Cutting Plywood

[Astralstroll]

What is the best technique/ tool choice for cutting plywood to avoid splintered edges??

[Steep]

Tape over the line to be cut helps as does a very sharp saw blade with small teeth. You can't avoid the splintering effect entirely, if it's important then cut so you have some extra wood left to sand down to the line.

[mapstar]

Depends on what your using to cut it?

If its a hand saw then clamp a piece of wood underneath along the good side of the saw cut as the teeth cut in a downward direction so splintering the bottom edge.

If its a hand held circular saw a sharp circular saw blade is best but they normally cut up through the wood so run down the cut line with a Stanley knife and straight edge on the edge you wish to save to stop it splintering out as much.

On professional saw tables they have a main blade which cuts downhill and a pre scoring blade before this to make a cut underneath just like the Stanley knife cut.

Hope this helps?

[swamp thing]

Score cross cuts first with a craft knife. This stops edge chipping. Ripping cuts are fine.

[gazza63]

Astronomy and carpentry TIPS!.....This site gets better and better.

[Astralstroll]

Any help I can get will be most welcome!

[pete_l]

Assuming yo are using a circular saw (either hand-held, or table mounted) then take note of the direction the sawblade's teeth are moving. They will enter the wood on one side and exit on the other (duh!) the tearout appears on the side of the sheet that the teeth exit on.

Whenever possible, arrange this side to be inside or otherwise invisible on the finished article - that way it'll look nicer. From a structural point of view, a few splinters won't make any difference.

[Gweedo]

+1 for using a heavy duty craft knife to score along the cut line on both sides first. Using a fine tooth Japanese pull saw to make the final cut works well.

You could always measure up beforehand and get the store to do straight cuts. I think that most do a certain amount free of charge and then make a small charge for the rest. If you do this go to the store at a quiet time mid week or so - this gets you on the good side of the staff.

[Nillchill]

Same rules as for formica or kitchen worktop , fine tooth saw and cut it at a shallow angle, will take longer, but will give a far better finish

[8kids]

Knife lines work well if your using a jigsaw or circular saw, as said above if your using a rip saw you can clamp some scrap wood underneath. What ever tool you use make sure it's sharp.

For kitchen worktop and the like I tend to rough cut and then use a router along a straight edge, perfect every time.

What are you making it might allow us to be more specific with advice.

Gary.

[Moonshane]

Knife lines work well if your using a jigsaw or circular saw, as said above if your using a rip saw you can clamp some scrap wood underneath. What ever tool you use make sure it's sharp.

For kitchen worktop and the like I tend to rough cut and then use a router along a straight edge, perfect every time.

What are you making it might allow us to be more specific with advice.

Gary.

+1 for this. routering is the neatest way I have found. for cut outs I draw the shape on the timber with pencil, then score with a stanley blade about 5mm in from the cut then cut inside and as close to the scored line as poss, then router with my template and guided bit.

[Avo]

The blade that comes with a circular saw is usually a course or general rip saw blade.

For ply, a dedicated smooth / finer cut blade will be needed to stop the trailing edge being ripped.

Googling any tool suppliers will point you in the right direction.

To get a straight edge / right angles etc, clamp a piece of wood as a guide, suitably offset and away you go.

[Astralstroll]

Just ordered a circular saw and off to collect it after work. I've already got a router so I think it's time to get a few bits of old ply, a proper ply blade and get practicing. Many thanks for the tips and advice.

Dave.

[Tinker1947]

Using a Circular saw to cut Ply or any type of board material just requires a straight edge to run the saw along, don't have the saw blade deeper than it needs to be, if breakouts are a problem do as said score the board, check the saw blade is in line with the edge of the saw base, i have a large Skiff saw and its out by 1/8" along the length of the base makes it useless for running along a straight edge, your saw is new if its not level take it back, mine i brought new and just used it for several years to rip 4" thick timber so taking it back wasn't a option. Try a couple of practice runs if you have waste material, make sure you can do the cut in one movement, no obstruction so you don't have to stop. wear your safety glasses...if the job need to be really tidy think about edging the board.....Good luck..