worm drive saws

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willsiler

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WILL
My father was a carpenter and in the early to mid 50's, he bought the only electric saw he ever owned. It was a Skil and had the blade on the left side of the saw. It is now 50 years later and I have seen many, many worm drive saws, but never one with the blade on the right side of the saw. Why?? I have asked many knowledgeable people over the years and have never gotten more than an "I don't know." Anybody got any ideas.
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
I am by far not a knowledgable person, but I would venture to guess it has to do with the worm drive mechanism. In order for the blade to turn in a counter clockwise direction it has to be oriented on the left of the worm drive "gear". Other than that I don't know. I am very interested in hearing replies from others. I have always prefered a worm drive saw over a regular one. Worm drive saws may have the blade on the left because according to my quick research that makes it the best to see the cut for right handed folks.
Dave:)
 
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D L Ames

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D L Ames
PC makes a 4-1/2" worm drive trim saw with the blade on the right. I own two of the 7-1/4" Skil worm drive saw with the blade on the left and love them except for the weight. I wish I could find a small trim saw like this one but with the blade on the left.

D L

B0000222WY.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1112649073_.jpg
 

NCPete

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Pete Davio
Magnesium worm drive saws aren't that much lighter, either. The one DL shows above got a lot of use on flooring repair jobs. Enough torque to power through oak and maple floors, and easy enough to finess through laminate repairs. I wish I had one in my tool box now, but I'll make do with the 6.5" 18 volt saw for any repairs I may be called upon for. (unlikely, as I haven't spoken with my old crew in over two years :-() DeWalt has a hypoid drive saw that I like, too. Nice power, and little less weighty than the Skil type worm drives.
 

Mark Anderson

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Mark
in many parts of the country these are very popular in the carpentry trade. there seems to be a recent influx of west coasters around here, and thier first coment when seeing a regulare skill saw (non worm drive) is "how do you see the blade".

with a worm drive a typical right hand person can see the blade and where it is cutting.

worm drves also seam to have more power dew to the gear reduction in the head

but one handy thing about having a worm drive handy is that it is posible to bevel a cut in the opisite direction as a regular skill saw

my only complaint on a worm drive is that when starting up the tork from the motor will twist you wrist, after 20 years in the trade i have carple tunel in too many joints from repetative motions. one day cutting with one of these and i'm an advile junkie for a week
 

willsiler

New User
WILL
Yes, it is convenient having the blade on the left side, but that is why regular saws have the blade on the right. The users fingers (unless you are left handed) are on the same side as the blade--not a very good place to be. The non worm drive saws have the blade on the left (in most cases) to get it away from mine and your fingers. Safety!! Makes sense to me.
 

Ozzie-x

New User
Randy
I've used several worm drive saws over the years (but never owned one), and now that you mention it, all of them had blades on the left. Some of the other good responses may hit the reason. Several of the "regular" circular saw mfgrs offer in left hand versions.

DL, Makita has a 5 1/2" trim saw that may be exactly what you're looking for. It has a left hand blade, ball bearing drive, plenty of power, smooth as silk, comes with a nice carbide blade, very light and handy to use. They're not cheap, I got mine on clearance at Lowes and it was still ~$115, I think it was regularly ~$160. It's a pleasure to use and perfect for cutting sheet goods and 1 by's. Max depth of cut is about 1 1/4", so it's not suitable for framing. My regular 7 1/2" saw gave up the ghost and I replaced it with a Makita 7 1/2" and it's also very smooth and a pleasure to use.
 

D L Ames

New User
D L Ames
Thanks Randy, I will check on the Makita trim saw. I mostly just use it for rough sizes sheet goods and rough lumber and hate lugging the Skil around just for a couple of cuts.

D L
 
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