"David" wrote in message
...
I was using the circular saw yesterday when smoke and a burning smell
came from the motor, so stopped immediately. Didn't think I was
overtaxing it at the time - just cutting some chipboard.

Today, it still runs but the motor sounds raggy and the burning smell is
still there.

What's likely happened and is it for the skip? It's a B&D so I guess
spares/repair is possible although maybe not economical.

I checked the brushes and they seem to have plenty of length left in
them.

A good way to check for a shorted/missing turn on the motor is to connect it
up to say a 6V PSU (preferably with over load protectio), via current meter
and turn the motor by hand. My Flymo strimmer started smoking when on mains
and when connected to a 6V lab PSU and turned by hand consumed a couple of
mA until a certain position in which it overloaded the PSU. Also had a mover
in which had an open turn which reads 0mA in a certain position.