 Cut through a 2 x 6 or a piece of plywood with a hand saw, and there's likely to be not just a lot of huffing and puffing, but a meandering line as well. Yet switch on a circular saw, and the cut will come out straight and easy.
Circular saws are the workhorses of any construction job, from framing an addition to building a tree house. They glide through lumber in seconds, and can be fitted with an assortment of blades that rip through everything from nail-embedded wood to concrete blocks and bricks.
The saws come in a variety of sizes, but the most popular contains a blade 7¼" in diameter. The blade on most models can be adjusted to cut on a bevel up to 45°, which is useful in cutting boards to frame the pitch of a roof. Larger jobs, such as cutting the timbers used for post-and-beam construction, require saws with blades of at least 12'' in diameter. Correspondingly, lighter saws with reduced blade circumference should be used for smaller projects such as cutting plywood or two-by-fours. Regardless of the size of the blade, circular saws come in two varieties. |
 Worm-Drive Saws
A worm-drive saw is the toughest, most powerful circular saw, making it the right choice for heavy-duty jobs like framing an entire house or sawing through concrete. The saw derives its name from a pair of gears--the worm and the work gears--that position the motor shaft and the blade at right angles to each other. This gives the tool its characteristically broad shape.
The worm-drive saw also contains an oil-filled reservoir, similar to a crankcase, that lubricates the two gears and dulls the circular saw's ear-splitting scream. In addition, the blade's position on the left side of the motor makes it easy to see and follow the cutting line as you're working. Because of its power this saw is noticeably heavier than other models; the weight may add to fatigue if it's used for any length of time.
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▸ Powerful 15 AMP motor
