Circular Saw Burning/Smoking Problem

[jmyszka]

Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/DIY'r, I am surprised to be having trouble with my new circular saw. I am attempting to cut through 1'' stair noses, but my brand new Skill 7 1/4'' saw can barely cut through the wood and smokes excessivly. I finally used a jig saw to finish the cut and noticed that the wood was black from burning.

Any thoughts? I've never experienced this with my 18v Ryobi cordless saw, and I use it pretty hard. This saw even smoked while cutting a

1'' bamboo stair tread, which the Ryobi cut effortlessly.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[no(SPAM)vasys]

Are you sure the blade's not in backwards?

[jmyszka]

I don't think so, but I should probably triple check.

no(SPAM)vasys wrote:

[jmyszka]

I don't think so, but I should probably triple check.

no(SPAM)vasys wrote:

[jmyszka]

Ok, so I have triple checked, and I'm sure that the blade is on correctly. The arrows on the blade match those on the saw, and the teeth are pointed upwards at the front of the saw. Any other thoughts, or is it back to the home depot in hopes of a return (Don't know if they will be happy about taking it back, since the whole thing STILL smells like smoke.

jm

jmyszka wrote:

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Either the teeth need sharpening on the blade or the motor is getting snagged?

[jmyszka]

I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Probably, cant you use it to cut the sunday beef joint. ;-)

[Mike Marlow]

Think about it. All the saw motor does is spin the blade. If the blade is burning the wood, then the blade must be...

[Doug Miller]

Is there ANY possibility that you have the blade installed backwards?????

[R. Pierce Butler]

"jmyszka" wrote in news:1154386178.048215.145350 @p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:

try cutting an ordinary 2x4. You might have to put a new blade on the saw. Are you sure you didn't hit a nail and knock the carbide teeth off or damage the saw blade?

[jmyszka]

The arrows on the blade face the same direction as the arrow on the saw. There are no nails in the wood from what I can tell.

[Joe]

This is a table saw, right? and the teeth point *upward* at the front???

The blade is on backward. If you don't believe this, try turning it around and see what happens.

Harvey

[James]

[Dave Balderstone]

No, it's a Skil 7 1/4" circ saw, per the OP.

[Dave Balderstone]

Take it back. At best you get a new saw, at worst someone can look at it at figure out what the problem is.

[kkfitzge]

Are you using any kind of guide (e.g., speed square) with the saw? It's fairly typical that the edge of the saw foot isn't exactly parallel to the blade, which leads to burning when following a guide. If that's the problem, freehand cutting should be OK.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Er! no its a circular handsaw.

[John Grossbohlin]

Is it a carbide blade? Some of the Skil saws come with a steel blade... which dull almost instantly on things like oak!

Alternatively, it is possible you are twisting the saw as you push it through? Sometimes manually retracting the blade guide takes the stress off and you can push it through straighter.

John

[John Grossbohlin]

That's supposed to read "blade gaurd."