How To Replace Circular Saw

Many people don’t know how to fix their tools when parts ware out. This is especially true with the circular saw. The wear and tear of a circular saw depends largely on its usage. If you are using your saw less often with a quality blade, chances are it might take longer before you may need to change the blade. However, if you use it every day, you may have to replace the saw quite often. Unfortunately, there is no clear warning sign or indicator to warn you when the saw needs replacement. You should be on the lookout for how the saw is operating.

Signs of Damaged Blades

In case you have not observed any problems while using your saw, it’s highly likely that your saw is fine and robust. However, if you are experiencing excessive chipping or burning, and the rotor is struggling to cut through the wood, it’s a common red flag that means you need to change your blade. Moreover, in case you have some worries about your saw’s cutting efficiency, it may be time you examined whether or not the blade needs to be sharpened, cleaned, or replaced.

The longer you go on cutting with a blunt saw blade, there is a higher chance that you will damage the saw and it might need to be fixed or replaced in the long run. Some of the signs that the saw is getting damaged include strange noises, such as scraping, whistling, or clicking. Sudden sparking from the brush area while cutting might be an indicator that the rotor is damaged. This can be diagnosed also by observing if there are smoke and smell of burning. Purchasing a quality carbide-tipped blade may be a worthy investment from a cost perspective than some of the cheaper alternatives as it may save you money in the long run.

Let’s look at the steps to replace a circular saw and what to check while replacing the saw.

Things to Check Before Replacing a Circular Saw

Before investing your resources in purchasing a new blade, or perhaps considering sending your circular saw blade for sharpening, consider the following:

• As you’re doing the visual examination, check for signs of damage and wear and tear. Inspect if there are broken, missing, chipped, or worn-out teeth and carbide tips 
• Remove the circular saw and examine the blade for any build-up of the pitch. Check on both sides of the teeth. More often, reduced cutting efficiency is a result of using a blade that is dirty.
• Inspect the wear and tear of carbide side edges to examine if it has started to dull. Once your carbide blade starts rounding off, it is necessary to have it sharpened or re-tipped.
• Make a comparison between your circular saw blade with a sharp saw or one that is in a good condition. If you do a lot of woodwork, we recommend you buy a spare blade as a backup. This can give you something to compare your main blade with as well. 

Steps for Replacing the Circular Saw

1. Remove the battery if you’re using a cordless saw or unplug out the power cord if you’re using a standard circular saw so you don’t accidentally switching it on while replacing the blade.
2. Make sure the blade being replaced is of the same size and design. Don’t replace smaller circular saw with a bigger blade.
3. Put the saw on a firm surface and pull back or remove the blade guard to expose the blade.
4. Press the arbor lock if your saw has one. This is the shaft that the blade lies against, and locking it will ensure the blade is held in place as you open the nuts to release the blade. In case your saw doesn’t have an arbor lock, press the saw blade against a firm wooden surface while you loosen the lock.
5. While holding the arbor lock, rotate your saw in the same direction the blade turns until the locking mechanism is engaged.
6. Then slot your wrench onto the arbor nut. The most ideal wrench for this job is the one that came with the saw originally.
7. Loosen the nut in a counter-clockwise direction for a direct drive saw, or the opposite direction in case you have a worm drive saw.
8. When the nut has been unscrewed, slide off the blade gently.
9. Slip in your new saw blade into the arbor, ensure the teeth are facing the direction of the rotation. In case you are not sure check on the arrow in the blade guard.
10. Slot the nut back and, tighten it with the wrench but don’t over-tighten the nut. The nut usually tightens itself while cutting. While there is minimal risk that the nut will not get tightened, just ensure its in firmly.

Do It Yourself

Being able to replace the circular saw and then complete projects, like fixing household furniture, is quite exciting. The process is fairly easy, as seen from the steps above. Whether you’re using a cordless circular saw or the standard one, the process remains largely the same. It is important to have the circular saw working efficiently to save energy, effort, and enable the equipment to last longer.

It’s also important to pick the right saw for the type of projects you’ll be using. It’s true that a budget saw can save you money in the short-term and can get the job done. However, it might not run as smoothly and can end up costing you more over time. You’ll probably need to replace more blades, and your project might not turn out as planned. A more expensive saw can be worth the investment. As for replacing the blades, it’s not as scary as it seems. After doing this process multiple times, it should be no trouble at all.