Hi Guys, I recently purchased this saw as it was on offer and suited me well being a DIY guy. I am busy refurbishing my outside workshop. However just now I am trying to use it to cut as it was longish lengths say 1.5 metre long from a sheet of 18mm ply wood. I mark it out , then I clamp a straight edge lath in place allowing for the needed offset to get the correct width. I thought I could just proceed down along the marker lath and get a nice straight accurate piece of timber. But as I proceed cutting, the saw starts to jamb and slow down say 200mm into the cut and has to be stopped, I realised after a few try's that I seems to be that it is turning into the lath . Its as if the saw was turning INTO the lath not just being guided by it. I have set the depth of the cut to be a few mill deeper than the 18mm of the material. I have checked the position of the blade with a square and it all sees ok. The material is dry. Is this usual. Is it because its Ply wood? Any ideas Johnny M
I know you did but but as the problem you are describing is from the blade not being square to the fence or the fence flexing then that is your problem. You've bought a cheap tool and it doesn't work.
I don't know anything about this saw either, but if the blade is square and the fence isn't moving then perhaps you're twisting it whilst moving forwards. Try swapping the hand you push with or push less hard/slower - letting the saw do the work.
It has no riving knife the Worxsaw WX422, so use a wedge at beginning of cut to stop board pinching the blade.
You would need digital calipers to check if the saw base is running parallel with the blade. I have a hitachi which has a similar problem. Though it does get bashed about. I found adjusting the blade depth to the sheet being cut helped.
Wise advice, puts less stress on the blade & saw, blade just needs to clear the depth of material being cut.
Thank you, At last helpful replies. I have some digital calipers so I will give them a try. My son gets the same effect here as well. Regarding being a cheap tool, I am sure its not man enough for every day use. But hey I am just DIYer. I did set depth as they recommend. I suppose a couple of thou is enough to get the effect. I will check more tomorrow. Ok ..What the hell is a riving knife. But thanks guys. Johnny M
QUOTE: A riving knife is piece of metal shaped something like a wedge that is located directly behind the cutting blade. On smaller table saws, it will usually hold the blade guard. Riving knives on these portable saws are slightly thinner than blade-widths (about 20-30% less) and recess about 1/4" (24 mm) below the blades diameter. When a saw cuts through wood, the wood has a tendency to "squeeze" around the rear of the blade. To prevent any squeezing, a riving knife is used. It keeps the saw kerf open.
I've no idea what a "Worxsaw" is but I'm willing to bet it's cheap and **** and therefore doesn't work properly. I could be wrong but unless anyone can identify this tool I'm at a loss to give any advice.
BTW: riving knifes frequently don't perform the function they are designed for in my experience, and in the case of the DEWalt type flip over chop and rip combination they also are supposed to have the saw blade safety attachment. I'm not recommending this but I have an Elu which is much the same as the DeWalt and I ditched the riving knife from day one! I don't want to tempt fate but I bought that saw over 25 years ago and and it's still in perfect running order and no one ..including me ..has had a scratch off it. It still scares the **** out of me 25 years after I bought it but that is much more a better attitude to health and safety than relying on stuff like riving knifes which don't work and actually can jam and make the sawing process even more hazardous. Anyway that is just my opinion...feel free to disagree as you see fit!
working chippies wouldn't set off to do a day's work with a tool like that. its just not made for rugged use. its for trimming thin materials. I expect you still get issues even with 6mm sheet. there are several standard sized circular saws which are cheaper to buy than the worxsaw, and they will do a better job with 18mm sheet.
And another problem with these saws like Worxsaw is the lack of 85mm blade choice, that's why I went with Bosch 18v cordless saw with a165mm blade.
Ah...I get it now...the "Worksaw" is probably not just cheap tat and quite useful for some lightweight trimming but totally the wrong tool for ripping down 18mm plywood. A decent jigsaw would do a better job depending on the accuracy or straightness of cut required but a circular saw with a minimum diameter blade of 200mm would be my preferred option. I'm all for improvising if you don't have the right gear to hand but I can't imagine how you would get a decent straight edge ripping 18mm ply with a "Worksaw"!
I get the similar result with my Makita cordless when using a straight edge as a guide. The blade would wander off line on the underside of the cut in thicker material. No problem with my corded Makita 5008MG. Recently invested in a track saw (for the DIYers ). Night and day when it comes to cutting sheet material, trimming doors, cutting worktops etc.