John McGaw on Thu, 29 Aug 2019 14:34:44 -0400 typed
in rec.woodworking the following:
On 8/28/2019 10:36 PM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
Greetings

Been having trouble with circular saws. I have a Skill 5150, which
works well "for some values". Specifically, the saw blade will bind
and start to spin. Not good.

Got a replacement 5155 at Yon Local Pawn Shoppe, and while the
blade it came with gives no problem, when I swapped the rough cut
blade for the regular blade I had (the one which spun) - it too would
stick and spin. I was trying to cut masonite" - tempered hardboard
they call these days.
Two things I'd noted - label on this saw says "to prevent
kickback", tighten the retaining bolt a "1/8 turn past finger tight".
This is a new one to me.
Also, the blade I had is a thin blade, all steel with no carbide
teeth. the question I'm asking myself "Could it be that this blade is
'too thin' for this setup?" as in, the saw can't get a grip on it.

Other than that, it works fine, and I did manage to make the cuts
need for today.


The common factor, at least from the tests you present, seem to place the
blame on the thin blade not being clamped in place. A test would be to try
another thin blade and see if the pattern holds. If you are serious about
continuing to use thin blades (I like them myself) with this saw, a set of
"blade stiffeners" might be in order. Lee Valley makes a nicely-machined
set but I'm not sure they would work with your arbor and do cost $20 so
they might not be the first choice if you are not splurging. I do use them
on my TS with thin-kerf blades.

Thanks. May , uhh , "salvage" the one off the old saw.
--
pyotr filipivich
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