Binding Your Blade
Whenever your blade is pinched in your cut causing it to stop or kick we call it binding your blade. It's very common and probably has nothing to do with a faulty saw. When your blade gets dull it will have a higher chance to bind on you and possibly cause injury. To minimize the chance of binding, make sure you have the least amount of blade into your material as possible. This means adjusting your blade depth so just the tip of a tooth is all the way through.
The next way to thwart a bind is having proper support. This is specially important for Circular Saws. If your two pieces are falling into the middle while you cut, you will bind your blade as it starts to drop. Either one piece needs to fall away, or both need to stay stationary. To do this set up a proper [cut station].
Another possibility is the wood is closing the gap due to tension. This is less common, but it still happens mainly when making rips. Sometimes as you cut the tension in the individual lumber stands will close the gap. If at anytime you notice resistance, just turn of your saw and assess the problem. Maybe its just a knot and you need to just take it slow and let the saw do it's job or maybe your blade is shot. But if the gap you just cut out is closed, you'll need to go about it differently. Most times you can just make your cut starting from the other side. If this closes too you'll need to use a fancy little trick I picked up. just shim the end open as wide as you can. Then you should be able to get your saw in the gap and finish your cut.
A big reason you will bind with a circular blade is due to not cutting a straight line. If you are making a slight arc with your Circular, even just from one side of your line to the other, it will bind on you and possible kickback pretty hard.
Tool Basics
The next way to thwart a bind is having proper support. This is specially important for Circular Saws. If your two pieces are falling into the middle while you cut, you will bind your blade as it starts to drop. Either one piece needs to fall away, or both need to stay stationary. To do this set up a proper [cut station].
Another possibility is the wood is closing the gap due to tension. This is less common, but it still happens mainly when making rips. Sometimes as you cut the tension in the individual lumber stands will close the gap. If at anytime you notice resistance, just turn of your saw and assess the problem. Maybe its just a knot and you need to just take it slow and let the saw do it's job or maybe your blade is shot. But if the gap you just cut out is closed, you'll need to go about it differently. Most times you can just make your cut starting from the other side. If this closes too you'll need to use a fancy little trick I picked up. just shim the end open as wide as you can. Then you should be able to get your saw in the gap and finish your cut.
A big reason you will bind with a circular blade is due to not cutting a straight line. If you are making a slight arc with your Circular, even just from one side of your line to the other, it will bind on you and possible kickback pretty hard.
Tool Basics