20
You may be able to avoid chip-out by using a sacrificial board atop of the countertop. Set your depth to cut through the sacrificial board, make sure it is clamped down tight and give it a whirl. Oftentimes reducing chipout is best accomplished by not giving the wood any direction to chip (e.g., a strongly sandwiched surface)
15
A 12" miter saw blade of the ilk normally found on a miter saw or cut-off saw looks like this:
The teeth on the saw blade are carbide material that is very hard. You will not want to take a file to those teeth as they will very quickly kill your file.
This type of saw blade has gained huge popularity in recent years because the hardness of the carbide ...
14
Your blade will start to show signs of dullness. These include:
Binding
Excessive force required to advance cut
Excessive tearing/chipout
Burning the wood
It helps if you can remember the "feel" of cutting with a sharp blade to help recognize these signs. One of them alone may be a result of improper technique. But when multiple signs stack up, you can be ...
12
Are you going to notice the difference between a saw running at 5000 rpm and one running at 5500rpm? No, probably not.
Are you going to notice 1250 watts vs 1400 watts? Again, probably not.
What you are going to notice is if the blade is sharp, if the fence is square to the blade, how accurate the bevel adjustment is, etc. All of these types of things ...
11
Sometimes when people believe their saw is dull, what it really needs is a cleaning. The resins from the wood build up in the teeth over time and gum up the cutting edge. Soaking the blade in simple green or another cleaner of choice and then scrubbing the teeth with an old toothbrush can prolong cutting life.
10
In general, panel glue-up requires accurate square faces on the boards being glued. However, not all is lost.
One possibility is that your combination square is not perfectly square. To try and verify this, cut several thin strips of wood using your saw. When pressed together (in the same orientation as they were cut, see below for why) any deviation from ...
9
You need a guide board. Figure out the distance from the edge of the circular saw blade to the edge of the plate, preferably not the side that the motor hangs over, or your board will have to be very thin to fit underneath it. Clamp the board (make sure it's a straight one!) to the work piece parallel to the cut line, at the distance you measured on your ...
8
@Peter Grace provided an excellent suggestion of placing a sacrificial board atop the countertop. An alternative solution is to mount an auxiliary zero-clearance shoe onto your circular saw shoe.
Fashion it out of a thin piece of plywood, rout it to match the existing shoe profile, and plunge cut through it so the opening is just the width of the blade.
...
8
Here is another method from the always-interesting Mathias Wandel.
Mathias's jig
7
I agree with what Steven has to say. Unless you're routinely cutting 2" thick oak or hickory slabs, a modern direct-drive saw is likely more appropriate. Equipped with a sharp, suitable blade it will cut nearly any wood workpiece with ease.
To clarify my quote in the question, worm-drive saws should be considered two-handed tools for most folks. That ...
7
Woodworking encompasses a lot of different project types to practitioners. By far and away, I believe the most important and versatile tool in any woodshop is a table saw. Cutting your panels in the area you have available is very doable. Take a look on youtube for countless videos showing converted garage shops all of which have kicked the car out and ...
7
Home Depot, and probably most other suppliers, will cut plywood and other sheet goods to your specs - the first couple of cuts are usually free. There may be a small charge if you want several cuts.
Using this service can usually get large sheets down to easily-managed pieces (easier to take home than a full 4 x 8 ft sheet, too!).
6
Depth of cut is usually the primary factor associated with choosing a saw diameter, but certain types of saws are affected in other ways.
Besides depth of cut, one factor that impacts all types of saws is that larger blades require more materials in general to manufacture, but they also require more teeth for the same type or quality of cut. As a result, ...
6
I will try the method from John Heisz with diamond file when my saw blade will be used.
Video link here
6
There are many ways to eliminate tearout in plywood. Some are simple techniques you can apply in specific situations, and others require additional materials or accessories.
Put the "good" side facing down.
If you are cutting through 2 or more pieces of plywood at the same time, layer them so the "good" sides are not facing the outside on the top or bottom. ...
