Quick Poll: Blade Left or Right Circular Saw

[Bricago]

Finding a consistently reliable straight edge guide for my blade right saw has driven me to take up a blade left. The guide side of the shoe on my blade right is covered by the motor housing, so I can't clamp or hold a speed square.

Which side do you drive on? And what's your straight edge secret?

 

[pault28]

I have a hd77m. The blade is on the left. I hold the saw with my right hand, I can see the cut line and blade. I hold the speed square with my left hand along with the material and y cut piece falls off onto the ground after cutting and the base of the saw rests on the remainder of the board. Works for me.

 

[Dirtydan69]

I use a worm drive SkilSaw. I have used Milwaukees and Black & Decker versions also. I prefer the Skil. All left side blades. I have used sidewinders, left & right, mostly for siding jobs. I'm a lefty but mostly saw cut righty.

 

[pault28]

I use a worm drive SkilSaw. I have used Milwaukees and Black & Decker versions also. I prefer the Skil. All left side blades. I have used sidewinders, left & right, mostly for siding jobs. I'm a lefty but mostly saw cut righty.

I too am a lefty and cut righty. Worm drive seems most comfortable to me.

 

[JRC3]

I free-hand like a champ.


I just called out Karma and will pay the price at some point. LOL

 

[speed bump]

I prefer the blade on the right because I'm left handed but until someone pointed it out I never noticed. I just used a worm drive saw because the control was better.

 

[JRC3]

I just used a worm drive saw because the control was better.

No doubt about that. I got this old Milwaukee.

It's funny in this case; The bigger the dog, the easier it is to walk.

 

[Deej-79]

I have the magnesium worm drive skil and love it. My cordless makita is also left side blade. I hate the old craftsman right side I have, its a pita to see where I'm cutting.

 

[Bricago]

Thanks for the replies. I could use clarification on the right handed vs left handed distinction. Is it just, "right handed saws have the blade on the left, and left handed saws have the blade on the right"? Because...

...my blade right sidewinder's instructions are to operate the trigger with your right hand and grip the hand rest over the motor with your left. If you switched hands, your arms would be crossed, so it seems like a right handed saw, even though the blade is on the right.

I'm assuming that the trigger hand determines the handedness, regardless of which side the blade is on, right?

 

[nutsnbolts]

Actually...the answer might surprise you...the guy who invented it was left-handed. That's why the Skil saw always had the blade on the right. No one thought about it at the time when they were manufacturing them, they just made them according to prototype.

 

[PBCampbell]

Right handed saws have the blade on the right. The original safety feature I believe. Kickback is a very real possibility, so the farther you can be from the blade the safer you are. Over on the wrong coast another type of saw gained favor and production techniques were different as well due to greater demand for cheap, quick housing so the "Worm Drive" saw gained favor and a different technique came to be favored for how to use it(cutting off the foot). I did some framing in the past and learned how to use a "sidewinder" so I don't have the difficulties I so often read about on the internet. The only real advantage I've noticed with a worm drive type saw is some additional reach.

 

[Deej-79]

Worm drives also tend to be stronger, both in cutting power and construction.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Well, I think every frikin engineer at Milwaukee must be a south paw. All my M12/M18 and 8" metal saws have the blade on the wrong fukin side.

I grew up with a Skil 77. Good stuff!

(ok...That makes sense that the Safety Sallys put the blade on the wrong side for protection. I never knew that. But wait...were wielding a saw blade that spins at 5400 RPM!!!!!!!! What safety?!?)

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I have the magnesium worm drive skil and love it. My cordless makita is also left side blade. I hate the old craftsman right side I have, its a pita to see where I'm cutting.

Be gentle with those mags. Every time I dropped one off a roof the dang thing bent all to hell. The table that is. The normal/steel Skil 77 never seemed to do that.

Don't laugh either. Production framing. Then: 20 years old, Haulin ***, still half drunk and sexed out from the night before, chugging gatorade and the you miss the hook on the rafter or the saw hits dust on the sheathing and slides off. So you yell, "CATCH!" to whoever might be below. It happens to the best of us.

 

[terry603]

i want the blade on the right, I am right handed
I always thought I would prefer a left bladed saw until I used one, hated it.

 

[Cruzomatic]

I'm with most of the above. I have the Mag 77 worm drive and the blade is on the left. Haven't used my right side bladed circular saw since. Left is my vote.

 

[johndeereman]

Mag 77 worm drive left hand is also my vote i don't look at right hand ''sidewinder's''.

 

[Rrumbler]

I have, and have used both for a long time.

My preference depends on the task at hand: doing framing and a lot of off hand cutting, I like the left blade because I can just look right down my mark line and go, or easily use a speed square for a guide.

For panel cutting, like piecing out full sheets of plywood, I usually use the right blade saw, because first, I am severely right handed, and when I reach across a panel, it is easier to do using my right hand; second, the shoe plate on the right blade saw is wider on the left side, and the waste piece will either drop off or separate to the right, and the saw will just sit on that wide part of the shoe so you don't have a loose saw winding down when you're stretched out over the panel. I also have a clamp-on guide that is only 3/8" thick, so I can cut fairly thick material without any motor housing interference; however, if I adjust the depth of the blade to just clear the thickness of the material up to 1/2" thick, I can use a piece of one by six for a guide by clamping it on the left side of the guide with a couple of spring clamps so the motor clears.

