Innovative Ideas Mans Club

[yellow door 1]

Well you better be ambidextrous because the nerds at Ryobi have put the shoe on the wrong foot.

Their circ saw is for left handers - or nerds who clamp up a straight edge for every cut they make and use 2 hands to guide the saw.

I'm not skilled enough to make perfect 90 degree cuts free hand yet, so I still use a set square as a guide.ie Clamp the set square down with one hand and cut with the other - And the first few cuts I did were shockers.(it wasnt helped by the fact that the blade wasnt set at 90 straight out of the box - had to adjust a screw to get it cutting straight)

But even when I got everything going as it should - the wider part of the shoe was hanging on the wrong side of my cuts and it was introducing a slight bevel because the shoe wasnt stable.

So I did what any innovator would do when faced with such a massive over sight - I had to teach myself to use the saw left handed - took a few goes - but I got there in the end.

[sucker]

Wow, I have never ever seen one before, been on tools since I was 16 can see some accident's coming if your a righty

[sucker]

Try an adjustable square there's a fair bit more to hang onto, just mark your cut place the square next to the base plate and move to your mark and cut heaps easier than rooting round with guide sll the time.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by sucker

Wow, I have never ever seen one before, been on tools since I was 16 can see some accident's coming if your a righty

Originally Posted by sucker

Try an adjustable square there's a fair bit more to hang onto, just mark your cut place the square next to the base plate and move to your mark and cut heaps easier than rooting round with guide sll the time.

Wait a minute - are you saying you've never seen the metal speed square/rafter square before or you havent seen a left handed Circular saw before.

I think the method you describe for cutting is what I'm doing now I - ie line the saw blade up with my pencil line - then slide the speed square over to the shoe - then hold the speed square firmly against the wood so it doesnt move - then use that as my cutting guide to slide the shoe along as I make the cut - Actually bugger tryiing to explain it - I'll find a vid - (cutting demonstration starts 1 minute in to the video)

And when you say adjustable square - do you mean one of these

p.s. I've been using a circular saw for about 2 months

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by yellow door 1

p.s. I've been using a circular saw for about 2 months

After watching that vid above, its just occurred to me that his saw has the wide part of the shoe, on the wrong side for a right hander making single handed cuts aswell. What the hell is going on in this industry

Do the makers of these "Left handers" think noone makes single handed cuts (just had a look at the manual - it seems they do want you to keep 2 hands on the saw at all times)

This ryobi is only the 2nd circular saw I've owned and I only bought the Ozito 2 months ago. But the Ozito was set up with the wide part of the shoe on the opposite side of the saw. This makes single handed cuts a breeze for a right hander.

Maybe I'm being a little pedantic - but I had no problem cutting perfectly square, with no hint of bevel, when the wide part of the shoe was supporting the weight of the saw.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by sucker

Wow, I have never ever seen one before, been on tools since I was 16 can see some accident's coming if your a righty

I tried a few cuts right handed and it was a night mare - It made me stand directly behind the blade and if I wanted to use the speed square as a cutting guide - My fingers were closer to the spinning blade than I like

Learning how to use the saw left handed took about 15 cuts - but I was back to cutting square with no bevel, in no time.

With the way I cut - learning to use the saw left handed feels safer than using it right handed.

[yellow door 1]

I just googled the issue to make sure I wasnt going out of my mind.

If I'm crazy - at least I'm not alone

Turns out alot of blokes cut completely free hand and its more important to have a good view of the blade and your pencil line, as you cut - Also, your hand gets better over time at counter balancing the weight of the saw.

So the problems I'm experiencing are down to;

1 - My reliance on a hand held speed square.

