Makita Circular Saw Review - 36 volt DUAL Battery XSH01Z DHS711Z

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It been many years since I used a cordless circular saw, I even remember the first one I ever used. I needed to cut a 12 inch strip off the long side of a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" inch plywood at a wood show. I had borrowed a saw that the vendor told me had a full charge and I remember hoping the saw would finish the cut for me as I edged closer and closer to the end of the plywood sheet. It did finish the cut, but only barely.
Roll forward some 15 plus years and wow, things have changed and now I get to a second chance to work with a cordless circular saw. One of the big differences in recent years is the Lithium batteries that are so much better in than the old NiCad batteries. More power, longer charge, quicker charges, no memory etc. Battery improvements along with all the other technological improvements have allowed manufacturers to create whole suites of top quality and top performing tools that will easily rival power and durability of corded tools.

When I first picked up and tried the Makita Cordless Circular saw, it struck me instantly just how much better this tool was than than the first generation of cordless circ saws. I was doing a test cut through construction 2x5 stud. The balance of the saw was comfortable, when I started it up, it didn't "jerk" in my hand as I started the cut and when cutting the wood, it didn't bog down, but powered through like any corded saw would do. On closer examination, here's some of the features I found ...

Woodworking Tips and Tricks: 5 Hacks for Clamps

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There are many innovations, modifications and ideas that people develop and employ to make woodworking easier, quicker and more accurate ... are are a few that I use from time to time ..

#1 Board Glue-up Alignments & #2 Clamping Extension

Often one of most frustrating parts of woodworking is gluing boards together. This is especially true if the boards are already planed to thickness and just need to be glued together. When we apply glue the boards tend to slip and slide and even using a biscuit joiner does not eliminate the problem because most biscuits fit loosely in the slots and this still allows the boards to slide up and down enough to come out alignment. One way of helping to combat this is using "U alingners". These are small "U" shaped, shop made clamp accessories the sit above and below the glue joints and help to align the boards on each side.

When I glue boards, I try to align the centers, which often means the ends are out alignment and these little clamping accessories can help bring those board ends back into alignment with one another. The nice thing is they have a hole in the middle so the glue can dry naturally then in 30 or so minutes, when you take the clamps off to scrape the excess glue off, you can scrape the whole board clean.

How to Sharpen Chisels & Sharpening Plane Blades

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Sharpening blade and chisel blades is not difficult, but like many things woodworking,  having some knowledge goes a long way to a successful sharpening job. A long time ago when I was trying to find someone who could teach me "sharpening" I found there were basically 2 types of people. Those who did what I call and "industrial sharpen" who sharpened their blades until they did a good job, there there were the "fanatic sharpeners" who had every blade in their shop absolutely razer sharp at all times and went to huge lengths with many different grits and polishes to get an outstanding edge. They just love sharpening.

The tutorial on building the Sharpening Jig in the video can be found HERE

I tried both techniques and ended up in the "industrial" group, which works perfectly for me, my blades are super sharp and work great but I don't spend huge amounts of time trying to make them even sharper.
The basis of sharpening blades, both chisel and plane, is to end up with an angle of about 25 degrees (in most cases) and an edge that is super sharp and ... easy to keep sharp and the tool works the way it should.

Beginner Woodworking Tools | Woodworking for Beginners #31

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When I started woodworking as a youngster, I had three tools, a hammer, a chisel and small saw. With these tools I made all sorts of very remedial toys like boats and planes and even little trucks. I thought they were fabulous, and maybe they were for a pre-schooler, but I had the advantage of having real tools and small bits of wood to build things with and has served me with a lifetime of enjoyment and passion.

I am very frequently asked, "what tools should I be getting as a newcomer to woodworking?", and to be honest, that's a really hard question to answer because there are so many different kinds of woodworking there can be quite a different choice in tools required. For example a friend of mine, when he started woodworking, he choose carving, so he started off with quite a different set of tools than what I did. Another friend tool wood turning for novices and when he started buying tools, he too had very different tools than what I would have selected ... so in this video and article I am talking only about the tools that I find useful and that I would select if I were starting out in woodworking today in making furniture and similar type items.

Some hand tools when I purchased them, I scrimped on price because I didn't know any better and there was no one around to ask or coach me. I made some very poor choices in squares for example which turned out to be very frustrating when joints and sides do no line up properly. When I purchased a couple of the squares I used, it never occurred to me that they would not be square and when you square is off, nothing aligns ... ever. It took another woodworker's help for me to realize my problem, but it opened a whole new world for me when I realized that sometimes buying cheap tools is a waste of money because you can't do anything with them except throw them away and and re-buy better ones so you can do your work.