Tried to build a custom shelf and ended up with a pile of splinters in my garage

I was in my garage last Saturday cutting some plywood for a small shelf, and my circular saw kicked back so hard it threw the board into a wall. Now I've got a dent in the drywall and a piece of wood that looks more like a jigsaw puzzle. Any tips for keeping a saw from binding up like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan2711d ago

Man I used to think kickback was just bad luck but @angela728 is totally right about dull blades being the real culprit, that was a lightbulb moment for me too.

angela7282d ago

That thing about the blade alignment is spot on. I had a saw that kept burning the wood and making weird cuts, took me three projects to finally check if the blade was parallel to the miter slot. It was off by like 1/16 of an inch and it made all the difference. Also, a dull blade is a huge problem. People think they can just use the same blade for years and it'll be fine, but that's how you get kickback. I learned the hard way after a 2x4 shot back and put a gash in my workbench. Now I swap blades out every couple months or whenever I start feeling that extra resistance. And for real, letting the saw do the work is the biggest lesson. If you're forcing it, something's wrong.

smith.lee2d ago

Blamed the saw at first too, but then I realized I was rushing and not letting the blade slow down before pushing the wood through. Had a buddy who used to swear his saw was out to get him, but turns out he was just using a dull blade and pressing way too hard. Once you get into the rhythm of letting the tool do the work, it gets way smoother. Also check your blade alignment every now and then, those things can drift off center over time and cause nothing but trouble.