How To Cut Perfectly Size With Circular Saw

How to Use a Circular Saw: Long Cuts

Updated: October. 05, 2018

Learn how to safely saw boards freehand, cutting plywood with a straightedge guide and build a ripping jig for accurate cutting with a round saw

circular saw rip guide Family unit Handyman

Larn how to use a circular saw to chop-chop and accurately cut long boards and plywood. Plus, we've included plans for a handy cut guide zipper for your saw.

Saw boards freehand

Photo 1: Secure the board

Secure the board for cutting lengthwise by nailing it to sawhorses. Position one finish nail at each cease most the edge of the board and away from the path of the blade. Pound the nails flush to the surface.

Photo ii: Draw a guideline

Depict a guideline parallel to the edge of the lath with a combination square and pencil. Press the debate of the combination square snug confronting the lath as y'all slide it along.

Photo 3: Carefully position your finger

Position your forefinger under the saw shoe and tight to the edge of the board and pinch the shoe of the saw between your thumb and forefinger. At present make sure the saw bract is one in. back from uncut wood and offset the saw. Guide the saw along the line, sliding your forefinger forth the edge of the lath every bit you cut.

Even if your woodworking is express to an occasional weekend project, you lot'll eventually need to cut a narrow piece from a long board or sheet of plywood. Sawing long boards is easy if you own a table saw. Simply you lot can also do it accurately with a good circular saw. In fact, it's usually easier to cutting long pieces of plywood with a circular saw and a straightedge than to wrestle unwieldy sheets through a table saw. A circular saw won't cut as smoothly as a table saw, but with a couple of techniques, a trivial finesse and some practise, you can cut almost as accurately. Audio farfetched? Not really—pros practice it all the time. We'll show yous how to employ a circular saw to apace and accurately cutting long boards and plywood, and give you plans for a handy cutting guide zipper for your saw.

Learn how to make perfectly directly cuts using a round saw in our video tutorial.

Nail downwards the board and use your finger as a guide-carefully!
This is a quick way to cut a few 2- to 4-in. strips, but if you have to cutting narrow strips often, build the jig shown on p. 32. For this method, you lot must nail the board directly to the sawhorses with cease nails (Photo 1). Utilize 4d finish nails for three/four-in. thick wood and 8d terminate nails for 1-1/two in. boards. And then marking the board and cut information technology to width (Photos two and 3). This method results in a board of consistent width and parallel sides whether the board you're cut from is straight or kleptomaniacal. If y'all desire to create a straight edge on a crooked board, marking the board with a straightedge or chalk line instead.

Position your manus on the broad section of the saw shoe, not on the narrow side near the blade, and grip the shoe with your forefinger and thumb. Your forefinger acts equally a guide. Equally you cut, directly pressure straight ahead through the handle of the saw, and concentrate on the line. If the saw starts to wander from the line, support to about 6 in. behind where you offset strayed from the line and start again. Earlier y'all squeeze the switch to restart the cutting, make certain the saw blade is perfectly aligned in the kerf and maintain a firm grip in case the blade catches and jerks the saw. Good follow-through is the secret to an accurate cease. Guide the saw beyond the end of the board as if the line continued.

Circumspection!

Don't apply this method If the board is splintery or if your finger volition be closer than 3 in. from the saw blade.

Cut plywood with a straightedge guide

Photo 1: Clench a straightedge

Clench a straightedge to a scrap of lumber for a circular saw rip guide. Then concur the shoe of the saw tight to the straightedge while you saw a kerf in the flake. Mensurate and tape the exact distance between the straightedge and the within edge of the saw kerf.

Photo two: Measure and marking

Measure and mark the desired width of the cut board. So apply the measurement obtained in Photo 1 to brand a second set of marks for the straightedge on the "keeper" side of the commencement marks. Align the straightedge with the second ready of marks and clamp it tight.

Photo 3: Slide the saw'southward shoe

Slide the saw'southward shoe against the round saw rip guide to rip the plywood. To ensure a straight cut, printing the saw firmly against the straightedge as you push it forth.

Clamp a straightedge for super-straight cuts

Clench a perfectly straight board or metal straightedge to a sheet of plywood to make cabinet-quality straight cuts. The key is to marshal the straightedge at exactly the right altitude from the cutting line (Photo ii) and keep the saw shoe tight to the straightedge as you cut. Photo one shows how to make a test cutting and measure out the distance from the edge of the shoe to the border of the blade. Measure carefully and record the dimension for reference. Then offset the straightedge from the cutting line by this altitude (Photo two).

When y'all brainstorm a cutting, barely nick the plywood with the bract to make sure the bract just touches the outside border of the cut marker. Move both ends of the straightedge slightly to adjust the cut if necessary, then reclamp it. At the commencement of the cutting, press the front of the saw shoe against the straightedge. At the end of the cut, go on the back of the shoe tight until the cut is consummate.

Tip:

Clamp the straightedge on the piece of plywood you'll be keeping. This fashion, if the saw accidentally wanders from the straightedge, it won't ruin the slice you're keeping.

Building a Circular Saw Rip Guide

Photo ane: Using the jig

Measure between the bract and the fence to prepare the width of the rip and tighten the Fly-Nuts. Measure out at both the front end and back edges of the bract to align the fence parallel to the blade. Clench or tack the board to sawhorses and slide the saw and jig the total length of the board.

A jig for narrow strips
If you don't ain a table saw, yous tin can build the guide shown in Fig. A and attach it to your round saw. It helps you to cut narrow strips (1/2 in. to 6 in. wide) with near tabular array-saw precision (Photo 1). You may accept to modify information technology to fit your saw'south shoe. It takes about an hour to build this round saw rip guide.

Cut the plywood base and pieces advisedly to make sure they take parallel sides and square corners. Brand the slots and the pigsty for the blade and blade baby-sit by start drilling 3/8-in. holes in the corners so cutting betwixt them with a jigsaw. Set the base of operations over the fence and align one long edge. Then snug the rails upwards to the sides of the base and spiral them to the fence with 7/8-in. screws. The completed fence assembly should fit snugly and slide hands. Connect the debate to the base with railroad vehicle bolts and adhere the saw shoe to the base with small screws. Drill v/32-in. holes in your saw shoe and adhere the guide with 5/viii-in. screws.

Figure A: Jig for Narrow Strips

This guide allows you to cut narrow strips with your round saw.

Safety Starting time

Making long cuts tin can be unsafe. Before yous try it, read the post-obit safety precautions.

Clothing safety glasses and hearing protection and avoid loose-fitting apparel. Tie long hair back.
Set the saw blade to cut about one/4 in. deeper than the forest's thickness.
Secure boards less than 6 in. wide with nails and wider boards with clamps.
Stand beside, never behind, the bract when you're cut. Keep bystanders away from the area behind the saw.
Wedge the saw cutting open with a shim if the board starts to pinch the blade and cause it to demark.
Brand sure the blade guard is operating freely. Never block or wedge information technology in the raised position.

Video: How to Cut Straight With a Circular Saw

Jeff Gorton, an editor for The Family unit Handyman, will show you lot how to brand perfectly directly cuts using a circular saw. You will use this circular saw jig over and over again.

Required Tools for this Projection

Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined upwards earlier yous starting time—you'll save time and frustration.

Spring Clamps

Required Materials for this Project

Avoid last-infinitesimal shopping trips past having all your materials ready ahead of fourth dimension. Here's a list.

Originally Published: Oct 03, 2018