How to use the Ryobi circular saw to cut 3cm oak?

[Meowmi]

Hi, I am trying to use an 18v Ryobi circular saw to cut pine, but every time I try it, my saw just stops. can someone please help me TAT, I'm new to using power tools. Thank you. 

[Jason]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Meowmi. We're pleased to have you join us. 

Good for you for learning how to use power tools for the first time.

Let me tag our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @EricL to share some advice with you. Other experienced woodworkers like @r23on, @Poppop, @JDE and @woodenwookie might also like to join in the discussion.

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @Meowmi 

Congratulations on your first foray into the power tool territory. It appears that you are cutting the timber along its length. This type of cut is called a rip cut, it's important to mark the timber with a pencil guide so that you can keep the saw straight and prevent the blade from wandering. If possible, I also suggest using the "T" guide that came with your saw. It's great way to guide your saw and keep your cut straight.

When doing a rip cut the cut timber behaves like a clamp and presses on to the saw blade as it travels into the timber. I suggest putting a wedge at the beginning of the cut so that it separates the cut pieces. The farther you go into the cut the larger the gap must be. This will stop the timber from pinching the blade and stopping your saw.     

It's also critical that the timber piece be on a flat surface or supported by a minimum of two sawhorses and securely clamped to the work surface. This will prevent the timber from moving and ruining your cut. 

My best advice is to allow your tool to cut the timber, don't force it into the timber, this tends to overheat the blade and motor.

Please make sure to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles, and a mask when working on your project.   

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[woodenwookie]

Also of importance is the amount of teeth on the saw blade.

Its tempting to go more teeth to give a nicer cut but this means having to go slower.

I think from memory most saws come with a general purpose blade which has around 28 teeth. That should be okay for the thickness of the board but as @EricL says, let the saw do the work.

Another tip that I would suggest it to lay a couple of boards the same size beside the one you’re cutting to make a flatter surface. It would stop the saw rocking which could also be contributing to your saw jamming.

[Poppop]

The other guys have given some great tips. All I can add is maybe rub some wax on the blade to reduce friction and lessen the chance of stalling the saw.(Make sure you  drop the battery out before you mess around with the blade)

   Slow and steady wins the race.

[Meowmi]

Thank you, Eric! I finished my job after your advice. Lol, it ended up not being too good because I did the wrong measures XD But thank you, at least I cut it

[Meowmi]

Thank you Woodenwokie! I will try more teeth blade next time XD. I burned the original blade actually TAT, and then I bought another 18 teeth blade from Bunnings

[Meowmi]

Thank you Poppop. I did 2cm first, then 3cm(／_＼). I'm super stupid, but thanks for your advice. 

[Meowmi]

Thank you Jason XD

[woodenwookie]

Oh, and one more thing I must tell you to check because it happened to me this weekend…

Make sure the blade is in the saw the correct way.

For some reason I’d put the blade of my rail saw around the wrong way after cleaning it and I couldn’t work out why the wood was smoking and the saw was taking so long to cut.

Saw cuts so much nicer after flipping the blade over. 😂😂😂