Total control

There’s no need to be intimidated by all the levers and guides on your saw’s baseplate – as soon as you learn what they all do, you’ll be rocking them like a pro!

The cut-depth control moves the baseplate higher or lower relative to the body of the saw, allowing a greater or lesser section of the blade to penetrate the piece that you’re cutting.

Andrew Murray at Ozito says to set the depth so one or two teeth on the blade will cut through the other side of your timber. “This will ensure the maximum amount of teeth on the blade are inside your cut while cutting, and give you the result and finish you will be most happy with.”

The tilt control allows you to make bevelled cuts at angles up to 45° off the vertical. This lets you cut mitred edges on framing or cladding, as well as creating specialised wall fixings called split battens.

Your saw will also come with an accessory called a rip fence. “A rip cut is a cut you make that is long and straight, often along the grain of a length of timber,” says Andrew. “It is not limited to a circular saw, however, it is a very common application for this particular tool.” The rip fence locks into the baseplate of your saw, and can be adjusted to guide the blade parallel with the edge of the material it is cutting.

“A rip fence makes it easy to cut long, straight lengths repeatedly, and create the widths of timber or other timber-like material (such as plywood) you need for your project,” says Andrew.

ABOVE Ryobi ‘ONE+’

18V HP brushless circular saw, $299/ skin only (battery and charger sold separately), I/N: 0291681.

Ozito ‘PXC’ 18V 165mm circular saw, $139/skin only, I/N: 0033141. Some products are not available at all Bunnings stores, but may be ordered.