Right hand blade vs Left hand blade

I like my Ryobi brushless circular saw (model P508) however, the blade is on the left and I prefer a saw with the blade on the right. I found out from a viewer that in other countries Ryobi makes a saw with the blade on the right (model R18CS7-0). I found the website of a Germany based country that ships internationally so I ordered one. This video is just a quick comparison of the two saws, I will do a tear down and performance tests in a later video.
If you want to help me make videos visit.
/ diyvt

[@peterbarlow8912]

The dust port and the track groove in the bottom are definitely an upgrade that’s reflected in the price. Not many cordless right cut saws. Put the source in the description. Have a Ryobi 5 1/2 left cut with its limited depth of cut.

[@craftsmantrucker6867]

I'm a Left Handed Carpenter and I live in Texas state I prefer the blade left side winder or some other veteran carpenters tend to call it Southpaw it works for me great and much better than the average right handed people. As a Left handed carpenter blade left sidewinder saw gives me more safeties and comfortability while utilizing the tool and I can still cut the materials that I'm cutting much more better and accurate than the right handed ones. That's why the Corded SKIL Southpaw Sidewinder Circular Saw and my DeWalt Corded Worm Drive saw are the ones that I use in my everyday Jobsite.

[@unclefester4626]

I think im using circular saws all wrong. I'm a "forced into being a right handed" person by early teachers. Sometimes functionally ambidextrous sometimes just awkward. But when im using a circ saw i prefer left blade and operating with the right hand so i can see the blade. Cutting 2x4 or 2x6 i use a large speed square as a saw guide with the left hand. I'm convinced that's 110% wrong? I allways get a full dose of sawdust standing to the left of a left blade saw. The guide is up against the narrow part of the saw base. Not right or as safe i think? And as a "forced" righty pushing the saw i have a peculiar habbit of attempting to lift the right side of the saw up off the wood while attempting to make sure the saw is perfectly up against the guide while cutting. I think i should be pushing the saw with the left, holding the guide with the right while standing to the right of the saw. I think that is safer but i cant see the darn blade... What's your take on proper circ saw use?

[@craftsmantrucker6867]

@@unclefester4626 well there's no proper circular saw to me! 😁 I'm a Left Handed and I can use everything that are meant for right handed people. I can always adapt, improvise and overcome. I'm ambidextrous as well. I can strike and sink 3-1/2 common nail is just 1 or 2 hits both Left and Right hand. Same thing with circular saw.

[@unclefester4626]

@@craftsmantrucker6867 your lucky then....👍

[@GKALLIO]

Basically, if you're right-handed you want a right-side blade for cutoff purposes (2x4, 2x6, etc.) and a left-side blade for ripping/trimming large panels. I don't use a circular saw for cutoff (I have a chop saw & radial arm saw), so I would prefer a left-side blade in general. If you have a plunge track saw, the left-side blade is even more useful for righties even though 99% of all track saws are right-bladed. Go figure.

[@brucefox6580]

I'm in Australia and today I bought the larger saw (7-1/4") as it has the right hand blade (the smaller 6-1/2" has a left hand blade here). I want it for my Kreg Accu-Cut rail as I prefer cutting on the right hand side. :)

[@diyVT]

How well does the Accu-Cut work? I have wanted to get a track saw but a festool is a bit to expensive. It's interesting what saws Ryobi picks to sell were.

[@brucefox6580]

@@diyVT I have been building a workbench with storage and used the Accu_cut and a large powered circ saw, great results. I bought the Ryobi One+ brushless as replacement as it is lighter and no cord... I tried it out today with marginal success but I think that is my fault because I normally cut on the floor over the cut, but today I was leaning in from the side. I hope to cut a large sheet (2400x1200mm) tomorrow :)

[@jesperhaig5586]

Cut the board from the other side and the large pice of the foot will be on the board.

[@diyVT]

How do you hold the board and the saw without using the saw with your left hand? Yes if you have the board you are cutting secured to a bench you can cut from the side that lets you keep the wide part of the shoe on the board. However you still can't use a speed square or other cutting guide unless you hold the saw with your left hand or use have the narrow part of the shoe on the board.

