cut depends on the diameter of the blade, because the second determines the depth of cut to a large extent. The bigger the diameter, the bigger the power of the model’s motor and its dimensions. Both these parameters should be chosen together according to the thickness of the material to be worked with. For example, a model with a cutting depth of up to 45 mm (sawing fiberboard, plywood) will be quite enough for household purposes. Boards, trunks over 50 mm require a more powerful saw with a greater cutting depth.