I got back to the circular saw tear down which left off with a worm gear assembly that I couldn’t get apart. A couple weeks later I remember it, try again and it slides out like it’s greased. Because it is.
It turns out the worm gear reduces the rotation speed by a factor of six, meaning the motor itself was spinning at 27,000 RPM. Yikes!
That solved, another question remains: what are all the little indents in the armature for?
UPDATE: I posted this question on ElectricalEngineering on Reddit, speculating they had to do with balancing. Yes, I learned, they are balancing cuts. The post has been viewed over 1,300 time in 24 hours.