6
Worm drives use a worm gear to connect the motor to the blade. Generally speaking, they are more powerful than direct drive saws where the motor drives the blade directly.
They are also larger, heavier and more expensive than direct drive models.
Think of them like a cabinet table saw versus a contractor table saw. Both will get the job done but one will ...
6
Congrats on an excellently done question!
In terms of how to cut the board apart I don't think it matters that much, but with an angled cut providing a wider glue surface area that will provide a stronger joint. In the right context I doubt this increased strength will actually matter though, since I assume the sheets will be supported underneath when ...
6
So, this edges perilously close to opinion, but I'll do my best to be occasionally factual...
To step back and think about your goal of setting up a woodshop, I'm tempted to say that a tablesaw of some description is inevitable. One can do surprisingly good work with a portable jobsite tablesaw, though it's easier to have some beautiful hunk-o-metal cabinet ...
6
None of the above - I have a small shop and run into the same issue, have you looked into a track saw? There is plans on-line to essentially make your own using your existing portable saw.
6
What is the proper saw is really a wide open question and depends a lot upon the level of quality in the cut piece desired, your future woodworking plans and your budget.
In order of accuracy for straight cuts I would rank hand held tools lower than woodworking shop equipment. In order for poorest to best I would place hand held power tools in this order:...
5
Also, most 7-1/4" blades don't specify if they are for ripping or
crosscutting. Does it not matter with these saws?
That's because most people don't want to stop and change blades just because they're cutting in a different direction, and often the wood you cut with a 7 1/4" blade is dimensional lumber, etc., so general purpose combination blades are ...
5
Yes, your circular saw or track saw can produce a glue-ready surface, as long as you have a high-quality, sharp, carbide-tipped blade installed.
There are definitely different types of blades for circular saws, as with table saws, and the configurations usually fall roughly in these ranges:
Rip: 20-30T (around 20-30 teeth)
Crosscut/combination: 50-60T
...
5
Using a blade with finer teeth will help significantly, but you can also use a piece of masking tape over the cut line before you cut. Additionally, if you have a piece of sacrificial wood you can put underneath the cut, that would help prevent tearout as well.
5
I agree with Doresoom, attacking it with a chisel** will only ruin both tools. You could probably hand sharpen the blade with a collection of sharpening stones. However, if you're not proficient at sharpening something simple like a knife or chisel, I'd say your best bet* would be to check the modern local yellow pages for a knife/saw sharpener in your area ...
5
In general, if you have a large production shop, a panel saw or sliding table saw might make sense, otherwise a circular saw/track saw makes the most sense. However, what works best for any given person depends on several things:
How often you need to make these cuts, and whether or not you really need to cut full sheets yourself
How much time it takes you ...
5
I cannot comment, so I have to reply here.
My brother has the Festool circular saw with the track. It is really nice, but not budget friendly. You may not find yourself cutting plywood often. While getting the store to cut the panels down is an option, the accuracy can be off.
Use your current method and just take your time. When supporting the plywood,...
5
I often have to rip full sheets of plywood. I've tried several different methods.
My favorite by far is to do it with a circular saw on the floor on a sheet of 4x8 rigid pink Styrofoam installation. You don't have to mess around with saw horses or having support for cutoffs. A sheet of insulation costs about $11 and lasts for dozens if not hundreds of cuts.
...
5
Most of these were in the comments on the original question, but I'll organize them:
Track Saw - This is what I would consider the "best" way to go. Unfortunately, they start at a few hundred dollars US. Since you said that you didn't want to spend a lot I would consider this out.
Circular Saw - You can cut a perfectly straight line by using a ...
5
So a shopping trip is in order. I'm a bit short on space, and don't want to spend a fortune on something that will be used rarely at best.
You need to give serious consideration to a panel saw since it ticks all of your boxes, in spades.
Short on space? I don't think compact even covers it since a hand saw can be hung from a hook on the wall, taking up ...
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