Circular with your own hands: how to assemble the device correctly
Circular with your own hands: how to assemble a functional device correctly
“I have long dreamed of having a circular at home …” – many posts in social networks begin with these or similar words. And then there is information about how the circular was made with your own hands. Quite a logical sequence of actions. A skilled person who is ready to use such a tool on his own is able to assemble it. How to do this is in the materials of this article.
A hand-made saw has a number of advantages
Scope of application of a homemade circular saw
In the process of building a new house, when wood material is used in large quantities, a homemade circular will not be enough. And the functionality of such a device will need a wider one. But when performing repairs, a home circular machine becomes an indispensable technical assistant.
A circular saw made with your own hands allows you to perform safe work and speed up the construction process
Quite often, the dimensions of the wooden elements are determined directly during the execution of the work. The ability to independently provide the process with the necessary materials significantly saves money and time. And often the quality of wooden blanks is guaranteed to be higher.
On a homemade home circular, you can dissolve the boards into bars, make slats, slats, cut off the blanks, cut the slabs of wood materials into fragments of the required sizes.
Using a homemade circular, you can make such types of furniture as a table, shelf, shelving. Such a stationary home tool is applicable when creating wooden sports equipment, making containers, etc.
When installing a disk with certain technical characteristics on a saw machine, the mechanism can be used as a metal circular. It is allowed to cut soft aluminum and sheets of other types of metal, the thickness of which does not exceed 2 mm. When working with thicker material, the mechanism will overheat, provoking an automatic shutdown.
For the preparation of firewood and simple cutting of pieces of wood, a firmly fixed table with a slot for a saw is enough
How to make a circular with your own hands: preparatory stages of work
Before you put an end to the question of the expediency of self-manufacturing circulars, you need to get acquainted with several similar devices firsthand, watch videos on the Internet. During observations and views, special attention should be paid to the main elements, details, methods of fastening. To understand how to make a circular, you need at least theoretical knowledge.
The manufacturing process can be implemented in two ways:
- a set of elements of the future design is available, it is only necessary to perform the assembly;
- the components of the circular must be purchased.
In the case of the latter option, the task becomes somewhat more complicated, since parts and mechanisms are bought most often in different places, but they must match the technical and functional characteristics.
The scheme of making circulars with your own hands
Useful advice! It is necessary to purchase elements for the future design of the circular only after a detailed drawing of the installation has been developed.
Without a drawing, it is impossible to take into account the dimensions of the elements and pick up a complete set. Quite often, this stage (drawing work) is omitted by home craftsmen due to the lack of skill to perform. It is not worth doing this, since it is quite enough to draw a saw. At a minimum, this will allow you to visualize the future unit. It is extremely important to imagine what will happen in the end.
Only after a drawing or sketch and all the necessary elements are available, you can proceed directly to the assembly process.
Structural elements of a self-made sawing machine on wood
To make a stationary machine for sawing materials at home, first of all you need to know what structural elements it consists of. Whether it is a machine made with your own hands from a manual circular, a grinder or a tool assembled from disparate elements, the set of basic parts is the same.
The surface of the table must be made smooth, for a better product at the output
The main elements of stationary circular installations are:
Useful advice! If the design is supposed to be prefabricated, then when creating a circular with your own hands, the engine from the washing machine will be the most successful option.
There must be movable parts of the drives in the design of the circular, and a button must be installed in the power supply circuit to stop the engine in emergency situations.
Circulars of any fixed type consist of the main parts
Determining the parameters of a self-made circular at home
The primary task is to choose the power of the future stationary circular. Usually, devices with a power of up to 850 watts are recommended for home use. If it is not supposed to carry out repair work, but to build, for example, a bathhouse or a cottage, as a result of which it will be necessary to cut a lot of material, then you can use a 1250 Watt engine. A device with a higher index is not recommended, since such powerful circulars require not only a solid stand-table, but also fixing the latter to the floor by fastening or concreting.
An important characteristic is the depth of sawing. In home devices, it should not exceed 8 cm. In fact, this indicator is quite enough for sawing boards, plywood or wood slabs.
When making a mini-circular or a full-scale sawing structure with your own hands, you should definitely take into account the rotation frequency. If it is supposed to simply cut boards for the manufacture of certain wooden elements, then you can limit yourself to an engine with a low or medium frequency. If you need perfectly smooth and clean cuts, it is better to use a high-speed motor. The optimal indicator for a home power tool is the frequency of 4500 rpm.
