Mini Electric Circular Saw Which To Choose
A hand-held electric circular saw is a very popular tool, it will come in handy on a sawmill, and an apartment repairman, and a lover of carpentry, and even some summer residents. At the same time, the apparent simplicity of the design should not be misleading: such a tool can differ significantly from model to model, and only a reasonable selection of a particular unit will help to extract all the expected benefits from it.
Features and purpose
The device is intended primarily for cutting wood and its derivatives, although many specific models involve working with other sheet materials, including tile and soft sheet metal. As a cutting part, a metal disc with special soldering and sharp teeth is used, the number of revolutions of which is several thousand times per minute. Such a constructive solution does not allow the use of tools for curly cutting, but in most cases provides a very accurate and accurate cut in a straight line.
The weight of the unit can vary from 2 to 10 kg. Depending on the weight indicators and the power method, all circular saws can be divided into stationary and portable, network and battery. Mains need a working electrical outlet for operation, while rechargeable ones use a battery to power the engine. To save battery power, and at the same time significantly increase productivity when cutting, the design in the form of a round cutting element, which simply does not imply a reverse movement, helps. Consequently, all sharp edge movements are beneficial, thereby achieving energy savings of approximately 50%.
With this in mind, expensive modern professional-class models are able to work autonomously up to 8 hours, while the charging process from a proprietary device can take only half an hour.
Design
a saw of any manufacturer and any class is almost always the same, except for small parts, which are more likely to be classified as convenience rather than performance. The main drive part is an electric motor that connects directly to the power supply or battery. Using the drive belt, the torque is transmitted to the cutting disc, which is mounted on the spindle and can be replaced due to wear and tear, and for the sake of cutting a specific material. In the vast majority of cases, the working area of the cutting disc is fenced with a reflective visor, which prevents sawdust and small fragments of the cut material from flying apart, increasing the risk of injury.
The spindle for the disk and it is attached to the cuvette, that is, the unit body, holding the cutting wheel in the correct position. Precise control is carried out using a caliper attached to the cuvette on a movable hinge. This version of the device of a circular saw is now considered quite primitive, because it does not reflect the desire, popular in our time, to make every simple device “smart”. Most modern models have in their design more complex details that are responsible for the safety of the operator and the mechanism itself: for example, some saws can turn off the engine when the load on it has increased excessively, or automatically adjust the power, increasing it as the resistance from the material increases.
How to choose?
When choosing a particular appliance, you need to understand two things: for the sake of fulfilling what tasks it is acquired and what basic characteristics it must possess for the sake of their successful solution. In the case of a saw, the most fundamental point is usually considered engine power: it depends on how big the disk is and how fast it can rotate. The larger circles you plan to use, the higher the power of the unit should be, but do not forget that increasing this indicator at the same time increases the weight of the device. In general, models with an engine power below 1.2 kW are considered household and designed only for simple tasks, and units more powerful than 2 kW are considered professional.
The depth of cut is another important factor, because if the value of this indicator is too small, the saw simply will not take the material intended for cutting. This criterion depends not only on engine power, but also on the size of the disk slot. There are only four main typical sizes: household No. 1 (up to 4.5 cm cut), semi-professional No. 2 (5–5.5 cm), professional No. 3 (6–7 cm) and very rare industrial No. 4 (up to 14 cm). Experts advise choosing a cutting wheel with only a small margin of cut depth, otherwise it is almost impossible to guarantee the stability of the workpiece and tool.
Video: Mini Electric Circular Saw Which To Choose
Good models often have a depth limiting function, thanks to which thin sheets can even be cut with a large diameter.
In the case of dense wood, the disc rotation speed should be as high as possible. and the cut will be more accurate, and productivity will increase significantly. For cutting plastic, this logic does not work: during operation, the circle can heat up significantly, and after all, a plastic workpiece can melt under such conditions. Expensive universal saws, designed to work with materials of various types, allow the operator to control the frequency of revolutions. over, the widespread opinion about the direct relationship between engine power and maximum speed does not always correspond to reality, because in this equation a place should be found for the weight of the disk. Many modern models also have the function of cutting at an angle. If you are interested in a circular saw for cutting boards or plywood at home, this function is unlikely to be useful, but for the needs of professional construction, it can be critical.
