On 2/4/17 12:57 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 1/30/2017 8:35 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

That's too bad. I always wondered about the stability of that saw
with all those connections and travel in the arm.

Myself. I took a close look at it when I was looking for another
SCMS exclusively for shop/personal use, since my personal, elderly
Makita was necessarily getting a lot of abuse on jobs.

I normally like Bosch tools, but was leery of the engineering just
looking at it, and worried that it might not even stand the test of
occasional off site use/abuse ... knowing that it's hard not to bring
a high performance tool out to a job site when precision work is
required.

That old LS1013 has done a couple of Olympic class 1 1/2's off its
mobile stand and is still performing accurately, despite being
used/abused on site, including a few Hardie siding jobs which I
wasn't sure even it would survive if it was named Festool.


I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, wrote:
I have a Harbor Freight 10" for outside and construction jobs. I'll
have to reside one side of my house this spring but the Bosch will
stay in the basement.

Exactly ... picked up a Ridgid at the Borg, for under $200, Section 179,
expendable bucks.

--
eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
https://www.google.com/+eWoodShop
https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
https://www.facebook.com/eWoodShop-206166666122228
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)

On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 11:17:31 AM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 10:36:25 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 1/31/2017 7:10 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 10:09:31 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 1/31/2017 7:01 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 6:05:25 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 1/30/2017 11:57 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


Well, considering that the board was bought at Home Depot and required the hold-down
clamp to flatten it against the saw's table, it is definitely scrap.


So is it the saw or the board that is the problem? Could the board be
moving once the blade stops? Have you tried a different board?

I wonder of the force of the rotating blade is causing some stress that
causes it to move during the cut.

I'm going to stop and pick up a perfectly flat 1x12 later today. There's a lumber yard near
my work where I can get good wood.

I don't think the board is moving because it is clamped to the table to keep it flat. It's the
clamped side that's showing the groove. I'll test a few more things and removing the
possibility of the board causing the problem is my next step.





A piece of MDF or plywood should work if you have a scrap laying around.

It be the saw.

Here is the 1/2" MDF:

http://i.imgur.com/Sjicndm.jpg

I tried 2 different blades and I tried both with and without the hold
down clamp. The groove might be ever so slightly shallower without the
hold down clamp, but it's still there.

I also tried to eliminate user error by keeping some left-ward pressure
on the head unit throughout the entire cut. Theoretically, this should
have pulled the front of the blade away from the board, eliminating the
groove. As you can see, it did not.

The call goes into Amazon tomorrow.

Dammit!



Well that sucks. I would not give this particular saw a third chance...
Did you by any chance check the serial number or determine when it was
built? Wondering if this was one of the early ones that had issues.

I just spoke to Amazon. I have to give them props.

As in the past, it took less than a minute on hold to speak to a live person. After I explained
the situation and let her know that I wanted a replacement, she put me on hold for a few
minutes and when she came back she told that the return authorization will be sent via
email, the replacement saw should arrive on Friday and UPS will pick up the broken one
tomorrow.

It's supposed to be a busy weekend for me, but I'll set the saw up as soon as possible and
do some more testing. Stay tuned!

OK, so I set the new saw up and tested it.

As far as I can tell, it's fine. No groove as the blade comes to a rest.
When I cut a piece of 1 x 12 pine, the cut looks the same from start to
finish. When I cut a piece 1/2 x 12 MDF, I can see a slight difference
in the cut in the area where the blade is stationary (parked?) as it spins
to a stop. It is slightly darker and maybe a tad bit smoother.

This could be because that section of the board only sees the teeth "once".
What I mean by that is that when the "slide" is in motion, the portion
of the board that extends beyond the front of the parked blade always has
a point that is contact with the teeth on the back of the blade as it cuts
though and another point that is contact with - or very close to - the teeth
on the front of the blade. That doesn't happen to the portion of the board
nearer the fence. All that portion ever sees is the teeth on back of the
blade as it cuts through.

Like I said, I don't even see that minuscule difference on the pine, just
the MDF.