For the circular, you can use the engine from the washing machine
Be sure to take into account the height at which the start button will be located. The place of its placement should be convenient for clicking.
Important! The control panel of a homemade circular saw must be accessible.
Manual circular as the basis of a homemade design
One of the most popular tools on the basis of which homemade saw structures are created at home is a circular saw (manual circular saw). This electromechanism uses a round disk to make direct cuts on wood materials, as well as on soft and thin metal. The tool is quite simple, has all the basic elements available that allow you to make a circular saw with your own hands.
The circular saw consists of the following parts:
- electric motor;
- one or two handles;
- protective cover;
Direct cuts are made on wood materials, as well as on soft and thin metal with a manual circular
- holding platform (for the possibility of setting the disk);
- a wedging knife (prevents the saw blade from getting stuck in the wood).
Manual circulars stand out among other similar tools and some technical features. For example, the depth and angle of the cut can be changed directly during operation. Special features are provided by submersible saws. They can perform isolated fragmentary cuts of the required size.
The accuracy and quality of manual circular sawing depend on the number of teeth on the disc and on the angle of their sharpening. With a large number of teeth, the quality is higher, but the productivity is somewhat reduced.
When making a circular with your own hands from a manual circular saw, you need to pay special attention to the engine power. This is very important when intending to perform significant amounts of work. The total weight of the saw also matters. Lightweight models are suitable for occasional sawing.
The depth and angle of the cut can be changed directly during the operation of the circular
Stationary circular with your own hands from a manual circular
The operational capabilities of a manual circular saw are significantly increased if it turns into a stationary tool. To understand how to make a stationary one from a manual circular, it is first of all necessary to understand the methods of rigid fastening of the power tool.
As a stand, you can use trestles made of metal or wood. It can be either one or two products (if the dimensions are small), interconnected by boards with a thickness of at least 50 mm or bars with a similar cross-section. Next, you need to attach a tabletop to the top of the stand, which will act as a bed.
For these purposes, it is convenient to use thick plywood (at least 10-12 mm) or two sheets of thinner material joined together, which together will give the same thickness. Canvases made of chipboard or metal are also suitable. If the metal is thin, it is better to attach it to a wooden base.
The hand saw is installed from below. Previously, the table top is made necessary for the extension of the disk washed down.
To the top of the stand, you need to attach a countertop that will act as a bed
Important! It is necessary to fix the tool so that the saw blade is located strictly parallel to the lines of the saw, that is, at the same distance from the sides. Otherwise, it will not be possible to properly install additional devices and achieve high-quality sawing.
Using the above technical methods, you can make a circular saw from a grinder. But this manual power tool has certain differences, therefore a slightly different assembly scheme will be required.
Related article:
Wood milling machine, its characteristics. How to choose a tool
Existing types of structures, classification of tools based on functionality, prices. Tips for choosing equipment.
Features of assembling a circular with your own hands from a grinder
A circular saw is not found in every home workshop, but almost any owner who performs certain work in the household with his own hands has a grinder. To create a stationary saw installation, you will also need a workbench or a special table, the tool will be attached from below, like a circular saw.
Fastening to the grinder is performed using bolts
But then the assembly process is somewhat more complicated. To make a circular with your own hands from a grinder, as practice shows, you need to think carefully about the option of attaching a hand tool to the frame. This could be the following way:
The handle can be made of a metal tube or rod. The workpiece needs to be shaped into a bracket. In those places with which it will be attached to the gearbox, it is also necessary to make holes. A big and serious help for making a circular from a grinder with your own hands – drawings. They will allow you to correctly calculate the size and number of elements, to avoid errors in the calculation of attachment points. If it is difficult to perform the scheme of the future unit yourself, you can use the ready-made drawings offered on the Internet.
To make a circular grinder out of a grinder, it is necessary to think carefully about the option of attaching the tool to the bed
Possible variants of small, handmade circular saws
Any stationary circular, even homemade, requires a fairly spacious workshop. The space should allow not only to install the unit itself, but also to place the blanks intended for cutting in the desired position. If the task is not to dissolve large-sized wood, but simply, if necessary, you need to make a rail or a bar yourself for furniture repair, etc., it would be more rational to get a desktop circular mini-saw.
Such a device can be made with your own hands, using basically the same principles as when creating stationary machines from a grinder or a circular saw. Only the stand will not be a trestle, the support of which is the floor, but a frame on which a small table with a fixed hand tool is installed.
