As most of the power tools are made in the US or Europe, their designs are entirely suitable, reasonable, and convenient for all of the users’ purposes.
A chop saw is made for woodworker or carpenters to bring them to job sites, so the manufacturer makes it easy and safe to transport. To keep the parts of the tool in the right position, there must be locks in some places.
This article will show you these locks and how to unlock a chop saw even you are a new user.
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How To Unlock A Chop Saw? ThreeLocks To Consider
Although this process is quick and easy, you will find it difficult at first if you haven’t got any guide from the owner of the saw or a woodworker. Once you are guided to unlock a chop saw, you will easily know how to deal with many different ones as they are made similarly.
Before you want to know how to release a lock of a chop saw, let’s find out what a lock looks like.
What does a lock look like?
A lock of a chop saw consists of a knob and a pin. The knob is at the end of the pin. Many models of chop saws allow you to push the knob to unlock a part of the tool. Otherwise, you have to rotate or pull it to adjust the lock of the machine.
In most chop saws, there is a lock at the blade, which operates as push/pull motion. Push and pull the knob to release or lock the blade of the saw. The exciting thing is that the blade will lift automatically after being released. And you don’t have to worry as there is a guard/cover of the blade, which makes it safe at any point.
Now you can imagine or even see the lock. Here we go into the main part: ways to unlock a chop saw.
Three locks to release a chop saw
1 – Angle locks
There are two locks for the angle of a saw, which are located on the front of the saw. For left-to-right rotating angle, we have a large, horizontal knurled knob; while the regular preset angles are locked by the lever under the knob. You may see the lever and the knob close to each other, but their locations are different in many models. However, once you know the operation of a chop saw, you will find out the respective way in others.
For side-to-side rotating blade, you will see a knurled knob to twist. Loosen the knob to unlock the blade, move it to the side and angle you’d like. When you want it to be fixed in a position, simply tighten the knob again.
2 – The rotation locks
Manufacturers design a chop saw with many preset angle locks. For blade, there is a long knob to release it for use and movement.
Meanwhile, we use a small lever to lock in a wide range of angles of the blade for transportation or cutting. To adjust between the preset lock angles, lower the lever and rotate it to a preset stop. Or simply release the lever to place the saw at your desired angle to cut.
3 – The bevel locks
There are differences of bevel angle locks among the chop saws as some have beveling features and some don’t. However, some chop saws capable of beveling often have a spring-loaded lever or a pin to keep bevel locked. To adjust the angle, push and hold the lever, move the bevel to the desired angle then release the lever.
The bevels also have many preset lock stops. The manufacturers make this because they know the most commonly used angles. However, you can custom your angle by releasing the lock mechanism over the angle you want.
By knowing these three locks above, you will be able to release most of the chop saws in the market.
Conclusion
Do you find these steps simple and easy?
After figuring about these locks, I could unlock even three kinds of chop saws in the job sites. I can do it, of course, you can do it, too. Above is my step-by-step guide on how to unlock a chop saw for beginners or new users. Please comment if you want to know more about these locks, or other kinds of chop saws.
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