Worm Gear and Sidewinder Hand-Held Circular Saws
By: The Working Man



Hand-held Circular Saws

The hand-held circular saw is a circular saw that is
designed and to be held in the workers hand and is usually
powered by electricity, although cordless models are now
available. The handheld circular saw is designed to cut wood
in most instances, but there are blades that can be fitted
to the hand-held circular saw that will cut other materials.
The saws can be either left-handed or right handed depending
on which side of the mechanism the motor sits on.

The wood cutting blades for a hand-held circular saw are
almost always tipped with tungsten carbide tips. You also
have the option of buying high-speed steel blades. You can
adjust the cut of the saw through the wood to reduce
kickback. You can also adjust the saw base to tilt at a
fifty-degree angle in relation to the blade.


Worm Gear and Sidewinder Saws

A saw powered by worm gears has more torque than a
sidewinder saw where the blade is mounted directly to the
drive shaft of the motor.

The saw powered by worm gears was invented in 1924 by Michel
Electric Handsaw Company, which is now called Skilsaw Inc.
It is a subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH. Circular saws that
are portable are still nicknamed skilsaws or Skil Saws.

Art Emmons of Porter-Cable invented the sidewinder saw in
1928. He invented this saw by getting around the patents of
the worm gear or worm saw.

The circular saw can now be powered by a battery pack and
the option of having no cord has become popular among
homebuilders and crafters for the hands free operation,
although the battery powered circular saws have less torque
than a corded circular saw.



Miter Saws

A Miter Saw is a saw that uses suspended replaceable blades
on rollers in a guide so that the woodworker can make
mitered corners and crosscuts such as are needed to make
picture frames and detailed molding. Some artistic
woodworkers still use the manual miter saw, but most
carpenters and joiners now prefer the faster powered saws.

Miter saws cut by pulling the circular saw bladed down
against a well-secured piece of wood, usually at a ninety-
degree angle.


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