Useful advice! When performing a circular of this type, it is important to take into account the overall height of the structure, that is, the plane on which the material intended for sawing will be located. Overstating or understating the level will cause significant inconvenience.
The miniature machine is more functional and safe to use
If you need to create a circular mini-saw with your own hands to make blanks of very small sizes (aircraft, ship modeling), you can assemble the tool by using a PVC pipe as a housing and borrowing an engine from children’s toys. In such a pipe, it is easy to make a hole for the shaft. As a connecting material, you can use a glue gun. Such a circular can be powered both from the mains and from a battery. To ensure the autonomy of operation, it is necessary to provide a special compartment for batteries in the case.
Making a carriage for a circular with your own hands
The functionality and high-quality operation of a stationary circular is largely influenced by the availability of devices. One of these is the carriage. It is absolutely not difficult to perform it at home, but the implementation of cutting and sawing off the material at an angle of 45 ° will be greatly simplified.
You can make this device for a circular from a sheet of plywood as follows:
- plywood is cut out with a size slightly wider than the circular table;
The carriage for the circular can be made with your own hands
- in the lower part, guide bars are attached to it with glue or screws, the distance between which should be equal to the width of the table;
- from above, in a similar way, with the use of screws or glue, thrust bars are fixed.
With the help of guides, the carriage is fed along the table to the saw blade, which makes a through cut on the device. The height of the sides, which should be greater than the protruding saw blade, allows you to maintain the integrity and rigidity of the carriage. If the task is to cut at an angle of 45 °, it is necessary to use an additional bar, which in this device is a removable element. Sawing is performed by pressing the workpiece against an angled bar.
In order for the plywood surface of the carriage to be easily cleaned from sawing waste, it needs to be varnished in several layers.
The plywood should be slightly wider in size than the circular table
How to make a shaft for a circular with your own hands
In the general design of the circular, the shaft is the main element forming the machine as a whole. To make it, you will need a steel round stone of the 45 brand. That’s just to make this important detail yourself will only work if you have your own lathe or access to it is possible. The diameter of the workpiece must correspond to the dimensions of the saw blades that are supposed to be used.
The main standard sizes of the landing hole of the disks:
- 16 mm;
- 20 mm;
- 22 mm;
- 30 m;
- 32 mm;
- 50 mm.
From the above indicators, the shaft size for the circular is selected.
For the manufacture of the shaft, you will need a steel round bar of the 45 brand
The most common is the hole diameter of 32 mm. It is such a landing nest that disks with different sizes of external diameter have. Alternatively, you can make a thinner shaft to be able to perform “jewelry” work. Then an adapter will be used to use large disks. To complicate the design of a home circular in this way is only necessary in cases when it will be used by a professional.
Saw blades are installed between two flanges and pressed with a nut, which is screwed onto a thread made on the edge of the working surface of the shaft.
Important! The thread should be left. During the inevitable jerk when starting the circulator, the nut in this position will tighten, and not vice versa.
The seats for the bearings are determined taking into account the dimensions of the latter. The largest diameter is the middle part of the shaft. If the indicator is significant, additional load on the belt will be created during rotation. Drilling will help to get rid of the problem, which will facilitate the heavy part of the shaft.
The diameter of the workpiece must correspond to the size of the saw blades
Which discs should be used for circulars
The performance and quality of work largely depends on a properly selected disc for a self-made circular from a grinder, a hand saw or assembled from separate mechanisms. It should be remembered that discs differ in wood and metal. Even if thin, soft aluminum is being sawed, the disc must be installed accordingly. Metal cutting circles have smaller teeth. There are universal versions of discs that are applicable to work with both wood and metal.
Discs designed for longitudinal and transverse sawing of wood also have differences. Longitudinal sawing is carried out with a cutting nozzle with rare large teeth. But the transverse cutting will be of higher quality in the case of using discs with small, frequent teeth.
As for the material and method of manufacturing discs, they can be monolithic and carbide. Monolithic ones are made of a single piece of high-carbon steel. Such nozzles are inexpensive, but at the same time have a significant drawback: they quickly become dull and need sharpening and wiring.
Discs for circulars can be made of wood and metal
Carbide discs are made of tool steel with cobalt and tungsten solders. They are more wear-resistant, but the price of such products is much higher.
