[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

How does that make a difference?

I'm guessing the Worm-drive vs direct drive difference is like the difference in trying to turn a 17' Cadillac from the trunk vs turning a mid-engined 914.

The handle for the worm drive is
1) way out back (looks like 4-6" back from the rear edge of the blade).
2) a tiny change in your wrist shouldn't make much difference in the direction of cut. It would require a much larger change which should be much easier to feel. But I think the worm drive is also quite a bit heavier which is not great for you.

The handle for the sidewinder/direct drive saw is practically behind the blade when looking at the saw from the side. So a tiny twist of your wrist can amount to a big change in the angle of the blade.

worm drive


sidewinder


That that all means to me is that you/I/a bunch of us, need a guide of some sort to keep us on the straight and narrow.

Semi-related automotive story. I sold my old '88 911 where you sit pretty central to the vehicle. So when the car turns, you feel like you're turning with it. I then bought a Mazda Miata. Sitting in the driver's seat with the door open, I could stick my arm out and touch the rear tire. When you're sitting in the car, especially me with the seat nearly all of the way back, you feel like you're sitting on the rear axle. If you look in this pic, the side-view mirror looks like it's pretty close to the middle of the car. When I first started driving a miata, it felt "weird" because when you'd turn the car, it felt (to me) like I was being swung around behind the car which was a result, I think, of my seating position being farther rearward from the center of rotation of the car vs the 911 where it felt like you were nearly at or much closer to the center of rotation.