Circular Hand Saws

Almost indispensable in the workshop: the hand-held circular saw.

For commercial users (carpenters, joiners, joiners and others), the hand-held circular saw is an indispensable tool. In addition to the table saw, band saw, cross-cut saw and mitre saw, one will always find one (or more) hand-held circular saws in their workshops.

The following is a first introduction to the topic of hand-held circular saws for interested private users to help them decide on the right machine..

The most important areas of use for the hand-held circular saw.

When using the hand-held circular saw, one must distinguish between the 'normal' hand-held circular saw (whose correct name should actually be the pendulum hood circular saw) and the immersion circular saw. The most important difference is that the hand-held circular saw cuts into the workpiece from the edge, whereas the plunge-cut saw can also cut (i.e. 'plunge') into the centre of the workpiece. On our page on the Plunge sawsyou will find detailed explanations of this and the other differences between the two types. There you will also find notes on the work for which the plunge-cut circular saw is particularly suitable. Here, however, are the common features of both types of saw:

• Mobile use - the machine comes to the workpiece, not the other way round. This can be a decisive advantage in the workshop as well as on the construction site.
• First cut of solid wood and wood-based panels as well as other materials (with appropriate saw blades and with given speed regulation option): Plastics, non-ferrous metals.
• Exact, dimensionally accurate cutting of components.
• Cutting grooves and rebates.

The hand-held circular saw is better suited than the plunge-cut circular saw when it comes to the following tasks:

• Cutting solid wood with a very large cross cut. Most plunge-cut circular saws are limited to cutting depths of less than 60 mm (only among the Festool plunge saws are there models with cutting depths of up to 75 mm). In contrast, even mid-range circular hand saws can handle cuts up to 85 mm, and Mafell offers models that cut wood up to 165 mm or even 185 mm thick. Although these circular saws also have the necessary power, they are priced in the same range as many good circular saws. They are machines that are specifically tailored to the needs of carpenters.
• For similar reasons, people are more likely to use a hand-held circular saw than a plunge-cut circular saw for edge cuts of block goods.
• A Festool groove unit available for the HKS85, which allows the hand-held circular saw to be used as a grooving cutter to cut grooves of varying widths and depths.

Buying criteria when choosing a hand-held circular saw.

When buying a hand-held circular saw, various factors play a role. Among the most important are:

• Power
  The power of the hand-held circular saw must be matched to the intended work. Trimming thick solid wood planks or capping large beams in timber construction requires a hand-held circular saw of the upper class (from about 2000 watts), while most tasks in furniture or interior construction can also be done with a hand-held circular saw of the medium class (around 1200 watts). You should only settle for a lower power in exceptional cases. However, as with many other power tools, it is important to weigh up the factors of power and weight.
• Depth of cut
  The cutting depth of the hand-held circular saw is usually 55 mm to a maximum of 85 mm for the middle class. This is sufficient for almost all tasks in cabinetmaking. In the upper class, the range goes up to 185 mm, which is, however, only important when used in wood construction and carpentry.
• Weight
  Mid-range circular hand saws usually weigh between 4 and 5 kg. In the upper class, it quickly becomes 7 to 10 kg, but it can also be more than 16 kg for the carpentry models.
• Battery-powered/corded
  Increasingly, cordless hand-held circular saws are also coming onto the market. In combination with a lower weight (usually less than 4 kg), the battery naturally enables greater mobility in use. However, you tend to have to accept lower performance in return. However, rapid advances in battery technology mean that this factor is playing an increasingly minor role.
• Safety systems
  The hand-held circular saw is one of the more dangerous power tools. When buying one, one should pay attention to appropriate safety devices, which should either be part of the standard equipment or available as accessories. These include, above all, a splitting wedge and a device to prevent kickback (kickback stop). A guide rail or a parallel fence not only increase the precision of the cuts, but also the safety of the work. Last but not least, good suction of the sawdust also serves the health and safety of the woodworker.
• Operator-friendliness
  Ergonomic aspects should also be considered when choosing a hand-held circular saw. Above all, this includes easy blade change, so that you can quickly and effortlessly use the right saw blade for the task at hand. It is also important to have a well thought-out arrangement of the switches and other operating elements to facilitate use and exclude operating errors as far as possible.
• Available accessories
  A hand-held circular saw should definitely allow use with a guide rail (either the manufacturer's or another make). With such a rail, the hand-held circular saw is guided safely and precisely, millimetre-precise cuts are easy to make and the machine cannot stray unintentionally in the cut. In addition, the guide rails can be equipped with useful other accessories (cross-cut and mitre fences, splinter guards, kick-back guards), which contribute considerably to an extension of the field of application, to greater precision and safer use. Guide rails can be advantageously used on multifunctional tables or sawing tables , which are more suitable than the classic workbench. If you use oursauter Vario-Benchas a multi-function table, the hand-held circular saw is already almost a full replacement for a circular table saw and mitre saw.