Originally Posted by
Tom M King
I'm thinking since so many say they've had various troubles with using a circular saw and a shop made guide is that the problem may be the saw you're using. I use very smooth running pro saws mostly.
You're right Tom. I learned this back in the 70s when I bought my first safety speed cut panel Saw. It cut really straight and chip free. It had a high quality skill saw with good bearings. When you try to wobble the blade with your fingers there was no play at the bearing. I had a cheap saw that I used for rough cutting. That one if you wobbled the blade you could tell there was a lot of play in the bearings. Didn't matter for rough cuts on that saw.
After I retired from cabinet making I built a hobby woodworking shop around 1999. I made a vertical panel saw. My search started for a circular saw that didn't have blade wobble at the bearing. I visited several stores and surprisingly All the saws even the expensive ones had too much blade wobble. Believe it or not my local Walmart stocked a saw that had no blade wobble. I think it's a black and Decker. That homemade panel saw has cut over 300 4 by 8 sheets Perfectly square and chip free!
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
- Henry Ford