Production framers love breaking the rules. You can confirm this by looking at some of the alterations that get made to worm-drive saws on production sites. The most common alteration is to remove the saw's retractable blade guard. This makes it possible to mount a larger blade for a greater depth of cut. It also makes plunge cuts and repeated passes to remove stock a bit easier. Another saw conversion you might see produces what is commonly called a sidewinder (not to be confused with the northeastern term for a directdrive circular saw). This infamous, flush-cutting hybrid is made by welding an extended arbor onto a blade, which exposes it completely beyond the housing and the shoe plate. These are often
