It’s a really fearsome experience to see your circular saw to catch up on fire all of a sudden. But the bitter truth is, if you use your circular saw every now and then, it’s a quite common incidence that will take place no matter what.
So, when you have got a situation like a circular saw smoking when cutting, what would be the first thing you would do? Will you drop off your machine and run away? Or you would look for a solid, permanent solution?
If you are with the second choice, this article is solely written for you. We have included 5 steps guideline to troubleshoot your problem of a smoking circular saw and come up with a rigid solution.
5 Steps Solution of Smoke from Circular Saw
Step 1: Locate the Problem
At first, let’s identify the location of the problem. The source of smoke in a circular saw can be either circular saw motor or blade and guide area.
In case the reason is in the blade area, the next two steps are for you to check out. In case the problem is with the circular saw motor or engine area, skip the next two step sand jump towards the next one.
Let’s start one by one-
Step 2: Check Out the Cross-Cut Problem
The first suspect of a smoking circular saw is while the crosscut is taking place. As you know, among various types of woodworking cuts, a charring takes place in crosscut.
The blades move so fast and we don’t have a speed adjustment solution to control the speed. That’s the reason why the blade has to move so fast.
To reduce the issue, you have to replace the existing blade with a new one. The best possible suggestion that we can provide you with is to use a carbide-tipped blade. More on this later.
Step 3: Check Out the Rip-Cut Problem
The next suspect that can take place is the squeeze that happens during a rip cut. As you know, wood has moisture on it. When the cut takes place in moist wood, that would cause the circular saw blade burning wood issue.
It’s not with the problem of the circular saw itself, but it’s with the wood. There are many times when you saw a wood that had been stored in a damp area like a basement.
When the saw blade passes through such wood, the wood gets heated up and it expands. For the expansion, the blade tooth that passes through, get squeezed due to the reason.
Thus, a great amount of friction takes place and the friction causes circular saw problems like circular saw smoking, circular saw motor smoking as well. It brings on more expansion of the wood and more pinching to the saw blade.
To get over this situation of squeezing, you can buy an insert or make one. It will include a kerf guide that will prevent pinching over time. Also, it’s recommended to dry up the damp or humid woods before cutting with a circular saw.
Step 4: Check Out the Blade Sharpness
The next possible reason for a circular saw blade smoking is the dull blade. Over regular use, every cutting tool gets dull and the blade of your circular saw is no exception.
The obvious solution to the problem is to use a new, sharp blade for your circular saw or to sharpen the existing one anyway. If your saw blade is dull enough, no other fixes can come up with the solution to this problem.
Step 5: Check for the Blade Wobble
The last reason what causes a circular saw to smoke, we are assuming is the blade wobble. Now, why does the blade wobble takes place in a circular saw?
Well, the possible reason for circular saw stops cutting is maybe your saw motor is not with that much high quality. The issue can also be in the bearing.
Poor motor quality and poor blade quality will obviously make you suffer from the issues like heated up the circular saw, heated up a circular saw motor and so on.
On the other hand, poor blade quality or dull blade is the main reason for saw smoking as well.
Circular Saw Maintenance
Use a Carbide-Tipped Blade
The first thing that you have to remember is, the blade is the most used part of a circular saw. If you don’t get a good quality blade, you will have repeated issues like smoking, burning or getting hot.
Our advice is to use a carbide-tipped blade with your circular saw. They are quite resistant to heat-related problems. Also, they last for a longer span of time.
Our recommended best carbide-tipped circular saw blades for replacing circular saw blade-
- Our Best Pick: IRWIN 4935560
- Budget-Friendly: Mibro 431840
- All-rounder: Rockwell RW9281
Always Stick to Good Quality Saws
It’s pretty common advice that anyone would give to you if you want to avoid issues like a dulled blade or heated up a circular saw or any similar problem. And that is to use good quality saws and saw accessories from reliable brands.
Here are a few of our recommended best circular saws that you can stick to for your next purchase-
- Best Corded Circular Saw: Makita SP6000J1
- Best Cordless Circular Saw: DEWALT DC390B
- Best Compact & Mini Circular Saw: Makita SH02R1
Keep Your Circular Saw Sharp
No matter it’s the circular saw motor or the blade, the source of heated up circular saw can always be the dull chain. Therefore, we always recommend you to use sharpen up blades each time you go and cut tree branches or such workpieces.
In case you use your circular saw very repeatedly, we suggest keeping a few circular saw blade replacement options near to your hand.
Bottom Line
So, that had been the solution to your circular saw smoking problem. Hopefully, you have found the right method that would reach you towards the solution. Also, do circular saw repair troubleshooting on a regular basis and maintain the necessary safety precautions.
Good Luck!
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You made no mention how to fix your motor smoking problem. You are of no help to me.
Article did little to educate me. My skillsaw 77 is also smoking. Oil level-good. Swapped to a brand new blade. Installed new brushes. Same smoking problem. At this point, I’m getting a new saw