May 15, 2021
You may shrug it off as non-important, but one essential aspect of circular saw maintenance is its proper storage. Of course, it is a fact that a circular saw is a power tool characterized by toughness and durability. Nevertheless, it is still susceptible to the effects of external factors like moisture. Thus, you should keep it inside its case when not in use. If it doesn’t have a case, you should keep it in a dry and clean storage area.
Besides the proper storage of your circular saw, you should also exert extra effort in storing its blades. You can’t just leave the blades lying around, exposed to the vicissitudes of weather and environment. So, if its case has pockets for blades, you should store its blades inside those pockets. Moreover, you can make a storage provision for your blades near your workbench for easy access and proper storage.
Factors You Should Consider When Storing Your Circular Saw
Like anything often used, the circular saw and its blades are subject to wear and tear. So, when storing a circular saw, it will be useful to bear in mind the following factors to ensure that you have stored your circular saw correctly:
Level of Protection
As a professional woodworker, you should be investing in high-quality blades and saws to get optimum performance and durability from your power tools. Thus, when choosing a place to store your circular saws, you should select an area that offers maximum protection to your power tools.
It will be useful to keep your saws and blades away from the harsh elements of the environment. Too much moisture and dust can damage and dull your equipment. Store your blades in a separate storage area after using them to keep them in top-notch condition. Make sure that the place is dry and moisture-free.
Accessibility
You may opt for storing the blades of your circular saws in an area away from your workbench. Yet, it will also be best to consider the accessibility of those blades when you are working with your circular saw. For example, you can store your blades inside a pull-out drawer of your worktable. In this way, you can access them quickly when needed. You can also store them in a magazine-style rack for easy access.
Usability & Organizable
When looking for a place to store your circular saw blades, it will also help if you find a place where you can arrange the blades according to dimensions and size. More often, you will have dozens of blades in your workshop with varying sizes. So, the place where you will store these blades should also allow you to make a quick inventory of your entire arsenals from the largest to the smallest blades.
Useful Ideas for Circular Saw Blade Storages
The more you organize your workshop tools and accessories, the better it will be for your woodworking jobs. If you’re looking for better ways to organize your different blades, you can check out the following useful methods for organizing your circular saw blades:
Pull-out Drawer
One great option for storing your circular saw blades is to have a pull-out drawer into your worktable. This pull-out drawer takes only a little space, while allowing you to gain access to the needed blades while working with your circular saw.
Magazine-style Storage Rack
You can make a rectangular wooden frame that you can mount onto the wall of your workshop. It should have slightly slanted slots just like those you would see in a magazine-style rack. Such a setup for storing blades is perfect if you have a smaller collection of saw blades.
Knife Block
You can also create a knife block setup for your blades. This setup is similar to the woodblock setup you use for storing your knives. It should be robust and sturdy enough to keep your heavy blades.
French Cleat Blade Storage
The French cleat blade storage consists of a rack that can hold everything from your bandsaw blades to circular saw blades. It is an easy and fun project to do.
Slide-out “CD-style Box
This setup is comparable to the storage system that you would use for keeping your compact disks. This setup completely hides your saw blades while keeping them accessible and organized.
Caveats You Should Bear in Mind
Aside from the tips mentioned above on how to take care of your circular saws and blades, you should also be cognizant of the following caveats when storing your blades and circular saw:
Blade Blunders
The blade is a crucial component of the circular saw. It is that component that makes the circular saw powerful. Yet, since it is the primary component of circular saw that cuts, it is susceptible to damages like chipping, rusting, and rubbing.
Chipping happens when a blade rub against another blade. You can prevent chipping by placing blades in-between heavy cardboards or two plywood pieces. Chipping also can happen when you position the blades on rough surfaces like steel and cement. It can make blades dull.
Thus, when setting down your blades, ensure that you put them on a plastic or plywood surface. Moreover, don’t place the saw on a hard surface when the blade is attached to it to avoid damage to the blade.
When storing blades, make sure that you hang them, keeping them on a pegboard or inside a box or drawer to ensure that they do not chip. Another thing is you should not let water or moisture get into your blades. You should instead keep your blades dry, clean, and moisture-free.
Don’t Let Unauthorized Persons Tinker with Your Tools.
Once you appropriately store your saw blades, you can prevent unauthorized persons from playing or tinkering with your blades. So, it is a good idea to keep your blades up high, in a storage place beyond the reach of your children.
If you can make your workshop inaccessible to others, you can keep your children from entering your workshop. Moreover, don’t let anyone operate your power tools.
If ever someone wants to learn how to handle your circular saw, you should supervise that person. You should make sure that no unqualified person uses your circular saw. Proper storage, of course, is one of the best ways to keep an unauthorized person from using your circular saw.
Conclusion
As a woodworker, you should take pride in your collection of power tools and accessories because these tools and accessories make your life as a woodworker easy. Your circular saws, for example, are not cheap, and without maintenance and proper storage, they will soon cave in to wear and tear. For this reason, you should take care of them.
Remember that proper usage, storage, and handling are keys to their consistent performance. Moisture can corrode their parts and their blades. Chipping can also reduce their efficiency. Hence, you should store them in a dry and clean place. Remember that your circular saws and blades will provide you with more efficiency and a longer life-span with proper care.
Jason is a 40-year-old woodworker, carpenter and author who have been involved in the woodworking and woodcraft industry with 17 years of experience. He is expertise in technical aspects, woodcraft and furniture building projects.