This saw took a little bit more adjustment to get the blade square to the
fence, but the adjustment is so damn easy it doesn't matter. 1/32" off or
1" off, it's still just a matter of loosening 4 screws, rotating the table
until the blade contacts the square and then tightening down the screws.
Nothing moves as you tighten the screws, unlike my old Delta where the fence
was what you had to adjust and which always moved when you tried to tighten
down the huge bolts behind the fence.

I'll play some more tomorrow and change out the blade a few times just to
make sure that nothing crops up after some more use.

On 2/4/2017 3:25 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 11:17:31 AM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 10:36:25 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 1/31/2017 7:10 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 10:09:31 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 1/31/2017 7:01 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 6:05:25 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 1/30/2017 11:57 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


Well, considering that the board was bought at Home Depot and required the hold-down
clamp to flatten it against the saw's table, it is definitely scrap.


So is it the saw or the board that is the problem? Could the board be
moving once the blade stops? Have you tried a different board?

I wonder of the force of the rotating blade is causing some stress that
causes it to move during the cut.

I'm going to stop and pick up a perfectly flat 1x12 later today. There's a lumber yard near
my work where I can get good wood.

I don't think the board is moving because it is clamped to the table to keep it flat. It's the
clamped side that's showing the groove. I'll test a few more things and removing the
possibility of the board causing the problem is my next step.





A piece of MDF or plywood should work if you have a scrap laying around.

It be the saw.

Here is the 1/2" MDF:

http://i.imgur.com/Sjicndm.jpg

I tried 2 different blades and I tried both with and without the hold
down clamp. The groove might be ever so slightly shallower without the
hold down clamp, but it's still there.

I also tried to eliminate user error by keeping some left-ward pressure
on the head unit throughout the entire cut. Theoretically, this should
have pulled the front of the blade away from the board, eliminating the
groove. As you can see, it did not.

The call goes into Amazon tomorrow.

Dammit!



Well that sucks. I would not give this particular saw a third chance...
Did you by any chance check the serial number or determine when it was
built? Wondering if this was one of the early ones that had issues.

I just spoke to Amazon. I have to give them props.

As in the past, it took less than a minute on hold to speak to a live person. After I explained
the situation and let her know that I wanted a replacement, she put me on hold for a few
minutes and when she came back she told that the return authorization will be sent via
email, the replacement saw should arrive on Friday and UPS will pick up the broken one
tomorrow.

It's supposed to be a busy weekend for me, but I'll set the saw up as soon as possible and
do some more testing. Stay tuned!

OK, so I set the new saw up and tested it.

As far as I can tell, it's fine. No groove as the blade comes to a rest.
When I cut a piece of 1 x 12 pine, the cut looks the same from start to
finish. When I cut a piece 1/2 x 12 MDF, I can see a slight difference
in the cut in the area where the blade is stationary (parked?) as it spins
to a stop. It is slightly darker and maybe a tad bit smoother.

This could be because that section of the board only sees the teeth "once".
What I mean by that is that when the "slide" is in motion, the portion
of the board that extends beyond the front of the parked blade always has
a point that is contact with the teeth on the back of the blade as it cuts
though and another point that is contact with - or very close to - the teeth
on the front of the blade. That doesn't happen to the portion of the board
nearer the fence. All that portion ever sees is the teeth on back of the
blade as it cuts through.

Like I said, I don't even see that minuscule difference on the pine, just
the MDF.

MDF is so fuzzy on the edge that the fibers probably rub the blade all
the way through and shows up differently where you stop the blade.
Sounds like your problem is solved. ;~)



This saw took a little bit more adjustment to get the blade square to the
fence, but the adjustment is so damn easy it doesn't matter. 1/32" off or
1" off, it's still just a matter of loosening 4 screws, rotating the table
until the blade contacts the square and then tightening down the screws.
Nothing moves as you tighten the screws, unlike my old Delta where the fence
was what you had to adjust and which always moved when you tried to tighten
down the huge bolts behind the fence.

I'll play some more tomorrow and change out the blade a few times just to
make sure that nothing crops up after some more use.