The outer diameter of the discs for a homemade circular is limited by the size of the protective casing. The standard thickness of the discs is 3.2 mm. There are thinner and thicker saw circles. Thin ones are used while working with the wood of valuable tree species to perform a clean cut. For rougher work, thick disks are recommended.
Parallel stop for a circular with your own hands
A parallel stop is a mandatory device on a circular table, it is almost impossible to make an even cut without it. You can make it yourself as follows:
The parallel stop for the circular can be made independently
Important! The width of the channel should be such that the side of the T-shaped element fits tightly into it.
It is convenient to use the original slots to fix the stop of a homemade circular made with your own hands. Threaded bolts, nuts and wooden washers are suitable as a locking mechanism, you will need a hole in the lower plane of the stop. Tightening the bolt contributes to a reliable clamping of the stop to the table top. This design allows you to quickly and easily set the required dimensions of the cuts.
A table for a circular with your own hands (with drawings)
This section offers a model of a universal table on which you can place a circular having any technical parameters and dimensions. For the manufacture of the structure, the following materials will be needed:
- a sheet of plywood, preferably with a laminated top coat, at least 10 mm thick and 800×800 mm in size;
- 4 sheets of chipboard with a thickness of 16 mm (400×784 mm);
- bars 50×50 mm;
- bolts and screws.
To make a homemade circular saw and a table, drawings will be required
The production of a table for a circular can be carried out in the following sequence:
It is not difficult to find a drawing of such a design on the Internet, which will greatly simplify the manufacture. You can upgrade the above version of the circular table with your own hands by replacing the bars with a metal corner or by making a so-called box of boards. It’s a good idea to make a shelf in the lower part of the structure.
Making a face from a circular with your own hands
Laying of a wooden floor, replacement of platbands, covering of a facade with a plank, lining, creation of elements of landscape design require the presence of a dimensional board. The process of preparing such a board is called facing. That is, the ends of the material are cut off in order to obtain the desired size of the workpiece and make the cuts aesthetic.
The miter, made by own hands, makes the work faster and more economical
To make a miter from a manual circular with your own hands, you will need improvised material and a used tool. The standard characteristics that the future miter should have, such as:
- the maximum length of the cut is 350 mm;
- the optimal engine power is 4500 rpm.;
- insignificant weight.
The upper part of the power tool is attached to the pin using a large bearing – 150 mm (it will not be difficult to purchase on the market.) Ears are attached to the bearing from the outside. They are used to attach the tool to the surface of the frame using M6 screws.
The main devices for circulars with their own hands are automobile shock absorbers (they are convenient to use as a broach), a soft start button and additional protection that is attached to the power tool and the frame.
The upper part of the end face is attached to the pin using a bearing
Important! Before assembling the structure, the shock absorbers must be disassembled, oil drained from them and air holes made.
The advantages of a homemade miter saw include the following:
Among the significant disadvantages, it is worth highlighting the high noise. It is almost impossible to eliminate this drawback. In addition, it is necessary to do a trial washing down (selection and fixation of traction) in order to ensure a good quality of the subsequent work.
Circular with your own hands: safety of use
If we take into account how much the circular costs (from 16,000 rubles – the most modest model), and compare the price with the cost of self-production (this is 60-90% less), then the difference turns out to be significant. But no savings will be justified in the case when the safety of work is not ensured.
Before starting work on the circular it is necessary to wear glasses and gloves
In order to avoid traumatic situations, it is worth following the following recommendations:
- do not use wood with metal inclusions (nails, corners, bolts, etc.) as raw materials.;
- sawing boards larger than 200 cm should be carried out by two people;
- working on a circular, you can not make sudden movements;
- before starting work, it is necessary to wear glasses and gloves;
- wood waste from the surface of the circular should be removed, as they can cause a short circuit.
It is strictly forbidden to work on a homemade circular machine:
- if the guide device is not made;
- the casing is missing;
- there are no fuses delaying fingers;
- the wedging knife is higher than the saw blade.
To avoid traumatic situations when working with a circular, it is worth adhering to safety precautions
A good tool gives you the opportunity to enjoy your work. And the result pleases with a high level of quality. Making the tool with your own hands will allow you to get the desired parameters and the necessary operational characteristics. It is impossible to limit oneself to superficial knowledge in any kind of activity, especially in the technical direction. It is worth taking up the self-assembly of the circular only after careful theoretical preparation and a full understanding of the practical part of the process.