2 - The fact that I dont clamp the wood down before making a cut

3 - and that I dont really have enough experience to be shooting my mouth off about such issues

I still reckon I'm right though

[sucker]

Nope never seen either of em, when conventional roofs used to be cut it was either worked out on paper or there used to be a red roofers book, that speed square is bloody good, yep that's the square I'm talking about, watch cutting one handed with a thin kerf blade if you waver a little it will bite and kick back.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by sucker

Nope never seen either of em, when conventional roofs used to be cut it was either worked out on paper or there used to be a red roofers book, that speed square is bloody good, yep that's the square I'm talking about, watch cutting one handed with a thin kerf blade if you waver a little it will bite and kick back.

Yeah thanks for the tip - I'll keep an eye out for the kick back - I'm usually so terrified while using the saw, that my finger pops off the button the millisecond something doesnt feel right

And re the speed square - This is what I was using before the speed square - you can make one in a few minutes and its great for millimetre perfect cuts where you use a razor blade to mark your line instead of a pencil. It almost takes Driver error out of the equation because it shows you exactly where your blade is going to cut. You just have to be absolutely sure its set to 90degrees while making it

As always - if you try any of these methods and cut you finger off - blame the guys on youtube - not me

[yellow door 1]

Here's a vid of the problem I was having

[sucker]

Just watched your vid, yeah, its made for lefties which is odd, do they make a righty one? I dunno looks like its gonna fight ya the whole way if it was me I'd throw it in a deep gully. Its like trying to bang in a nail left handed when your right handed, its either gonna end up in pain or misery.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by sucker

Just watched your vid, yeah, its made for lefties which is odd, do they make a righty one? I dunno looks like its gonna fight ya the whole way if it was me I'd throw it in a deep gully. Its like trying to bang in a nail left handed when your right handed, its either gonna end up in pain or misery.

I dont know if they do - but it seems alot of manufacturers do it that way even though the majority of the population is right handed. I think they assume everyone is clamping things down - using fences - and making 2 handed cuts - (thats how the brochure says to make every cut). And its designed that way so free-hand cutters can have an unobstructed view of the blade as they cut

With 2 hands on the saw - it would be much easier to apply the pressure required to keep the shoe steady and flat.

But I found the switch to left handed surprisingly easy - as long as you let the saw do the work - you are just pressing a button and slowly pushing it across a flat surface - I always use the guide so I dont have to concentrate on cutting straight - I just need to push.

Dont get me wrong Its definitely not ideal - but its still doable - and I'm happy with the cuts

I imagine if I was cutting with single handed with no guide - using a left handed saw, in my right hand - It would be a much bigger issue.

But I reel with my left hand while fishing, so its not completely untrained in simple repetitive tasks.

I'd return it in a heart beat if I had bought it on its own - But it was part of a 9 piece kit - and I'm very happy with the 8 other items. (The Radio is sick, its got am/fm, bluetooth and aux cord - and its pretty loud)

And Bunnings have an excellent returns policy on the DIY range - Once you start moving into trade quality tools their returns policy isnt so good - if something goes wrong - you have to send it off for repairs instead of walking out of Bunnings with a brand new tool within minutes.(just checked Dewalts warranty and they offer a 3 year limited warranty on power tools - which doesnt sound too rock solid)

And Bunnings is very close to my work. So there are alot of factors going into my decision to keep the saw. I've just chosen to ignore that little health and safety issue

I just use these tools for muck around projects at work so the dont have to be trade quality. And the all important price is right.

So you are right - I should return the saw but theres also alot of reasons to keep it I'll see how it goes. If I hadnt found the transition to left handed cutting so easy - it would have gone back the same day.

If It becomes an issue I'll buy another saw - but for now I'll stick it out.

[sucker]

No worries, probably got a bit too much stralya in me. I wind with my left too, it funny how many people ask me if I'm left handed.

[jb2020]

building stuff in the backyard with inappropriate tools and flagrant disregard for ones safety is a great australian tradition...I say plough ahead.
I found myself using a rambo knife I bought from the vic market on a grade 5 excursion to edge a bit of lawn the other day.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by sucker

No worries, probably got a bit too much stralya in me. I wind with my left too, it funny how many people ask me if I'm left handed.

Yeah if you can do that with your left - the sawing comes pretty naturally