Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

wrote:

snip

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.

Are you sure the blade's not in backwards?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

I don't think so, but I should probably triple check.


no(SPAM)vasys wrote:
wrote:

snip

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.

Are you sure the blade's not in backwards?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

I don't think so, but I should probably triple check.


no(SPAM)vasys wrote:
wrote:

snip

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.

Are you sure the blade's not in backwards?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

Ok, so I have triple checked, and I'm sure that the blade is on
correctly. The arrows on the blade match those on the saw, and the
teeth are pointed upwards at the front of the saw. Any other thoughts,
or is it back to the home depot in hopes of a return (Don't know if
they will be happy about taking it back, since the whole thing STILL
smells like smoke.

jm

jmyszka wrote:
I don't think so, but I should probably triple check.


no(SPAM)vasys wrote:
wrote:

snip

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.

Are you sure the blade's not in backwards?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Either the teeth need sharpening on the blade or the motor is getting
snagged?

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?


The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Either the teeth need sharpening on the blade or the motor is getting
snagged?

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

jmyszka wrote:
I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?



Probably, cant you use it to cut the sunday beef joint. ;-)



--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

"jmyszka" wrote in message
oups.com...
I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?



Think about it. All the saw motor does is spin the blade. If the blade is
burning the wood, then the blade must be...

--

-Mike-

In article om, wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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.

Is there ANY possibility that you have the blade installed backwards?????

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

"jmyszka" wrote in news:1154386178.048215.145350
@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:

I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?


The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Either the teeth need sharpening on the blade or the motor is getting
snagged?

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite


try cutting an ordinary 2x4. You might have to put a new blade on the saw.
Are you sure you didn't hit a nail and knock the carbide teeth off or
damage the saw blade?

The arrows on the blade face the same direction as the arrow on the
saw. There are no nails in the wood from what I can tell.

jmyszka wrote:
Ok, so I have triple checked, and I'm sure that the blade is on
correctly. The arrows on the blade match those on the saw, and the
teeth are pointed upwards at the front of the saw.

This is a table saw, right? and the teeth point *upward* at the front???

The blade is on backward. If you don't believe this, try turning it
around and see what happens.

Harvey

What type of blade is it? Is it made for plywood? The blades that come
with a saw...particularly HD ones are garbage.
"jmyszka" wrote in message
oups.com...
The arrows on the blade face the same direction as the arrow on the
saw. There are no nails in the wood from what I can tell.

In article , Joe
wrote:

This is a table saw, right? and the teeth point *upward* at the front???

No, it's a Skil 7 1/4" circ saw, per the OP.

In article om,
wrote:

As an intermediate woodworker/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.

Take it back. At best you get a new saw, at worst someone can look at
it at figure out what the problem is.

Are you using any kind of guide (e.g., speed square) with the saw? It's
fairly typical that the edge of the saw foot isn't exactly parallel to
the blade, which leads to burning when following a guide. If that's the
problem, freehand cutting should be OK.

Joe wrote:


This is a table saw, right? and the teeth point *upward* at the
front???


Er! no its a circular handsaw.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

"jmyszka" wrote in message
oups.com...
I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?


The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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.

Is it a carbide blade? Some of the Skil saws come with a steel blade...
which dull almost instantly on things like oak!

Alternatively, it is possible you are twisting the saw as you push it
through? Sometimes manually retracting the blade guide takes the stress off
and you can push it through straighter.

John

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
k.net...

"jmyszka" wrote in message
oups.com...
I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?


The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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.

Is it a carbide blade? Some of the Skil saws come with a steel blade...
which dull almost instantly on things like oak!

Alternatively, it is possible you are twisting the saw as you push it
through? Sometimes manually retracting the blade guide takes the stress
off and you can push it through straighter.


That's supposed to read "blade gaurd."

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
ink.net...

"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
k.net...

"jmyszka" wrote in message
oups.com...
I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?


The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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.

Is it a carbide blade? Some of the Skil saws come with a steel blade...
which dull almost instantly on things like oak!

Alternatively, it is possible you are twisting the saw as you push it
through? Sometimes manually retracting the blade guide takes the stress
off and you can push it through straighter.


That's supposed to read "blade gaurd."


Let's try this again... "blade guard." It's time for bed... ;~)

Lots of saws, even fairly pricey table saws, come with lousy blades. That
would be the first thing I tried. Replace the blade.

"jmyszka" wrote in message
oups.com...
I wouldn't think the teeth need sharpening, both the blade and saw are
brand new, right out of the box. Maybe its just a crappy saw?


The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Either the teeth need sharpening on the blade or the motor is getting
snagged?

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Try removing the blade and laying it on a flat surface, first on one side
then on the other side, to check for possible warping due to overheating.
Does the blade have some sort of radial slots to resist such warping ? I
ran onto this problem once with a cheap carbide blade; the warp was
noticeable once the blade was dismounted.

David Merrill

wrote in message
ps.com...
snip ... 7 1/4'' saw can barely cut through
the wood and smokes excessivly.

wrote in news:1154381386.703627.22440
@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

Hello all,
*snip: Blade smokes while cutting*

Any thoughts?

