Parts of a Circular Saw – Labeled Diagram and Names

All 15 parts on the diagram

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From the blade side 11

Blade A round steel disc with teeth on its edge. It spins, and the teeth do the cutting.
Upper guard A fixed cover over the part of the blade above the base.
Lower guard A cover for the teeth under the base. It swings up into the upper guard as the saw moves into the wood, and a spring closes it again.
Lower guard lever A small lever fixed to the lower guard. Moving it swings the lower guard up by hand.
Base (shoe) The flat plate that rests on the wood. It can be set higher or lower for the depth of cut, and tilted for a bevel cut.
Rear handle The main grip. The trigger switch is built into it.
Trigger switch The saw runs only while it is held in.
Front handle A second grip, for the other hand.
Depth adjustment lever It locks the base at the height that gives the cut depth.
Blade flange A large washer that clamps the blade on its spindle.
Blade bolt The bolt through the flange that holds the blade on the spindle.

From the front 4

Motor housing The case around the electric motor. On this kind of saw the blade is mounted on the motor's own shaft.
Spindle lock A button holding the spindle still while the blade bolt is turned.
Bevel adjustment lever It locks the tilt of the base. With the base tilted, the blade cuts at a slant, called a bevel.
Rip fence A guide that slides along the edge of a board. It keeps a long cut the same distance from that edge.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it in their own parts list or text (the safety pages the makers' manuals share word for word were not counted). (1) US Army, TM 9-243, full text at https://archive.org/details/use-and-care-of-hand-tools-and-measuring-tools-1983 : the portable electric circular saw is a motor in a metal housing, a pistol-grip handle and a circular saw blade, with the trigger switch built into the handle; the blade is held by a clamp screw and flange. (2) US Navy, Tools and Their Uses (1971), full text at https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED132362 : the saw is started by a trigger in the handle; blade and rip guide are named on its figure. (3) Wikipedia, Circular saw, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_saw : the saw base adjusts for depth of cut and can tilt; in a sidewinder the blade is mounted on the motor's driveshaft. (4) A saw maker's operator's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-406787 : bevel adjusting lever, spindle lock button, trigger, depth adjusting lever, front handle, lower guard, blade flange, blade bolt, blade, shoe, lower guard lever, upper guard. (5) A second maker's owner's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualzz-id-872715 : upper rear handle, blade guard, lower blade guard and its lever, front assist handle, motor housing, bevel adjustment locking lever, base, edge guide, spindle lock, depth-of-cut adjustment lever, trigger switch. (6) A third maker's instruction manual, https://archive.org/details/manuallib-id-2608339 : base, inner and outer flange, hex bolt, front grip, rear handle, switch trigger, shaft lock, rip fence. (7) A fourth maker's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7037092 : trigger, main handle, spindle lock lever, stationary guard and upper guard, depth lever, lower guard and its lever, auxiliary handle, blade bolt, base, rip fence. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's tool, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A hand-held circular saw is a motor in a housing, a handle and a round toothed blade. The first view shows it from the blade side; the second, from the front, shows the motor.

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Blade, guards and base

The blade is clamped on its spindle by the blade flange and the blade bolt. The upper guard is a fixed cover over the top of the blade. The lower guard covers the teeth under the base and swings up as the saw moves into the wood; its lever moves it by hand. The base, also called the shoe, is the flat plate that rests on the wood.

Handles and adjustments

The rear handle holds the trigger switch, and the front handle is for the other hand. The depth adjustment lever locks the base higher or lower. The bevel adjustment lever locks its tilt. The rip fence keeps a long cut the same distance from the edge of a board.

Base and shoe are two names for the same plate. The quiz takes either.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a circular saw?

The blade, the upper guard and lower guard around it, the base the saw rides on, the motor housing, the rear handle with its trigger switch and the front handle. Two levers set the depth and the bevel of the cut.

What is the base plate of a circular saw called?

Makers call it the base or the shoe; base plate and foot plate are also heard. It is the flat plate under the saw, and it can be set for the depth of cut and tilted for a bevel.

What does the lower guard do?

It covers the teeth under the base. As the saw moves into the wood the guard swings up into the upper guard, and a spring closes it again afterwards.

What holds the blade on a circular saw?

The blade bolt and the blade flange, a large washer under the bolt. The spindle lock is a button that holds the spindle still while the bolt is turned.