Can kickback damage a circular saw?

[Cigaro]

Hi,

I have a little Ryobi cordless saw which I really like, it's my first circular saw and I've been using it to build a shed recently so it's had lots of use despite being only a month or so old.

Today I was cutting up some little bits of 1x2 and I had a minor kickback where the bit I was cutting pinched the blade - totally my fault, I know what I was doing wrong and I know how stupid it was of me, but no harm done.

Since then, my saw just doesn't seem the same. It's started making a 'whirring' noise for a few seconds at switch-on, then it goes away and the blade speeds up. Occasionally the noise comes back mid-cut, also the saw seems to vibrate more.

I'd almost say it sounds and feels like a bearing is failing!

Have I damaged the saw? Is it even possible for a kickback to damage a saw? I don't see how unless it's a particularly violent one, but I've only ever had mitre saws so I'm not that familiar with circ saws.

Sorry for the stupid question but I'm annoyed with myself and wondering how I've managed to damage an almost brand-new tool.

I suppose I might have damaged the blade but it looks straight and no obvious damage...

 

[big-all]

would be surprized if its damaged you may have deformed the blade??
a motor cannot be damaged in a few seconds as the load will not overload the motor or power cuircuit
is it battery or mains ??
i wonder if the blade has come a bit loose ??

 

[Burnerman]

Excessive noise - on start up or otherwise - almost always means the blade is now not running true and is out of balance.....either due to a bent blade itself or distortion of the arbor that the blade fixes to.
John

 

[rsgaz]

either due to a bent blade itself or distortion of the arbor that the blade fixes to.

OP, you can check for this on the blade or arbour with a magnetic base dial indicator, skip to 1:56 in this vid, you'll see how tiny the error can be, but he's still not happy with how it runs. That's how small the wobble needs to be to make the saw run badly.

Gaz

 

[Cigaro]

Thanks all. Replaced the blade, saw is running fine again. Relieved, thought I'd killed it there for a minute (though the blades aren't exactly cheap, still, good lesson to be more careful in future eh?)

 

[foxhole]

Sounds like the kick back loosened the blade allowing the motor to spin freely until friction caused blade to rotate normally.Changing the blade may have been unnecessary , just tightening may have solved it.

 

[Cigaro]

Did check it was tight (it was my first thought when it happened, actually) - it wasn't that, unfortunately.

 

[big-all]

try removing the blade and clean all contact points around the blade and spindle
check the blade for bent deformed or missing teeth
run the saw with blade and loose washers and bolts removed
try moving the blade a quarter turn if it doesnt settle
now dont expect any off these actions to do anything but may be lucky

 

[vinn]

OP,
You can use a hold-down or a vice to grip the piece being worked on.
Small section is bad - short length is bad - short length & small section is dangerous.
Try and work from the longest pieces of stuff you have.
Work both ends of a longer piece and then cross cut the short ends off.

 

[big-all]

another thought
if it has a riving knife has it moved or bent ??
riving knife is the metal blade that follows the path that the blade has just cut to hold the wood apart to stop it closing on the back off the blade