On Friday, February 3, 2017 at 3:10:01 PM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, February 3, 2017 at 2:18:36 PM UTC-5, woodchucker wrote:
On 1/30/2017 9:24 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Some of you may recall that I recently bought a Bosch CM10GD miter saw on
Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-CM10GD-.../dp/B00G5R4E9A

I spent some quality time with it this weekend and it looks like it is
defective. I called Bosch tech support this morning and when I described
the problem, he said to return it and get a new one.

Here's the issue:

http://i.imgur.com/sGJYoVf.jpg

If I leave the head unit down until the blade stops, it leaves that mark.
Every time, every blade. I tried the Bosch 60 tooth blade that came with
the saw, I tried a Dewalt 60 tooth Fine Crosscutting blade and a tried a
Diablo 40 tooth General Purpose blade. Every time, every blade.

It was not leaving that mark during my initial testing, so something
obviously happened since then.

The tech suspects that the blade is wobbling. He suggested checking both the
inner and outer washers and the face of the head unit behind the inner washer.
If I don't see anything obvious (I don't) then it could be the bearings.

In any case, I'm still within the 30 day return period for Amazon, so I'm
going to call them tomorrow, get a return authorization and request a
replacement.

Sucks.


Interesting that CPO now sells a reconditioned unit for $599 while
amazon is 549 for a new one.

Same with the 12".. I looked at them 2 years ago, and the cpo units were
100 to 150 less than new... so it's very interesting that the prices
have flipped.

--
Jeff


Whatever the price, I now have 2 of them! ;-)

UPS just delivered the replacement saw but they haven't picked up the old one yet.

UPS can be a pain!

I set it up with Amazon so that UPS would pick up the defective saw. Turns out
UPS only picks up on weekdays during normal business hours and that someone
must be there to hand over the package. They'll *leave* a $600 saw based
on a note on the front door, but they won't take one away.

Since there is never going to be anyone home on weekdays during normal
business hours, I decided to bring the 78 lb package to a nearby UPS Store.
I called them first and told that the only tracking number I had was the
"pick-up" tracking number, having been told by Amazon that the driver would
create the shipping label when he picked up the box.

The nice lady at the UPS store said they could not create a shipping label
from the pick-up tracking number, only one of the 2 "Customer Centers" in
my area could. Guess when the Customer Centers are open. Yep, weekdays,
during normal business hours. (Actually, one of them is open until 8PM, but
still, no Saturday hours.)

So I called Amazon, explained the situation and they emailed me a return
shipping label and cancelled the pick-up request. This is one of the
reasons I bought a mini-van even though the kids moved out years ago. I
tossed (more or less) the huge box in the back of the van, took it over
to the UPS store and sent it on it's way.

DerbyDad03 wrote in
:

On Friday, February 3, 2017 at 3:10:01 PM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Friday, February 3, 2017 at 2:18:36 PM UTC-5, woodchucker wrote:
On 1/30/2017 9:24 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Some of you may recall that I recently bought a Bosch CM10GD
miter saw on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-CM10GD-...-Amp/dp/B00G5R
4E9A

I spent some quality time with it this weekend and it looks like
it is defective. I called Bosch tech support this morning and
when I described the problem, he said to return it and get a new
one.

Here's the issue:

http://i.imgur.com/sGJYoVf.jpg

If I leave the head unit down until the blade stops, it leaves
that mark. Every time, every blade. I tried the Bosch 60 tooth
blade that came with the saw, I tried a Dewalt 60 tooth Fine
Crosscutting blade and a tried a Diablo 40 tooth General Purpose
blade. Every time, every blade.

It was not leaving that mark during my initial testing, so
something obviously happened since then.

The tech suspects that the blade is wobbling. He suggested
checking both the inner and outer washers and the face of the
head unit behind the inner washer. If I don't see anything
obvious (I don't) then it could be the bearings.

In any case, I'm still within the 30 day return period for
Amazon, so I'm going to call them tomorrow, get a return
authorization and request a replacement.

Sucks.


Interesting that CPO now sells a reconditioned unit for $599 while
amazon is 549 for a new one.

Same with the 12".. I looked at them 2 years ago, and the cpo units
were 100 to 150 less than new... so it's very interesting that the
prices have flipped.

