Ripping and cross-cutting plywood


Recommended Posts

I use plywood a lot, but always struggle with getting clean lines and perfect square cuts.  I have a contractor saw, so don't even attempt to rip on that or cross-cut anything beyond roughly 10/11 inches (purely based on safety).  

The sheet is generally ripped in half right at the store just so i can fit it in the car, but once I get home, i feel like the only clean way is with my circular saw.  Recently picked up up the Kreg Rip Cut and it actually rips it down really nicely, so happy with that.  The downside is the max cross cut with that tool is 24 inches, and when i'm making cabinets, I'm beyond that fairly often.  

Does anyone have suggestions on how I can get good, and fairly efficient, crosscuts using a circular saw?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use plywood a lot, but always struggle with getting clean lines and perfect square cuts.  I have a contractor saw, so don't even attempt to rip on that or cross-cut anything beyond roughly 10/11 inches (purely based on safety).  

The sheet is generally ripped in half right at the store just so i can fit it in the car, but once I get home, i feel like the only clean way is with my circular saw.  Recently picked up up the Kreg Rip Cut and it actually rips it down really nicely, so happy with that.  The downside is the max cross cut with that tool is 24 inches, and when i'm making cabinets, I'm beyond that fairly often.  

Does anyone have suggestions on how I can get good, and fairly efficient, crosscuts using a circular saw?  

A track saw is a great solution. Or you need a long straight edge as a guide for your circular saw. The latter risks not being as precise though

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

or ... Once you get your dad's planes tuned up, you'll be able to make any old cut nice and clean.

what's the difference between a rip and cross-cut in plywood? If I'm cutting across the grain of the surface veneer I stick some blue-tape along the cut to protect the veneer fibres. Otherwise if you're ripping one layer you're cross-cutting the next.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Joeitalia7 said:

Isn't a track saw more for ripping?

Breaking down sheet goods is it's forte.

If you have a good circ saw & blade, you can make a straight edge that can be very accurate & give you a clean cut. It just won't be nearly as nice an experience as a track saw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, drzaius said:

If you have a good circ saw & blade, you can make a straight edge that can be very accurate & give you a clean cut. It just won't be nearly as nice an experience as a track saw.

I guess my question would be, with the circ saw, what is my guide to ensure i have that straight and clean cut?  Say I have a full 8ft sheet of plywood that I've ripped to 12 inches wide, now I need to cross cut that into 3 - 30 inch panels. Since i can't use my contractor saw on anything wider than 10/11 inches, i'd need something to guide my circular saw for a nice straight and plumb cut. Does that make sense?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess my question would be, with the circ saw, what is my guide to ensure i have that straight and clean cut?  Say I have a full 8ft sheet of plywood that I've ripped to 12 inches wide, now I need to cross cut that into 3 - 30 inch panels. Since i can't use my contractor saw on anything wider than 10/11 inches, i'd need something to guide my circular saw for a nice straight and plumb cut. Does that make sense?

If you don't have a track saw you need to make marks that are perfectly perpendicular to your rip and clamp your straight edge to that.

If you had a track saw you could use this

616a3931e429ac57f70224599138109d.jpg

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

 

 

If you don't have a track saw you need to make marks that are perfectly perpendicular to your rip and clamp your straight edge to that.

 

If you had a track saw you could use this

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

I see what you're saying.  I also didn't realize that they made shorter tracks like that, I always imagined sheet length. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see what you're saying.  I also didn't realize that they made shorter tracks like that, I always imagined sheet length. 

I'm not sure of the other companies because my blood runs Festool green but they offer tracks lengths from 32" to 197"

https://www.festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/guide-rails/tracks

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, shaneymack said:

Haha! You just gotta ease into Festool. You need to stare at the prices enough that they just seem normal.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Maybe i'll start shopping for a Ferrari, that way when I get back to the Festool website i'll think everything is on sale. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe you can get just the track and use it with the saw you already own.

 

Either way I think it's gonna be a nice addition to anyone's shop. 

 

No it's a totally different animal. I don't believe the tracks are interchangeable. The HKC 55 is purely a carpentry saw.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What Ronn said. It's easy to make a guide that will be perfectly straight. The edge of the guide is exactly where the sawblade is, so it helps to prevent chipping & tearout on that side of the cut.

Mark may have done a video on making one & there are many others that show how to do it. It's good to have one that is a little over 4' & another that's a full 8' long.

Like I said, a track saw (especially the Fesstool) will be nicer to use, but a shop built guide is very serviceable. The track saw is not a game changer like the Domino.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ronn W said:

Hope you can read this sketch.  This is how I made my circular saw track.  I made mine 48" wide for plywood.  If you measure and mark accurately it works great.

Guide.JPG

I assume I'd need to make sure I have a factory edge so it's plumb, right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 56 Guests (See full list)

  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    421.7k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,757
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    R Parekh
    Newest Member
    R Parekh
    Joined