Left handed plunge saws
- Thread starter Nick Gibbs
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Nick Gibbs
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I think we'll have to show a drawing in the magazine!!!!! I think a lot of this comes down to how one stands relative to the board you are cutting. Some people will stand on the 'thin' side of the board (the waste side, normally), and some people will stand on the 'wide' side of the board.
If you stand on the waste side using a plunge saw your left arm, hip and leg will be closest to the saw. Holding the trigger with your right hand means you have to twist your body. You'd never do that with a hand plane. If you stand on the wide side of the board your right side is closest to the saw, and you can hold it like a hand plane, and work from right to left, but you are having to stretch across the board, which isn't ideal and sometimes isn't possible, and as someone else here notes, it can make the rail slip.
You may be surprised to learn that I didn't use a plunge saw until a year or so ago. I'd read a lot about their ease of use etc…, and was really surprised how awkward they are to hold. The only one I've found to be really comfortable to use is the Mafell MT55.
If you stand on the waste side using a plunge saw your left arm, hip and leg will be closest to the saw. Holding the trigger with your right hand means you have to twist your body. You'd never do that with a hand plane. If you stand on the wide side of the board your right side is closest to the saw, and you can hold it like a hand plane, and work from right to left, but you are having to stretch across the board, which isn't ideal and sometimes isn't possible, and as someone else here notes, it can make the rail slip.
You may be surprised to learn that I didn't use a plunge saw until a year or so ago. I'd read a lot about their ease of use etc…, and was really surprised how awkward they are to hold. The only one I've found to be really comfortable to use is the Mafell MT55.
MMUK
Established Member
Nick Gibbs":20kazaen said:
You may or may not be surprised to hear that my dad does the opposite, but then he is left handed.
If I ever want to place the track on the waste side I just add on the kerf of the blade. So if I want a rip at 600, I'll measure 602 (and a bit). Leaving 600 once the cut is done. Just as you would do if you needed to rip a narrow piece off a wide board.
Grahamshed
Established Member
Mar_mite":22s9cfmt said:
+1
DanH002
New member
When using a track saw,
If the short side is the waste material and not wide enough to put the saw on or you're ripping anything longer than your reach - e.g. making an 8'X4' into an 8'x3'10", you have to either:
A: Cut left handed
B: Reach across your body with your right hand
C: Add a support scrap keeping it tight and square since you're placing the track on this side or
D: Climb over top of the material.
This is why carpenters prefer a worm drive to a "sidewinder" saw.
Also, if you're right handed, you can see what you're cutting when the blade is on the left side of the saw (though the necessity to see the blade line is mitigated with the track saw).
If the short side is the waste material and not wide enough to put the saw on or you're ripping anything longer than your reach - e.g. making an 8'X4' into an 8'x3'10", you have to either:
A: Cut left handed
B: Reach across your body with your right hand
C: Add a support scrap keeping it tight and square since you're placing the track on this side or
D: Climb over top of the material.
This is why carpenters prefer a worm drive to a "sidewinder" saw.
Also, if you're right handed, you can see what you're cutting when the blade is on the left side of the saw (though the necessity to see the blade line is mitigated with the track saw).
