OT: DIY Circular saw cutting guide

[Tom Adams]

Found this little tid-bit trick and thought I'd pass it along since I know many of you piddle with wood.

http://wayneofthewoods.com/circular-saw-cutting-guide.html

Tom

[dtel]

Hey that is really simple, if you can't do that you should put down the saw !

With things that I could not cut on the table saw I use a straightedge clamped down, but it is a pain because my saw blade is not set at an easy to read distance which takes a little more time to set up. I will have to make me one of those, so simple I would have never thought of that, thanks.

[CECAA850]

The key is finding a guide board that is actually straight. I think I might pop a string line down before mounting the top board.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Too complicated. Use a piece of plywood that is cut straight, and keep some smaller pieces for shorter cuts (but that are still too big for the table saw). Then measure from the edge of your saw to the blade, keeping in mind the thickness of the blade. Clamp teh wood down the offset amount and you are ready to go.

Sounds complicated but I have been doing it this way for years.

[picky]

Nice! Thanls for the tip, Tom! -Glenn

[Guest " "]

I use a panel saw. It takes less floor space than a table saw. cuts vertical or horizontal. full sheets no problem. up to 2" thick sheets. I got rid of the rollers and put a steel guide instead. with an 80 tooth blade, makes perfect cuts.

http://www.tools-plus.com/milwaukee-6480-20.html

[Coytee]

interesting...

I bought what I belive was a drywall cutting guide. It's machined aluminum, maybe 5 inches wide and comprises two four foot pieces that fit together in the end if you want them to, to become 8' in length.

I use a single piece and clamp it down on what I need to cut and use it as a cutting guide.

I personally would never trust a piece of wood I had laying around but that's just me and I know I've got a bunch of non striaght wood.

I like Fritzies idea!! He's da man!!

[fini]

Found this little tid-bit trick and thought I'd pass it along since I know many of you piddle with wood.

http://wayneofthewoods.com/circular-saw-cutting-guide.html

Tom

That's a good one, but I find it hard to piddle with wood...

[Groomlakearea51]

I use a panel saw. It takes less floor space than a table saw. cuts vertical or horizontal. full sheets no problem. up to 2" thick sheets. I got rid of the rollers and put a steel guide instead. with an 80 tooth blade, makes perfect cuts.

http://www.tools-plus.com/milwaukee-6480-20.html

That's the way to handle the initial 4x8 sheets!!! I made sure I became a good friend of the lumber guy at Home Depot because of that issue. They normally charge after the first 2 "cuts". He's up to 5 "cuts" per sheet for me at the moment......

[WMcD]

This is called a shooter by some users.

Finding a straight piece of wood for the guide can be a problem. I found that the factory cut edge of a sheet of plywood is very straight and the right angle at a corner is very square.

In some cases I used a piece of plexiglass as the underlying piece, that way you can see a misalignment.

As pointed out, if you just use a straight board without the underlying piece you have to measure the offset very accuately. One thing you can do is put an edge guide abutted to the oversized guide and then rip it, and take off the abutted piece. Then you use it to measure back inboard from the target line. (Hard to describe without pictures.)

My last tip in making complicated stuff is "for goodness sake, go metric." That is what I did for the Jubilee project. Otherwise you wind up with a problem of 27 13/32nds minus 2 28/32nds. Even when the math is accurate the "English" measuring sticks are hard to read. Metric is far less error prone both in math and making the mark.

HD stocks at least one metric tape measure.

Wm McD

[Tom Adams]

This is called a shooter by some users.

Finding a straight piece of wood for the guide can be a problem. I found that the factory cut edge of a sheet of plywood is very straight and the right angle at a corner is very square.

In some cases I used a piece of plexiglass as the underlying piece, that way you can see a misalignment.

As pointed out, if you just use a straight board without the underlying piece you have to measure the offset very accuately. One thing you can do is put an edge guide abutted to the oversized guide and then rip it, and take off the abutted piece. Then you use it to measure back inboard from the target line. (Hard to describe without pictures.)

My last tip in making complicated stuff is "for goodness sake, go metric." That is what I did for the Jubilee project. Otherwise you wind up with a problem of 27 13/32nds minus 2 28/32nds. Even when the math is accurate the "English" measuring sticks are hard to read. Metric is far less error prone both in math and making the mark.

HD stocks at least one metric tape measure.

Wm McD

Gil - When it comes to precision, you need to adopt a saying we here in the aircraft manufacturing industry have and it goes like this: "Beat & bash and do your best. Paint & putty does the rest."

[] []

As for the board on top being straight, I'd hope that that would be a given. (sigh......)

I too have one of those al-you-minee-um straight edge things, but as has been pointed out, it's darn difficult to accurately measure the offset. If it weren't for the fact that I also use my al-you-minee-um straight edge for other things, I'd be tempted to use it in place of the top board for the circular saw cutting guide.

And FWIW......I know there's other "methods", I just was offering one up for those who might want to try it. But alas, like all threads on this forum over the last 8+ years I've been on here - you guys have not failed me for there will always be at least ONE person who pooh - pooh's the idea or has a better one or knows someone who knows someone that's a relative of a guy that owns a company that has an employee who's Doctor has a grand-nephew that did it so-n-so. sheesh......... [*-)]

Tom

[jtkinney]

Tom,

The version that I always use is:

Force it to fit, file it to hide, paint it to match.

[formica]

I just was offering one up for those who might want to try it.

It's worked quite well for me in the past, i have a couple of these home made guides hanging around. I suppose an alternative to finding a straight piece of wood would be using a small metal (aluminium or other) angle or the like.... but there never seems to be one around the workshop, right when i need it...

[JJkizak]

I would marvel at how much time my patternmaker would spend aligning equipment to make straight cuts. I would have the whole project sloppily done before he finished the alignments. And it would look like hell. And he would laugh and tell me to get the hell out of his shop.

JJK