Changing Circular Saw Blades for Dummies

Note 1) arrows for direction of rotation and 2) nut on arbor
takes open-end wrench, not Allen wrench

It used to be that, every few days, an Antisocial Network intern would go through several dozen older posts on the blog to check for dead links. Not long ago, the intern assigned to that task noticed that the referenced post was still in place, but the author's name was different. She'd come across the work of Leaf Group's cleanup team, a small group assigned to "tighten up" the old eHow.com posts. So far, we've only spotted their work at Sciencing.com and Hunker.com, but we presume they'll spread out to other niches eventually. Today's DotD is Steffani Cameron, who was assigned to explain "How to Change the Blade on a Circular Saw" at Hunker.com.

It's (in part) a rewrite of the Andrew Todd (Stickel) post "How to Change the Blade on a Ryobi Circular Saw," which we'd already found and beaten about the head and neck a couple of years ago. Unfortunately Cameron, a self-described "professional writer," seems to have known no more anout her topic than Andy did. Here's how she started:

"Arguably the most popular and versatile power saw there is, part of the circular saw's attraction is how easily its blades can be changed out, making maintenance a cinch for its users." Yeah, right: that's why circular saws are popular – it's easy to change the blades! There's no mention of portability, no mention of ease of use, just "maintenance [is] a cinch." Too bad Steff isn't aware that changing blades isn't necessarily "maintenance"... Whatever the case, here's some of what Cameron has to say – the more doofus stuff,anyway:

• "Circular saws come in a variety of sizes and types. There are rip-cut [sic], cross-cut [sic], combination, framing and so many other kinds of blades, so make sure you get one suited for your needs." – Actually, Steffani, circular saw blades come in "a variety of sizes and types." There are only three or four different types of circular saws: corded, cordless, direct drive, worm drive...
• "Something else to look for when getting your blade is that it has an arrow for which way the blade should be installed." – No, Steffani, the blade has an arrow that points in the rotation direction, not "which way the blade should be installed." You match it to the arrow inscribed on the blade guard.
• "The majority of saws have an Allen-type wrench of some kind incorporated on the body. " – Ummm, no: some saws have a hex-head wrench; usually the small, cordless versions. Most actually need an open-end wrench.
• "If, for some unusual reason, the replacement saw blade you've purchased has no directional markers to make installing it simple, make note of the direction the teeth are facing on the saw now. This will help you put the new one on properly. The teeth should face forward" – Idiot: how else would the teeth point: sideways? The teeth should be oriented so that the sharpened edge enters the wood cutting downward in the back.
• "Now, release the brake or arbor-lock [sic] and ensure the blade's lose [sic] and ready to spin." – Frankly, we'd rather have the blade tightly installed on the arbor (the real word for what Steffani calls a "spindle"¹).

We don't know about you, but we'd greatly prefer that people who've changed the blade on a circular saw a time or two provide the instructions, not some wannabe copy editor with an AA in journalism. Therein lies the criteria to be a Dumbass of the Day...

¹ Cameron appears to have plucked much of her information from a since-deleted eHow video presentation that referred to the arbor as a "spindle."

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