*snip*

Nicorette maybe?

Try redoing the tightening of the blade. If you get them too tight
sometimes they'll disfigure and warp. Had a plywood blade do that...

Thanks in advance,

Joe




--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Trust me (and several others), it's the blade. For whatever
reason--it's cheap, you hit a nail unbeknownst, or deus roboris doesn't
like you--the blade is dull. Do yourself a big favor and buy a good
thin-kerf Freud blade. They're only about $10 or so. Take the old blade
off, put on the Freud, use it on some wood...you will be happy.

Tell us how it works out.

Regards,
H

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I was inclined to just pick up a new blade, but Home Depot was quite
eager to take their saw back and sell it to some other poor soul. So I
picked up a dewalt jigsaw and that finished the job no problem. It
takes about twice as long to make the cuts, but they are quite straight
and clean - and no problems with the blades

Thanks again!

Joe

hylourgos wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Trust me (and several others), it's the blade. For whatever
reason--it's cheap, you hit a nail unbeknownst, or deus roboris doesn't
like you--the blade is dull. Do yourself a big favor and buy a good
thin-kerf Freud blade. They're only about $10 or so. Take the old blade
off, put on the Freud, use it on some wood...you will be happy.

Tell us how it works out.

Regards,
H

I was going to suggest looking at the sides of the saw teeth for pitch
build-up.


In article . com,
jmyszka wrote:

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I was inclined to just pick up a new blade, but Home Depot was quite
eager to take their saw back and sell it to some other poor soul. So I
picked up a dewalt jigsaw and that finished the job no problem. It
takes about twice as long to make the cuts, but they are quite straight
and clean - and no problems with the blades

Thanks again!

Joe

hylourgos wrote:
wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

Trust me (and several others), it's the blade. For whatever
reason--it's cheap, you hit a nail unbeknownst, or deus roboris doesn't
like you--the blade is dull. Do yourself a big favor and buy a good
thin-kerf Freud blade. They're only about $10 or so. Take the old blade
off, put on the Freud, use it on some wood...you will be happy.

Tell us how it works out.

Regards,
H

Could be the saw. I had an inexpensive craftsman saw that did just
what you describe. Finally got fed up with it and threw it in the
trash and went out and got a decent Porter Cable saw. Couldn't believe
the difference -- cut true and cut like butter.....


wrote:
Hello all,

As an intermediate woodworker/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

"Jerry" wrote in message
ups.com...
Could be the saw. I had an inexpensive craftsman saw that did just
what you describe. Finally got fed up with it and threw it in the
trash and went out and got a decent Porter Cable saw. Couldn't believe
the difference -- cut true and cut like butter.....


Just for the sake of discussion - what difference does the saw make? It
doesn't. Assuming a couple of things that have not been previously
qualified...

If the motor is not lugging down on a basic cut, then the motor has enough
power. It will work.

If the shoe and the blade are not aligned it will only matter when using an
edge guide. Free hand sawing will be unaffected. It will work.

If the blade is a piece of junk it will not cut and it will burn wood. It
will not work, but this is not a fault of the saw - cheap or not. You can
put a piece of junk blade on my Milwaukee and it will burn wood just like
the cheap saw.

The saw may indeed be poorly built and it may vibrate a lot in your hand, it
may not last very long as sleeves wear quickly, and it may be of really poor
balance. Those are all good reasons to buy a better tool, but with a good
blade even a cheap "piece of junk" will cut wood just fine. I've had to cut
wood with too many lesser saws to be quick to blame bad cutting on the saw.

One of the best saws I ever owned was the cheapest Black and Decker 5 1/2
inch saws that I inherited. The thing was as poorly built as a saw gets.
It certainly would not have stood up to the rigors of being bumped around,
thrown in the back of a contractor's truck. Flat out, it was not a saw I
would ever have given $5 for. But... I put a decent blade on it and it
immediately became one of the handiest tools in my collection. Very
maneuverable - much more handy to hold onto than my Milwaukee. Quick, clean
cuts. In short, for a few years it was the handiest saw I could ask for.
As it goes with cheap tools, it didn't enjoy the longevity of life that a
good tool will and it's now rotting away in the land fill, but it sure was a
good tool for a while.

--

-Mike-

"Jerry" wrote in message
ups.com...
My ability to tune the craftman was minimal due inexpensive thin metal
construction -- it was difficult to keep the thing in alignment for
any period of time. I did not have the time or energy to tune it for
every cut. I guess it depends on the tool.


That's interesting Jerry - what do you mean by tuning it?

--

-Mike-

hylourgos wrote:
Do yourself a big favor and buy a good thin-kerf Freud blade. They're
only about $10 or so. Take the old blade off, put on the Freud, use it
on some wood...you will be happy.

I had a similar situation to the original poster's, which also
involves a Skil circular saw and difficulty cutting things. Some
of my problem was just getting the cuts set-up properly so that the
wood did not bind. But ultimately the biggest problem was having
crappy blades on the saw. I replaced what I had been using with
the Freud 7 1/4" blade available at Home Depot and that made a world
of difference. It made so much difference that it felt like having
a whole new and different saw.