I would guess it is the blade. If you are doing a free cut, then there is
nothing to bind like if your rip fence is misaligned on a table saw. Get a
good general purpose carbide blade and try again.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all,

As an intermediate 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