[@jesperhaig5586]

You should always secure your board especially when trying to make a precise cut and if you are using speed square tells me it can be cut on a chop saw.

[@diyVT]

My dad and I have a Woodmizer saw mill so I deal with rough cut lumber a lot. Both end of the board need to be squared before use. One end gets just cut square using a speed square as a guide. Then you measure the length, mark and draw a line. Your speed square is already out to draw the line so why not use it as a cutting guide? As far as securing the board before you cut it nobody ever secures a board when cutting long boards on saw horses, the boards are stable enough it's not a problem. Chop saws are good for cutting short pieces and when you need precise or complicated angles. For something like cutting studs to length they are way more trouble than they are worth. If the board you are cutting weights significantly more than your circular saw and is more awkward to carry why would you ever want to pick up that board and move it around and fight to get it balanced and aligned on a chop saw instead of just using a hand held circular saw?

[@UGPepe]

Larry Hawn ain't usin' no silly sidewinder

[@kindagitnrdoneinvermont6057]

Interesting info, thanks

[@lastmanstanding1954]

i am right-handed and like the blade on the left so i can see what i am cutting===========if the blade is on the right-side i cant see my line and have to bend over the saw to see the line and thats a pain in the ass..............

[@diyVT]

It really depends on the saw, a nice right blade saw with let you see the line and where you are cutting without having to look on the other side. Some saws have a handle or something else blocking your view and are a pain.

[@sally6457]

In the scenario of cutting preformed edge, laminate worktops, both saws are very useful. And who has ever relied on the numbers on a circular saw depth gauge?

[@diyVT]

I use the depth numbers occasionally, mostly when I am cutting something up on sacrificial blocks. I don't want to cut too far into them so I roughly set the depth.

[@sally6457]

@@diyVT try holding the blade against the edge of the material your cutting to set the depth, The marks are based on the brand new cheap factory fitted blade. A combi square is useful for important depth controlled cuts, like making access panels in floorboards. 0.5mm or 200/1000" too deep could hit pipes or cables below.

[@AllenReinecke]

Interesting that Ryobi would do both designs. I have the LH dewalt and it is awkward when you want to hold a piece of wood and trim the end off! I have mainly Ryobi (for price] and some Dewalt cordless tools (for quality).

[@AllenReinecke]

It also sounded like the EU version had a faster brake (and a slower rotation?) and a vacuum port. Maybe some safety requirements over there. The US is more lax for such things. We are free to injure ourselves without government intervention! 😉

[@diyVT]

I know I went on a long rant about how right hand blade is better but I decided to edit it out. According to the specifications they spin at the same speed. In my internal review, (getting published Sunday) I found that my old LH saw was a little low on grease in the gearbox so I think that accounted for the difference in sound because after I put in a bit more they sound pretty much the same. I do wonder how well the vacuum port will work. I think most of the time it wouldn't be worth it because having it hooked to a vacuum kinda defeats the purpose of a cordless saw. But I suppose if you had to cut a board in a place where you really didn't want to make a mess it could be useful if it works. My dad is considering buying a Milwaukee 1/2 inch impact wrench, I have a older Ryobi one but it really isn't very powerful.

[@1992jamo]

Just out of interest. What makes it awkward? I've got a RH corded, and I find it such a pain because it's a lot more awkward to see the blade when you're a few cm from the end of your cut and the guide is over the end of the wood.

[@diyVT]

@@1992jamo a good saw with a right hand blade will have a small space in front of the motor that you can look past and see the left side of the blade as it's cutting. You just need to see where the teeth are cutting. As far as what makes a left bladed saw awkward, if you are cutting just a little bit off the board there's very little to stabilize the saw on the board. There's just a tiny strip of the shoe to the left of the blade. You could cut from the other side and leave the wider right side of the shoe on the board but then you can't hold the board steady with your left hand. You also can't have the wider part of the shoe on the board and use a cutting guide like a speed square.