--
Jeff


Whatever the price, I now have 2 of them! ;-)

UPS just delivered the replacement saw but they haven't picked up the
old one yet.

UPS can be a pain!

I set it up with Amazon so that UPS would pick up the defective saw.
Turns out UPS only picks up on weekdays during normal business hours
and that someone must be there to hand over the package. They'll
*leave* a $600 saw based on a note on the front door, but they won't
take one away.

I can understand that, kinda. If the driver picks up the wrong box at
the minimum it can be a hassle to get back. In some areas it could be
considered theft and UPS and the driver might be liable.


Since there is never going to be anyone home on weekdays during normal
business hours, I decided to bring the 78 lb package to a nearby UPS
Store. I called them first and told that the only tracking number I
had was the "pick-up" tracking number, having been told by Amazon that
the driver would create the shipping label when he picked up the box.

The nice lady at the UPS store said they could not create a shipping
label from the pick-up tracking number, only one of the 2 "Customer
Centers" in my area could. Guess when the Customer Centers are open.
Yep, weekdays, during normal business hours. (Actually, one of them is
open until 8PM, but still, no Saturday hours.)

I'm not sure if the UPS Store is actually part of UPS or just affiliated
with them. My sister used to work at Mailboxes, Etc. before they turned
into The UPS Store.

So I called Amazon, explained the situation and they emailed me a
return shipping label and cancelled the pick-up request. This is one
of the reasons I bought a mini-van even though the kids moved out
years ago. I tossed (more or less) the huge box in the back of the
van, took it over to the UPS store and sent it on it's way.


Good on them to make this work. They earned the next sale.

Puckdropper
--
http://www.puckdroppersplace.us/rec.woodworking
A mini archive of some of rec.woodworking's best and worst!

On 2/4/17 8:52 AM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Brewster" wrote in message news


I was kind of surprised that no one else had detected what I had...
until now.


I never looked 8^)

I don't use my saw for finish work, just to chop down the 16 footers.


I wonder what the end play spec is during assembly? Were there any end
play shims in evidence when you installed your shim?


No shims to speak of, just a thrust washer, which may gave been
"selective", but appears to not have been.


John

On 2/4/17 9:15 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

I had the same issue with a non-sliding 12" CMS. Ended up being the
motor brake (which turns the motor into a generator/load when the switch
is released). This (and many other) saws use helical cut gears to
transfer motor power to the blade. The change in torque direction when
the motor brake gets applied was causing the blade drive gear to shift
slightly. I added a thin shim (0.003") to the gear shaft, tightening it
up in its housing. Problem eliminated!

Basically came down to bad assembly/setup at the factory.

-BR

I'm not sure that your situation applies to mine. The Bosch CM10GD saw is
belt driven. There is no direct geared connection between the motor and the
blade.

I guess it's possible that the gear at the motor could shift, pull the belt,
which would pull the gear at the blade which could move the blade. That's a
lot of loose parts and I sure hope that isn't the case.

My Dewalt non-slider has the gear you mention - i.e. the motor is
directly connect to the blade (more or less)

http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/...T9-/s-l225.jpg



Exactly!

-BR

On 2/4/17 12:16 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, wrote:
I have a Harbor Freight 10" for outside and construction jobs. I'll
have to reside one side of my house this spring but the Bosch will
stay in the basement.

Exactly ... picked up a Ridgid at the Borg, for under $200, Section 179,
expendable bucks.


I bought one of those cement siding specific blades (Hardie board) for
my Skill saw. Widely spaced carbide tipped teeth. Kinda spendy and the
teeth came off after maybe 20 linear feet of cuts. I went back to a dirt
cheap HF carbide blade, they last a long time and certainly a better
cost/benefit that the expensive blade.

-BR

On 2/5/2017 9:46 AM, Brewster wrote:
On 2/4/17 12:16 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, wrote:
I have a Harbor Freight 10" for outside and construction jobs. I'll
have to reside one side of my house this spring but the Bosch will
stay in the basement.

Exactly ... picked up a Ridgid at the Borg, for under $200, Section 179,
expendable bucks.


