4 tips to make better and safer saw cuts

Cut safer and cleaner with your circular saw and miter saw. Take the worry out of making dangerous cuts like plunge cuts and miter cuts on wide boards.



1. Avoid binding the blade.



Cutting the end off a board is usually simple. The short cutoff end just falls away. But cutting a long board in two is different. You can hold one end, but the other must be free to drop or the blade will bind. The trick is to allow the cutoff end to drop slightly, but not so much that it completely snaps off before the cut is complete. The best method is to support the board with little strips of wood. You can also support the board continuously by stacking it on an equal-length sacrificial board. Set your blade to cut about 1/4 in. deeper than the wood's thickness. Clamp the keeper side and allow the other side to move freely.



2. Clamp your work



You can make crisp, accurate bevel or miter cuts with a circular saw but it's tricky. The blade guard can stick, making it tough to get started. And because the blade is angled, it's more difficult to follow a line accurately without twisting the saw and possibly binding the blade.



Two things will help you get a great cut safely. The first is to clamp the board you're cutting. Clamping allows you to use one hand to lift the blade guard out of the way until the cut is started. The second is to use a straightedge guide. It allows you to concentrate on moving the saw steadily forward without having to worry about following a line. If possible, cut with the wider part of the bed on the "keeper" side of the board for better control and more accurate bevels. Near the end of the cut, concentrate on a straight-ahead follow-through.



3. Plunge cuts without danger.



Plunge cutting is a useful method for starting a cut when you can't start from an edge. One example is cutting a window opening in a sheet of plywood. But if done with poor technique, this cut is not save. The saw will kick back and run back toward you. Since you can't see what's under the sheet you're cutting, check before you start to be sure the path of the blade is clear. Never back the saw toward you while it's running. And stand to the side, not directly behind the saw. Set the blade to cut about 1/4 in. deeper than the wood thickness.



4. Use a sharp blade.



Even the best carpenter can't do good work with a dull blade. And besides making lousy cuts, a dull blade is dangerous. Dull blades can heat up and warp or bind, and they tend to climb out of the cut.



But how do you know if your blade is too dull? Sometimes you can tell just by looking for rounded-over or chipped teeth. But the best indicator is how the blade cuts. If you have to muscle your way through the cut, your blade is dull. A sharp blade will glide through even the toughest wood. Burn marks and rough cuts are other signs of a dull blade.



Many hardware stores offer blade-sharpening services, but don't waste money sharpening steel blades. High-quality carbide blades are inexpensive and can withstand tons of abuse before they need to be replaced.



A good blade for general circular saw use is a 24-tooth, thin-kerf carbide blade. To get the most from your miter saw, invest in a high quality 60- or 80-tooth carbide blade. Use the cheaper blade that came with your saw for general crosscutting, and reserve the good blade for fine work.



To learn more on specific models and choosing the right Miter saw or Circular saw, you can go to http://dewaltsawreview.com