In the Jan 2005 issue of Fine Homebuilding, all the saws tested were blade right. The authors were concerned with line of sight to the blade, as am I, and noted that some of the saws tested were poor in that respect.
As a right handed person, I question why blade-left saws were not reviewed. The ability to see the blade when on the left side of the saw should be much better than a blade-right saw. However, blade-right saws seem to be much more common. Is there a reason for this or should most of us switch to blade-left saws? Is saw stability an issue? What am I missing?
Edited 1/10/2005 7:57 pm ET by Andy
Replies
LMAO
Andy,
Please do a search of blade right and left at the bottom of the screen, this question comes up 2 times a month, you will find more info than you want.
There are a ton of issues, safety, and you should be watching the guide not the blade anyway, although that isnt always the case.
-zen
Thanks. After reading a lot of the comments and knowing my personal work methods, I am going to continue using the blade right saw for three reasons:
1. I draw an offset line and use a right angle to guide the saw. I don't look at the blade.
2. The saw is supported better when, of course, the cut off is to the right.
3. My body parts are further from the blade. Mistakes happen.
I'm not a production carpenter and speed of work is not an issue.
Looking at the blade , imo, always increases risk. On my table saw, I have an overhead guard made of Al so, once I never see the blade. I just measure and cut.
good job!
-zen