I bought one of those cement siding specific blades (Hardie board) for
my Skill saw. Widely spaced carbide tipped teeth. Kinda spendy and the
teeth came off after maybe 20 linear feet of cuts. I went back to a dirt
cheap HF carbide blade, they last a long time and certainly a better
cost/benefit that the expensive blade.

-BR



I have cut a lot of Hardie with a dedicated Sears circular saw and with
a diamond blade, no teeth. It works well but stirs a lot of dust.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Skil-7-in-W...9-a3494cf06209

On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 11:08:20 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 2/5/2017 9:46 AM, Brewster wrote:
On 2/4/17 12:16 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, wrote:
I have a Harbor Freight 10" for outside and construction jobs. I'll
have to reside one side of my house this spring but the Bosch will
stay in the basement.

Exactly ... picked up a Ridgid at the Borg, for under $200, Section 179,
expendable bucks.


I bought one of those cement siding specific blades (Hardie board) for
my Skill saw. Widely spaced carbide tipped teeth. Kinda spendy and the
teeth came off after maybe 20 linear feet of cuts. I went back to a dirt
cheap HF carbide blade, they last a long time and certainly a better
cost/benefit that the expensive blade.

-BR



I have cut a lot of Hardie with a dedicated Sears circular saw and with
a diamond blade, no teeth. It works well but stirs a lot of dust.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Skil-7-in-W...-Blade/3142677

You want dust? I cut this stone riser with a POS Craftsman circular saw
using one of those diamond blades.

http://i.imgur.com/k44Xzny.jpg

Luckily, that job killed the saw (my first one). My next, and current saw,
is a PC 743 left blade.

A veteran framer introduced me to left blade circular saws. As a right
handed person, I don't have to lean over the saw to see the cut line.

IOW, I don't have to do this:

http://tinyurl.com/right-blade

On 2/5/2017 2:56 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 11:08:20 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 2/5/2017 9:46 AM, Brewster wrote:
On 2/4/17 12:16 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, wrote:
I have a Harbor Freight 10" for outside and construction jobs. I'll
have to reside one side of my house this spring but the Bosch will
stay in the basement.

Exactly ... picked up a Ridgid at the Borg, for under $200, Section 179,
expendable bucks.


I bought one of those cement siding specific blades (Hardie board) for
my Skill saw. Widely spaced carbide tipped teeth. Kinda spendy and the
teeth came off after maybe 20 linear feet of cuts. I went back to a dirt
cheap HF carbide blade, they last a long time and certainly a better
cost/benefit that the expensive blade.

-BR



I have cut a lot of Hardie with a dedicated Sears circular saw and with
a diamond blade, no teeth. It works well but stirs a lot of dust.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Skil-7-in-W...-Blade/3142677

You want dust? I cut this stone riser with a POS Craftsman circular saw
using one of those diamond blades.

http://i.imgur.com/k44Xzny.jpg

Luckily, that job killed the saw (my first one). My next, and current saw,
is a PC 743 left blade.

A veteran framer introduced me to left blade circular saws. As a right
handed person, I don't have to lean over the saw to see the cut line.

Left blade saws have been around for a while, for left handed people.
FWIW the saw is intended to be used so that you do not see the blade,
seeing the blade typically means more dust in your face.


IOW, I don't have to do this:

http://tinyurl.com/right-blade

On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 5:11:10 PM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 2/5/2017 2:56 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 11:08:20 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:
On 2/5/2017 9:46 AM, Brewster wrote:
On 2/4/17 12:16 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I pretty much decided if I ever get a cement board siding job, I'm just
going to buy a new POS miter saw and chalk it up as a disposable/rental
expense.

Harbor Freight has a super cheap CMS that I've heard actually performs
decently. I think it would be a good candidate.

On 2/4/2017 1:08 PM, wrote:
I have a Harbor Freight 10" for outside and construction jobs. I'll
have to reside one side of my house this spring but the Bosch will
stay in the basement.

Exactly ... picked up a Ridgid at the Borg, for under $200, Section 179,
expendable bucks.


