Requiem for a Circular Saw.

[MikeInOr]

edit: BTW I totally blew a brand new blade one time when I put it on backwards... DON'T ASK... what an idiot I was.. I knew I had to mount it the right way, and I still managed to screw it up.

LOL! That is hilarious! I would never ever do that...
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again!

 

[Bi11Hudson]

I have a "system" for using a 7-1/4 blade to its' fullest. Most of my carpentry work was when I had recieved a severe shock doing electrical work and needed to settle my brain and re-coordinate my body parts. The fellow I worked for (with?) did a lot of decks from pressure treated wood. I would buy a "contractor 6 pack" of cheap carbide blades, using them for "new" work. They didn't last very long, they were cheap blades. After a couple of teeth had been knocked off, I would put the blade on a different saw. One with bad blade bearings, so the blade wobbled and cut a crazy kerf. But Hey, it was "junk" work and demolition. If I hit a nail, it was already a junk blade. No loss. . .

edit: BTW I totally blew a brand new blade one time when I put it on backwards... DON'T ASK... what an idiot I was.. I knew I had to mount it the right way, and I still managed to screw it up.

The key usage here:​

When the blade was beyond using as a wood blade, I would mount it backward on a third "beater" saw and use to cut sheet metal siding and roofing. FWIW, using a blade that way is dangerous, noisy, generates shrapnel, and leaves a ragged edge. Very disareeable. But it works and on a job site will save significant time. It is not usable beyond about 16 or 18 gauge, but I had a source for "seconds" of 20 gauge commercial siding at a good price. The rig did work there, fast and well. Far faster than using a shear or snips.

Of course, a blade abused in such a manner doesn't last very long. When it was reduced to just a wavy ripple of an edge, I would, using a torch, cut it down to a four winged edger blade. Wife had an old edger that I made a 5/8 adaptor for. Running it against a concrete sidewalk does its' thing and the blade is soon worn out. But it made a couple of passes where it counted.

Once the saw/edger blade was reduced to a small circle, I would hang it on a nail as a 5/8 "fender" washer. I did use them on my tractor, 5/8 is a common size there and the oversize washer makes fitting it easier. That sort of work is long past, but there are still a few out in the barn in some deep, dark hiding place. If I again need one, I have it.

So, how's that for "recycling"?

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[woodchucker]

@Bi11Hudson I've done that trick of mounting it backwards to do siding. worked well. rather than use a carbide blade, I put on a cheap ply blade... lots of teeth, no hook, no carbide. Those work good.

I use old blades , I take my UniBit and open the hole up for my weed whacker as a brush hog. Works ok...Never used it as a edger, I don't have wheels and don't have a steady enough hand.

 

[Janderso]

I didn’t know they made left hand saws?

 

[woodchucker]

I didn’t know they made left hand saws?

yep, but you never want to put the saw label facing out... it's on the wrong side
edit: here's the modern version. https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-743K-4-Inch-Framers-Carrying/dp/B00004NS0X

 

[Eddyde]

The rewind/reclaim of the Craftsman saw is an experiment. If it works, I'll have a second saw and have gained some knowledge and had some fun. If it doesn't, I'll have gained some knowledge and had some fun. At most, I'll have less than $20 and some time invested. That's what this hobby is all about, isn't it?

You know the rules RJ, Pictures are required

I use circular saws professionally, I prefer the blade on the left even though I hold it right handed. Reason, I can see what I'm doing much easier.

 

[RJSakowski]

The saw is completely disassembled and the field coils stripped so there is not much of interest to see. Here is a picture of the stripped field coil. The wire from each winding is on either side. The windings are around rhe two wings. As you can see, there is plenty of room to pass a bobbin with the new wire.through the center.

Originally, I had hoped to unwind the coil in a single length to get an idea of the required length of wire. That is the rat's nest on the right. For the other coil,, I cut the windings with my diagonal pliers giving me a bunch of segments so I could count the turns and ended up with 81 turns. To get the total length, I straightened several pieces of wire and weighed them on my analytical balance and calculated the weight per foot to be between .062 and .065. g/ft. The total weight of the coil was 39.13 g which calculated to 51.8 ft per winding. Eight ozs.of 19AWG copper wire is about 125 ft which should be enough to wind the two coils.

 

[RJSakowski]

I have occasionally mounted circular saw blades backwards, along with chain saw chains. I generally catch them before I use the saw. I recently mounted a cutoff wheel on my 4-1/2" angle grinder with the abrasive side out. The additional friction of the abrasive locked the nut so tightly that I had to use a pair of Vise Grips in addition to the built in arbor lock to break the nut free. Never too late to learn!

I don't recall that I have knocked a tooth off a carbide blade for maybe forty years. When they first became popular, I lost few few teeth butI suspect that the manufacuring improved. The local DTY used to have specials where they would rebate the entire cost of the blades and when I saw one, I would stock up on blades. As a result, I have an ample supply of disposable blades for those dirty jobs. I have a few good blades for "precision" cutting although most of that is done with the radial arm saw, the table saw, or the compound miter saw. Nowadays, rough cutting, as in demolition, is done with the reciprocating saw.

 

[Manual Mac]

About 40 yrs ago i put the tracks on backwards on a 46A D8 Cat when I was the welder and machinist at the Caterpillar dealer in Redding Cal.
We had just done the undercarriage on it and I and an apprentice were rushing to get it buttoned up before the lowbed got there to pick it up.
Shop foreman looked at it, laughed & said there’s only one thing wrong.
I saw it immediately....
We had them back off, turned around and put back on & adjusted in about 20 minutes just as the lowbed got there.
That’s a mistake a person only does once.....

 

[koenbro]

I have a "system" for using a 7-1/4 blade to its' fullest. […]

So, how's that for "recycling"?

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Interesting idea to use the blade backwards. Basically a negative rake, right?

Would the edges be cleaner if you use a dedicated metal blade like the one I use (admittedly I have only ever used on aluminium though) ?


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