Left handed circular saws

Two types of circular saws

• Right handed circular saw -  blade on right side
• Left handed circular saw - blade on left side

Bosch	Bosch CS5	Bosch CS10
Makita	Makita 5377MG Magnesium	Makita 5007MGA Magnesium
Dewalt	Dewalt DC390B	Dewalt DWE575SB
Milwaukee	Milwaukee 6391-21	Milwaukee 6390-20

I suggest to check reviews inside.

Typical use of circular saws is when blade goes to side of your body. Righty holds main grip with right hand, aux grip with left and blade goes to right side. Opposite, lefties holds main grip with left hand, aux grip with right and blade goes to left side.

Between arms

So what about other method? How about holding right bladed saw's main grip with left hand and left bladed saw's main grip with right?

You shouldn't cross your amrs while holding circular saw. On forums topic here. ToolGuyd explains how it happens:

With a right-hand saw, your right hand is on the main grip, left hand on the aux grip, and blade is positioned to the right of all that. It's similar with a left-hand saw.

But when a righty uses a left-handed saw, the right hand is on the main grip, left hand is on the aux handle, and your left arm crosses over the blade. The blade is aligned between your right hand and your body. Yes, the cut line is more visible, but it places the blade inside your arms, rather than outside.

In such a position, if your left hand holds a workpiece and your right holds the main grip, you could in theory accidentally put the blade in contact with your left hand.

Switching arms

The Burb Billy in this video shows and shares his experience switching - arms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayZcdL5tLQw

From his explanation the change has advantages:

• You don't need to lean over
• You see blade and cutting mark so you able to make perfect cut

On other side appears disadvantages:

• In this position you could in theory accidentally put the blade in contact with your hand ( as ToolGuyd says ).
• Sawdust is thrown all over you, compared to having it on side, where it can be directed away more efficiently.

I have contacted author to know how he feels after 3 years experience of using saw that way and here his reply:

Being in the trades for years, safety is a huge thing for me, being safe has allowed me to keep all my fingers on my hands and my eyes still work as they were intended to. That said, when I use a saw I know that I need to keep my hands away from the blade. I would be more concerned about someone cutting a leg because they propped a board on their knee and then tried to cut it, or bringing their body around the saw to try and see the cut and getting themselves off balance right before the saw decides to kickback.

I did a video a few years ago about saw horses and covered some of the safety tips I have developed over the years. Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3J0AzDRwDM

In my opinion, being able to comfortably see the blade far outweighs any safety gains or saw dust concerns. The saw dust blowback was never really that bad for me.

Some carpenters like using the right handed saws and I grew up with that being the only saw around. But I am always looking for ways to improve my skill set and make my job easier. I feel that I found that in the left handed saw and have used it for years now with zero safety issues.

Safety

Very good safety video guide can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRau7aaR2c4 .