I bought one of those cement siding specific blades (Hardie board) for
my Skill saw. Widely spaced carbide tipped teeth. Kinda spendy and the
teeth came off after maybe 20 linear feet of cuts. I went back to a dirt
cheap HF carbide blade, they last a long time and certainly a better
cost/benefit that the expensive blade.

-BR



I have cut a lot of Hardie with a dedicated Sears circular saw and with
a diamond blade, no teeth. It works well but stirs a lot of dust.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Skil-7-in-W...-Blade/3142677

You want dust? I cut this stone riser with a POS Craftsman circular saw
using one of those diamond blades.

http://i.imgur.com/k44Xzny.jpg

Luckily, that job killed the saw (my first one). My next, and current saw,
is a PC 743 left blade.

A veteran framer introduced me to left blade circular saws. As a right
handed person, I don't have to lean over the saw to see the cut line.

Left blade saws have been around for a while, for left handed people.
FWIW the saw is intended to be used so that you do not see the blade,
seeing the blade typically means more dust in your face.


The left blade PC 743 has been around for quite awhile itself. I'm sure I've had it for something
like 20 years. It was a right handed framer that introduced it to me and I love it.

The 743 has a detachable dust chute that can be aimed in any direction to direct the dust
away from the user. A 1 1/4" vacuum hose fits over the chute if desired. I use the vacumm
if I have to use the saw indoors. It's that curved chimney-like doohickey.

http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/graphics/pc743.jpg

It's been an on-going debate of sorts as to whether a left blade saw is better for a right handed
user or not. Having used both, I prefer the left blade.

On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 10:08:20 AM UTC-6, Leon wrote:

I have cut a lot of Hardie with a dedicated Sears circular saw and with
a diamond blade, no teeth. It works well but stirs a lot of dust.

I am the only one here that uses a shear? I can't imagine using a saw on cementitious board, regardless of manufacturer. I bought my shear about 15 - 18 years ago and it still has the same blades. A small learning curve, but no dust, nothing but little curly strips to clean up, much faster than a saw, more accurate, much safer (no dust mask needed)and very quiet, too.

I saw 1x4 trims, and that's it.

Leon... you have always been a "right tool for the job guy", so if another cement board job comes along, I can't recommend a shear enough.

Robert

On 2/6/2017 1:55 AM, wrote:
On Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 10:08:20 AM UTC-6, Leon wrote:

I have cut a lot of Hardie with a dedicated Sears circular saw and
with a diamond blade, no teeth. It works well but stirs a lot of
dust.

I am the only one here that uses a shear? I can't imagine using a
saw on cementitious board, regardless of manufacturer. I bought my
shear about 15 - 18 years ago and it still has the same blades. A
small learning curve, but no dust, nothing but little curly strips to
clean up, much faster than a saw, more accurate, much safer (no dust
mask needed)and very quiet, too.

I saw 1x4 trims, and that's it.

Leon... you have always been a "right tool for the job guy", so if
another cement board job comes along, I can't recommend a shear
enough.

Robert


I'll certainly look in to that, but geez I hope I never have to do
siding again..

So do they work on the 3/4" stuff too?

On Monday, February 6, 2017 at 7:53:43 AM UTC-6, Leon wrote:


I'll certainly look in to that, but geez I hope I never have to do
siding again..

So do they work on the 3/4" stuff too?

With the right tools and a couple of homemade jigs, it isn't really harder than any other siding. I have installed a lot of Hardie and its relatives on the rear elevation of 3/4 masonry houses when the home owners finally get tired of upkeep. I like it because I can put on the planking by myself if I need to, even in full lengths.

The shear will gnaw through siding up to 7/16", and actually has replaceable blades. I have a fair amount of use on mine and it still cuts very well.

I tried the diamond wheel you referenced, and waaaay too much dust for me since it is literally grinding its way through the material. I found that a 12-14 tooth carbide wood blade (big teeth,NOT small like the Freuds) chewed through the trims easily and quickly, and will last a full job.

Robert

On 2/5/17 1:56 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


IOW, I don't have to do this:

http://tinyurl.com/right-blade


(ball cap on backwards, bib overalls, "Deliverance" music playing in the
background...)


You sure have a purdy mouth.....


-BR