October 2021

I chose to evaluate a set of instructions from a book I recently purchased titled, “Handyman: Complete Guide to Home Maintenance” from 1975. The book (including the index) is 538 pages long and organized in chapters and sub-sections based on different areas of home maintenance such as electricity, power tools, and how to build shelving units among many others.

I analyzed a specific section on the Circular Saw and was quite surprised at how easy it was to read and understand what I needed to know. The Circular Saw section contains even more sub-sections to help clarify and organize their instructions further. The author(s) start by explaining the benefits of a portable saw, seemingly using an inverted-triangle type format to present overall information first and then getting into specific nitty-gritty details, “The two big reasons are accuracy and speed” before doing a deeper dive, “The saw can slide off a section of 2×4 in just over 3 seconds” (pages 72 and 73).  This format allowed me to begin to understand the purpose of a circular saw in an easy-to-follow way. After reading about the benefits of a circular saw, I was guided through purchasing a saw and even given recommendations on what size blade and how much horsepower for the average consumer. The information is very straight to the point, which makes absorbing it very easy. Even though inflation has occurred since 1975, someone from that time can now budget efficiently because the book even has price estimates mentioned. I really appreciated how the book specifically outlined what to look for when I go into Home Depot, giving me both confidence and knowledge.

Following a chronological order, the guidebook then leads into prepping the saw after it’s been purchased. They start by stating a common mistake and then separating the solution with separate sentence: “The teeth on the blade of a portable saw should point towards the front of the tool, whether the blade is on the left or right of the motor” (73). Knowing that a flipped blade is a common mistake can help me be extra cautious to put it on the right way the first time. Then, they proceed to explain the step-by-step process of putting my saw together to use, and they begin to use numbers to help separate the physical steps from the rest of the instructions. When explaining saw-preparation, they finish by stating very clearly how to ensure the circular saw is properly grounded to prevent a potentially fatal electrocution. Placing the caution last highlights its importance.

Now, the book begins to utilize several paragraphs with numbers at the end to outline how to do different types of cutes with a circular saw. The very first paragraph starts with a basic straight line cut and maps out the direct to working the saw: “Mark off the line, then align the guide on the base of the saw with it, squeeze the trigger switch, and away you go” (73). The use of action verbs such as “mark off”, “align”, and “squeeze” help to visualize the process better. The next ten paragraphs use similar action verbiage to create a visualization. As I read on the different processes, I began to get a little confused as they began using some technical maintenance terms that I was unfamiliar with. A quick reference to what these terms would help make this set of instructions clearer; even if they were described in the index or previously mentioned in the book. One example is the term “ripping”: “it (the saw) performs well at ripping”. I am unsure of this definition and can’t even find a reference to what it means in the index. I also feel as though a definition guide would have been useful. Now, I can Google what ripping wood is; but if I was in 1975, I would probably have to go find another reference book to find out which adds inconvenience to my project. Regardless, I appreciate how the paragraphs seem to be ordered by easy-to-hard processes.

Flipping the page, there are numbered photos I can immediately connect to the coordinating paragraphs. I do wish there was some sort of caption to help emphasize what exactly is going on, but I do appreciate the simple visual. Given the time, the images are decently high quality that are easy to see. There are even human hands demonstrating the process, which helps me be able to mirror the book for further confidence. If I were to recreate this guide in 2021, I would add color to the pictures to create even more clarity between different parts and features of the saw and I would add captions to explain with less technical terms. Overall, I found the steps easy to follow, even if I did have to quick-Google some terms.

Lastly, in a lowly-distinguished paragraph, the author(s) begins to clearly state safety must dos with explanation as to why these safety measures are important. For masonry specifically, “A face shield or goggles is a must…as bits of stone and particles will be hurled in your face” and “keep other people away…the bits of abrasive and concrete can be hurled several feet with considerable force” (75). I believe the choice to not create a big subtitle for the section on safety make it hard to skip if you are reading along while leaving it last creates emphasis as it’s the last thing I will read before I go about my projects, and it makes it easy to quickly go back to and find within the Circular Saw section. The author(s) reference to a previous mentioning of the blade cover by clearly saying, “We mentioned the guard…” before offering troubleshooting if the cover fails to automatically snap back over the blade when the trigger is released. They also explain what can happen if the tool is set back down without the cover, “damage to a surface or to itself…mostly the user” (79). They clearly explain that you need simple lubrication or spring replacement. However, they fail to illustrate or explain where to apply oil or how to replace the spring.

Overall, the instructions on how to purchase and use a circular saw were very clear and to the point. I really appreciate the organization of the guide and the unbiased background information they provided before delving into the physical application of the saw. The background information is unbiased because it does not promote any specific brands which keeps the instructions universal to the many different brands and potential looks my saw could have. This is also useful if I ever need to borrow a saw that is not mine. The organization of the book was helpful, as I was able to gain essential knowledge without sacrificing time reading meaningless context. Being able to create a specific shopping list with dimensions, sizes, and even a price estimate eases a lot of anxiety about starting a process that I am unfamiliar with. I feel like it can be easy to harm yourself with a circular saw, and while I feel like the safety guidelines at the end of the section were clear, I feel like they should have been placed with the prep-section instead, because safety is preparing to mitigate injury. I also would have liked to see a larger heading for the safety section rather than the, “Safety.” , in the same font and size as the rest of the section. Regardless of this, I would rather see the safety information at the end of the section rather than somewhere random where it doesn’t stand out prominently within the text. I also would have captioned the images to convey a clearer message to those who may not be as technical. Also, the book contains many quick references for measurement conversions and much more, which is very useful. All in all, this book is very helpful and I am very glad to have spent my five dollars.  

Reference  

“The Circular Saw .” Handyman: Complete Guide to Home Maintenance , Banner Press , New York, New York , 1975, pp. 72–75.