Invented in England in 1780, the circular saw is a metal disc (or blade) with saw teeth on the edge as well as the machine that causes the disk to spin. It is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted. Today they are usually powered by electricity, but large ones in "saw mills" (where whole trees are sawed into lumber) were traditionally powered by water turning a large water wheel.

The term circular saw is most commonly used to refer to a handheld electric circular saw designed for cutting wood which may be used less optimally for cutting other materials with the exchange of specific blades. Recently smaller cordless circular saws with rechargeable batteries have become popular.

Other variations of the circular saw include the radial arm saw, the miter saw, the cut off saw and the table saw.

Most of these saws are designed to cut wood but may be equipped with blades to cut masonry, plastics or metal although there are circular saws specially designed for particular materials.

Saw mills use very large circular saws, usually from two to nine feet in diameter. They are either left or right handed, depending on which side of the log the plank is cut from. Benching determines which hand the saw is. Saws of this size need to have a deformation hammered into them that counteracts the forces of rotation, cutting and heat during operation. They typically have a shear pin hole, off axis, that breaks if the saw is overloaded and allows the saw to spin free. The most common version is the ITCO (insert tooth cut-off) which has removable teeth.

See also

• band saw
• chain saw
• Saw mill

External links

• Pacific/Hoe large circular saws
• Simonds large circular saws
• Skil circular saws