 

[vartz04]

I use a rigid worm drive. Perfect for me. I have a cordless Bosch sidewinder that I use quite a bit but the rigid is the go to

 

[Deej-79]

Be gentle with those mags. Every time I dropped one off a roof the dang thing bent all to hell. The table that is. The normal/steel Skil 77 never seemed to do that.

Don't laugh either. Production framing. Then: 20 years old, Haulin ***, still half drunk and sexed out from the night before, chugging gatorade and the you miss the hook on the rafter or the saw hits dust on the sheathing and slides off. So you yell, "CATCH!" to whoever might be below. It happens to the best of us.

I dropped an all metal skil off a wall, along with my body once. It bent the bed up but I was able to straighten it, my body was surprisingly ok.

I try not to drop my mag saw, I didnt enjoy paying for it the first time, I dont want to pay for replacement parts.

 

[never enuf time]

Be gentle with those mags. Every time I dropped one off a roof the dang thing bent all to hell. The table that is. The normal/steel Skil 77 never seemed to do that.

Don't laugh either. Production framing. Then: 20 years old, Haulin ***, still half drunk and sexed out from the night before, chugging gatorade and the you miss the hook on the rafter or the saw hits dust on the sheathing and slides off. So you yell, "CATCH!" to whoever might be below. It happens to the best of us.

I have lived that too, except the part about being sexed out !! I was too shy to get laid, but I would think having blue balls would make things worse.

About the saw, I prefer a rh sidewinder. I grew up on a framing crew having to use my right hand ( I am left handed )with the Milwaukee saw's my uncles had.

I own a straight edge clamp that I use to break down plywood. When cutting down doors , I use the clamp to mark with a knife. Then cut free hand just a hair from the line using my left hand on the base of the saw as a guide.

 

[ez-duzit]

Being right-handed, I prefer the blade on the left, as it is on my ancient, all alloy, worm drive Milwaukee and 5-1/2" Skilsaw. However the Festool track saw has the blade on the right, and is my most used and most treasured saw.

 

[Deej-79]

Being right-handed, I prefer the blade on the left, as it is on my ancient, all alloy, worm drive Milwaukee and 5-1/2" Skilsaw. However the Festool track saw has the blade on the right, and is my most used and most treasured saw.

For the money festool demands, it should be treasured

 

[ez-duzit]

79--indeed! But I got mine for $350 on c/l.

 

[drink]

Finding a consistently reliable straight edge guide for my blade right saw has driven me to take up a blade left. The guide side of the shoe on my blade right is covered by the motor housing, so I can't clamp or hold a speed square.

Which side do you drive on? And what's your straight edge secret?

I own both left and right blade circular saws. In the past I have listened to carpenters say the only saw they use is a left blade Skil worm drive saw. Maybe I am old fashioned but I typically use a right blade 5656 Skil saw.

I really like the pull handle that raises the blade guard. When using the saw I stand over it while kind of hanging over the right side to make sure I am cutting the line. The lever raises the lower blade guard to increase accuracy without having to put my fingers close to the blade. Sometimes I would get in a big hurry and make the cuts without raising the guard. It depends on what was being cut and how well the saw was adjusted for the material.

Choosing a straight edge has a lot to do with what is being cut. If a stick of structural lumber like a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 is being cut I would reach for a speed square. If a full sheet of plywood or OSB were being cut accurately I would use a long straight edge with clamps that doesn't get in the way of the saw. The base of the right blade saw would simply follow the straight edge to make the cut.

My vote is a 5656 Skil Saw with a right handed blade.

 

[PugetDude]

I'm right handed.
Prefer a left-side blade; you can see exactly where you're cutting without awkwardly trying to peer over the saw at a line hidden under the guard.
I have a Skil 77 (with a 50' cord on it ) and a Porter Cable Sawboss.
With blades on the left I can easily split a pencil line.

 

[Wamsutta]

I can take my Skil worm drive; squeeze the trigger; let the blade spool up to full speed; let go of the trigger and cut through a 2x4 no problem. Try that with a sidewinder.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I can take my Skil worm drive; squeeze the trigger; let the blade spool up to full speed; let go of the trigger and cut through a 2x4 no problem. Try that with a sidewinder.

+1.

I'm jaw dropped at how many guys choose a sidewinder over a 77 or even a Hypoid. Especially on the wrong coast. (And that's cool - to each their own)

I want to say it's because they haven't had to use a saw all day every day. But I guess east coast loves sidewinders. You couldn't pay me enough to use those. To me they are kid's toys.

I must have hundreds of thousands of cuts with a 77. That 77 was an extension of my arm. And to this day it is still natural as ever when I use them.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Which side do you drive on? And what's your straight edge secret?

I have both a cheap Skilsaw for **** work, a nice Dewalt circular saw and my 18V Dewalt circular saw. They all work fine for me. For the straight edge, I used to use an aluminum flat bar clamped down. I have since upgraded to a 50" Bora straight edge clamp. Both Dewalts will ride over it.

 

[Bricago]

...I would use a long straight edge with clamps that doesn't get in the way of the saw. The base of the right blade saw would simply follow the straight edge to make the cut.

Just wondering if you have to clamp your straight edge at least 6" away from the cut line so the motor housing doesn't bump them during the cut.