The circular saw holder was one step up in difficulty from the holder for my jigsaw, which is great because being slightly uncomfortable is the best way to grow your skills. Although this holder is another box-like construction, some tricky business was afoot.
To ensure I knew what I was getting myself into, I took as many measurements of the circular saw as I could think of and made a mockup of this holder in SketchUp, a 3D program made by the Devil himself. Seriously, it's a maddening experience most of the time. For example, when you select the "Move" tool, it works as you would expect, and moves your selection around on the screen. But if you press Ctrl+Z, it undoes your last mistake, but the Move tool now goes into Copy Mode and copies the thing you're trying to move?? Let's just say the modeling program takes some time to get used to, but it's the cheapest way for me to play around with measurements and construction methods before putting a saw to my (relatively) expensive wood.
As you can see in my cut list diagram, I found a way to lay down the pieces that minimized waste and ensured that both sides of the box were exactly equal. After cutting out a square lengthwise and breadthwise, I made a single diagonal cut to split the pieces. Then, it was an easy matter of removing the excess material at the top and bottom of the triangular pieces.
Cutting the hole
Making the hole for the circular part of the saw to fall into was very tricky, but it somehow worked out perfectly. I took measurements in two dimensions multiple times to ensure the saw would actually go into the hole. I then used a spade bit to cut out circles at the top and bottom, and a jigsaw to cut out the rest of the hole. Not only does the saw fit snugly into the hole, but I didn't need a cleat at the bottom to keep it from falling out of the holder!
Glue up
I still don't like gluing my projects together. I think it's because I remember how difficult it has been to procure these materials, so I'm a bit too precious with them. I used glue to attach the cleats to the holder, but everything else was screwed in. This gives it a very rough finish, which is fine for a toolshed, but next time I want to use either a pocket hole to hide the screws or dowels to make the joint. And I have jigs for both now, so I should get some practice in soon.
Conclusion
This holder is really great. It keeps the circular saw off the workspace, and I now have a dedicated shelf for the guide rail pieces that came with it. It's also very cool that I made the whole thing with the saw that holds it.
All in all, I can feel my skills improving. I made a whole new tool holder in just an afternoon! The biggest slowdown is now the dust collection. I spend a lot of time between cuts just mopping up dust everywhere. A shop vac is definitely next on my list, but I need to sort out the electricity situation first.