Loading…
24
Why does nobody talk about choosing between a worm drive and a sidewinder for framing?
Six months ago I finally had to pick one for good when I took over framing on a 900 square foot addition out in Mesa. I had run a worm drive for years because my old lead guy swore by the torque, but the thing weighed almost 14 pounds and after a full day of cutting rafters my wrist was toast. So I bought a rear-handle sidewinder and made the switch, mostly because of my shoulder, not because anyone talked me into it. Well, the blade on the left side drove me nuts at first, I kept leaning over the wrong way and my layout lines disappeared under the saw. But once I stopped fighting it, I noticed I could actually see the cut on top of a wall plate without standing on my toes, and the lighter weight meant I was faster on the hundred plus cuts a day. Truth is the worm drive still wins on wet lumber and long rips, no argument there, but for punch list style framing the sidewinder kept me working past 3pm without my hand going numb. So which one are you guys actually reaching for on a full framing day, and did you switch because of your body or just how the saw cuts?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
wadeyoung24d ago
Man, worm drive torque is worth the weight on real framing, not punch list stuff.
2