In addition to the main technical characteristics that affect the production capabilities of the tool, one cannot but pay attention to many useful additional functions. For many of today’s models, the launch is specially carried out by two remote buttons. thanks to this, the unit will not start accidentally, which minimizes the risk of injury. The ability to smoothly start is good because the disk is gaining momentum, albeit quickly, but gradually, because of which the engine does not experience instant load and wears out more slowly. Many models include a special nozzle for a vacuum cleaner in their design, while others even have a stationary device for removing chips. all this allows not only to keep clean at the workplace, but also to prevent dust from entering the eyes or lungs.
Under certain conditions, laser pointers, backlighting of the working area, protection against disk reverse impact, and many other new-fangled tricks can also be of considerable value.
Rating of the best models
The concept of the best models in the case of circular saws is very vague, because each consumer is based on their own needs. In addition, the model lines of all leading manufacturers are regularly updated, so any distribution of places does not seem appropriate. Given this, consider several popular models from leading brands.
- Makita HS7601. one of the best solutions for the home. With a modest price of about 4 thousand rubles, this device is equipped with an engine of 1200 watts. A disk with a diameter of 19 cm rotates at a speed of more than 5 thousand revolutions every minute, allowing you to cut materials up to 6.5 cm thick. The weight of the device with all the characteristics is quite small: only 4 kg.
- Bosch GKS 190 at a price of the same 4 thousand rubles is already a worthy semi-professional solution. Although the disk has the same diameter of 19 cm, a thinner spindle allows you to increase the maximum cutting depth to 7 cm. By speed of rotation, this saw is one of the most outstanding, providing 5.5 thousand revolutions per minute. The increase in power and the number of revolutions had practically no effect on weight: it is 4.2 kg.
- Interskol DP-165/1200. a typical representative of domestic industry, which is popular due to its lower cost: it does not exceed 2.5 thousand rubles. In this case, the manufacturer offers a household saw with indicators more modest than that of the Makita HS7601: with a power of the same 1200 watts and a reduced disk with a diameter of 16.5 cm, the rotation speed did not increase, and even dropped to 4700 revolutions. At the same time, both the cutting depth (decreased to 5.5 cm) and weight (increased to 4.5 kg) were affected, but for this price this is still one of the best solutions for home use.
- DeWALT DWE560. An alternative semi-professional solution with a capacity of 1350 watts from a well-known American manufacturer. The indicated power allows you to rotate the 184-mm disk at speeds up to 5500 rpm every minute, sawing sheet materials with a depth of up to 65 mm. The advantage, albeit insignificant, will be some weight reduction: of all the models described, this is the lightest, since it weighs 3.7 kg.
Terms of Use
Circular saw. a tool quite simple in technical terms, but at the same time, its improper operation can be fraught with injury, not to mention damage or accelerated wear of the main components of the mechanism. To prevent all these negative phenomena, you should carefully read the instructions attached to each copy before installing and starting work. Even if some of the provisions of the instructions seem far-fetched or insufficiently substantiated, it is better not to neglect the advice of the creators.
Even before buying, you should carefully study the instructions for the saw for specific working conditions. This is especially true for battery packs, which can be discharged much faster under severe frost conditions, or, in the case of an old nickel-cadmium battery, have a “memory effect”, forcing them to completely discharge the battery before charging. It is also important that the charging of the battery in such units usually takes about half an hour, however, for each model, you can only use a specially released licensed charger that provides the necessary current characteristics, otherwise a quick battery breakdown cannot be avoided. Recall that the battery can be replaced, but it alone usually costs more than all other parts of the unit combined.
Self-repair of the saw is generally considered undesirable. at least the guarantee for the tool, as in the case with any other equipment, immediately burns out after unauthorized interference. Having entrusted the tool to the master, the owner must be confident in his competence: the safety of further work with the device may depend on this.
For how to choose the right electric circular saw, see the next video.