Essential Circular Saw Safety Tips You Need To Know

Circular Saw Safety Tips

Circular saws are the most useful tool in woodworking because you cannot get your planks and board in the right size and length without them. But using a circular saw needs some severe precautions, or else you can lose your valuable body parts forever. Hence, we have gathered a bunch of safety tips to ensure your safety, including your closest persons while working with a circular saw.

Circular Saw Safety Tips:

Putting Safety Equipment On

Before starting the saw, try to wear a thick PPE to avoid anybody being hit by the saw. Besides, use hand gloves so that you can have a firm grip. There have been many reports of vital injury by slipping the saw off from hands. So, ensure the safety guards. Also, wear a mask and glass to avoid wooden dust and particles from entering your body. And remember, these props will lessen the risk, but they won’t prevent it from happening. So, always keep your eyes on the saw and its impact path for better control.

Holding The Tools Properly

Next, you have to learn how to hold a saw. As cordless tools are very compact and rubber-gripped nowadays, that doesn’t mean you can pick and use them with no training. Importantly, when working with saws, it is a must to sort out the right position. Circular saws come in two variants, some for right-handers, and some for left-handers. Then, each of those offers multiple handles and palm grips. Some saws need to be held sideways rather than held from behind for balanced controls. So, watching over a pro worker and the user manual, find the standard and suitable holding position first.

Checking The Blade And Guard

If you are a beginner, you may wonder why blade guards are mentioned repeatedly before buying them. Although it looks straightforward and unnoticeable, this can save your eyes from flying wood stains. Besides, if there were no blade guards, you could have cut anything before turning the saw on. The blade guard allows you to unlock the saw blade and starts operations after that. If it’s a manual blade guard, use your off-hand to retract the saw blade, and hold the saw with the main hand. Although, most saw blade guards automatically rotate and free the blade after moving forward on the wood. But, check it before to avoid any barrier inside it.

Using Sharped And Undamaged Blades

Whether you need a circular saw on a daily basis, or occasionally for simple household tasks, always use sharp blades. Because if you use a dull and blunt blade, the saw will get more obstacles than sawing through the wood. But a sharp blade automatically runs through the wood, and you won’t have to force it. Moreover, a blunt and broken blade can give you a strong kickback, which can hit you back while cutting a consistent piece of wood. In the case of cordless saws, blunt blades can jam the motor and produce heat, which will kill the durability of the saw.

Unplugging Saw Every Time When Not In Use

Usually, when people take a short break or work with other tools, they keep the saw on standby which is tremendously dangerous. Because any unsuspected person can turn the switch on not knowing how it starts. Or sometimes the kids can come by while playing. More importantly, any kind of short circuit or another issue can make the switch damaged and start the saw with no such control. So, for the safety of your home and kids, plug the saw out each time you finish the cut and swap tools. In the case of a cordless saw, detach the battery after using it.

Using Extra Planks As The Guide Bar

The next tip is, you must use an additional plank under the main plank as your guide bar. This will take all the weight of the plank and keep the main plank straight all the time as support. And indeed, don’t ever put the two poles of the planks on two separate clamps while cutting the center of the plank. If you do it, the plank will try to fall down, squeezing the blade, which can create serious kickback and jam on the saw.

Avoiding Overreaching The Saw

To save time, many of us try to overreach the saw as far as possible. But this can cause some major harm. Undoubtedly you cannot provide full grip or strength if you try to overreach the saw. In these circumstances, having the center of gravity on the side of the saw rather than your foot, the saw can get into uncontrollable motion and feels heavy. Then, if you lose the grip, it can fall down, ruining the cut and the saw itself. Likewise, your head or foot can be cut off too.

Never Stopping The Saw Immediately

Maybe you turn off the saw immediately after the cutting of the edge is finished. But stopping the saw immediately creates a risk. Because the high amount of rotation will keep the speed and motion for some time. After getting released from the wood, this motion makes the saw accessible and increases its revolutions, so it needs some more time to adjust. If you stop the power, it may give a hefty kickback in the opposite direction of the rotation. So, take some time and detach the saw blade entirely from the wood before releasing the power trigger. Also, never use the saw one-handed.

Keeping The Depth Of Board Precise

For a clean and easy cut, constantly adjust the blade according to the thickness of your board. Especially, the blade should not exceed the thickness of the wooden material. Otherwise, it will pierce to the other side making more impact and obstacle between the blade and the wood. By keeping it following the diameter of the wood, you will get a constant revolution speed. Additionally, while cutting plywood or other artificially coated board, make a straight cut mark using a knife first. This will drive your saw smoothly. Or else, the plywood fibers may break the plain coating or edge of the board or plank.

Keeping Live Cords And Metal Objects Away

In the middle of work, your workspace will be full of stains, dust, and other waste. For that, the extension cord of your saw can hide under a pile of stuff. If you drive a saw with less attention, the cord will be ripped off, and electricity can make sparks and shock you into a coma. So keep the cord visible and safe from anything. Besides, check the wooden plank or board whether there is any metal clip or nail attached to it or not. Sometimes nails grab the blade, and the sudden shock makes a reverse kickback on your face, which can damage your elbows, skulls, and eyes permanently. To avoid that, double-check the elements you will work with.

Conclusion

Those were some of the general circulars saw safety tips, which will help you to keep yourself away from the hospital, the next time you use a circular saw. We hope these precautions will let you feel prepared when you work in a workshop or in your home lab.

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