oh seriously this is no joke if you use a circular saw you need to watch this video and the reason for the video came about just the other day after i had a very close encounter with my little friend here now i've been in the building trade for over 30 plus years still have all my fingers but on this occasion i was in a hurry i was complacent and as a result the saw viciously and unexpectedly kicked back narrowly missing my thigh and it was only sheer luck that i avoided quite a serious injury g'day folks uncle nakas here and in today's video i'll be taking you through my top five circular saw safety tips designed to take the fear out of using this powerful little beast to give you the best and safest experience possible let's go [Music] [Applause] now if you can only manage to remember one of these five safety tips make sure it's this one as circular saw accidents can happen in the blink of an eye hey it worked never ever have a hand in front of the saw or directly behind the saw that's one of carpentry's cardinal sins [Music] too often i see woodworkers and especially experienced tradesmen cutting with one hand while their other hand is only inches away from the back of the saw or the front of the saw instead resist the urge and try to keep both hands on the machine that way you have the best chance of controlling the saw in the event of any unexpected kickback because as i mentioned earlier accidents can happen in the blink of an eye one thing i've noticed a lot of people doing especially beginners is keeping that saw running once they've finished their cut don't do that it's unsafe and unnecessary because you need to remember that this rather aggressive looking blade can be spinning up to 5 000 rebs per minute so you want that kind of power to be controlled and contained to the actual cut what i like to do is to get to the end of my cut wait till the blade stops spinning and then place the saw down once that blade stops spinning it can't do any damage it's a safe and simple habit to get into and it's less chance of accidental damage to your expensive blades since we're talking about safety i remember years ago my old dad saying to me look if anybody ever pulls a gun on you start reeling off statistics because apparently there's safety in numbers [Music] [Music] now tip number three relates to a very important issue called binding and that is where the wood that you're cutting binds or jams up hard against the blade which causes your saw to kick back which is one of the most common causes of injury but having said that you'll be very happy to know that there are some very simple practices to prevent that from happening never cut a length of material if it's only supported on either end if you do as you cut the wood it will fall in toward the blade causing it to jam and the saw to kick back [Music] instead support the wood by all means but let the waste fall away freely from the point of support [Music] now if you feel the saw is starting to work harder than it should be or it starts to get hard to push stop that blade is starting to bind and the saw may kick back now usually the main offender for this is the lack of support underneath the wood reposition those supports underneath the wood so there's less pressure on the blade and away you go [Music] if you're cutting a long sheet of plywood you can have issues with that sheet bending so to fix that use a number of gluts underneath it to support it that'll keep the sheet straight and stop that blade from binding [Music] sometimes getting off track can cause the blade to bind as well again stop straighten that saw back up and then restart the cut [Music] now tip number four that relates to clamping down the piece that you're trying to cut basically you want to be concentrating on the task at hand rather than worrying about how to hold the work piece down to stop that from moving during the cutting process now over the years i've seen all types of yoga poses as guys grapple to hold the wood in place while attempting to make a cut just take a couple of seconds and simply apply a clamp to secure things down and away you go too easy tip number five having an absolute awareness of what's on the ground around you is a must before you commence using a circular saw or any other power tool for that matter trip hazards like banana peels skateboards and garden rakes can be an absolute disaster and need to be removed now obviously that was just a joke but what isn't the joke are things like toolboxes loose cords or other tools just lying on the ground waiting for you to trip over which is never a good idea when you're using a power tool so don't be lazy and take a few seconds to clear a path it's one less thing you'll need to worry about and you may just prevent a potential accident now my one bonus tip for using a circular saw is pretty basic but it's always wear safety glasses and hearing protection unfortunately it's one of those common sense things that isn't very common now just before you guys turtle off just a quick message to let you all know that i'm putting together a mini course yep a mini course linked down below and also up there somewhere regarding all things circular saw related which will include topics like what to look for and avoid when buying a circular saw should you go corded or battery powered there will be circular saw basics including tips and tricks and maybe even a simple project to give you the confidence to start using your saw safely and effectively now if this is something that may be of interest to you please sign up to my email list the link is down below in the description box and i'll send you an alert when the course is up and running and if you're watching this in the future please feel free to sign up as well and i'll send you the link to the course all righty after all that i'm off for a cup of tea so till next time be good be safe and i'm out of here cheers
