Clean Cross-Cutting

[Joe]

Given that I don't have a table saw and my mitre saw has limited reach, can anyone recommend a good way to cross-cut wide, solid wood boards to final dimensions?

Thanks

Joel

 

[RogerS]

Circular saw and a guide rail?

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Circular saw and a guide rail?

Yes...

Most on the forum couldn't get a full sheet on their table saws Joe, and that includes me.

Like Roger has suggest it is the easiest way, no need for expensive rails either, here is a pic of mine

 

[Steve Maskery]

That's the way to do it!

I have a posh aluminium rail, but you can get perfectly good results using a home-made track like the one above, and I used such a one for many years before I became posh

The bigger difficulty, it always seems to me, is cutting the panels perfectly sized and with parallel edges. For this I use a setting gauge which ensures that the track is positioned perfectly for every cut. It takes a few secods to set for each panel and they are all identical.

If your panels are veneered (MFC, MDF etc) the buying a blade which is designed for the job will repay itself in no time.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mr Ed]

Even if you had a table saw, the other benefit of doing it this way is that you don't have to wield the piece of timber onto the table and try and keep it against the fence. I have some timber bearers I lay on the floor for big sheets and cut them that way.

I have a Mafell KSP55F track mounted saw and although I don't use it every week, its invaluable when I do. As others have said, you can do it perfectly well with a £50 circular saw and a straight rip of ply/mdf - I see loads of material cut this way on site every day.

Cheers, Ed

 

[Paul Chapman]

Joel,

If you don't have a hand-held circular saw, you could also do it with a router and a guide rail. A bit slower, but you will get a very nice finish if you take shallow cuts.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[TheTiddles]

or just an ordinary hand saw, like in those old films...

 

[wizer]

But this will never do it...

 

[RogerS]

.... I have some timber bearers I lay on the floor for big sheets and cut them that way.

.....

A spare sheet of Kingspan does it for me. I keep it leant against the wall along with all the rest of my sheet material. Then I simply pull it out, drop the sheets down until I get to the one I want, put the Kingspan on top, drop the wanted sheet and cut. That way gravity takes the weight for most of the time.

 

[Mr Ed]

A spare sheet of Kingspan does it for me.

Never even thought of using that, but I can see its better as the work is fully suported. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for an orphan sheet on site for the next few weeks I can see

Cheers, Ed

 

[Joe]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I have used a circular saw with a straight edge before, but I was wondering how people avoid breakout on the underside and far edge when cross-cutting (solid wood). I guess a sacrificial surface under the stock and a bit of same-thickness scrap against the far edge would do it? I'm looking for a really crisp, clean cut.

Paul, I thought about using a router - is there a specific cutter diameter you'd recommend?

Regards

Joel

 

[joiner_sim]

A good blade designed for cutting the materials you plan to cut should give you quite a nice and clean cut. :wink:

 

[Paul Chapman]

Paul, I thought about using a router - is there a specific cutter diameter you'd recommend?

Hi Joel,

I normally use a 1/2" diameter 2" long cutter. One thing I would recommend if using a router for this type of work, is to use a large, rectangular baseplate. I use the Trend one

But you can make one from MDF like this

What it does is to ensure that the base of the router is in good contact with the straight edge well before the cutter touches the work

It also ensures that the router is very stable and does not tip.

With regard to breakout when you come to the end of the cut, there are two ways to avoid this when using the router. One is to cut in the "wrong" direction (ie right to left for a short distance - say 1/4"- then do the rest of the cut as normal - left to right). The other is to clamp a waste piece to the end of the work.

The most important thing is to take a series of very shallow cuts - don't try to do it in one go.

Hope this helps.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Joe]

Yes, thanks Paul.

 

[busy builder]

To reduce breakout with a circular saw do a 2mm pass through first.

IIRC its a scribe cut. Or buy a nice festool TS55.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Joel,

Just another thought about router cutters. If you want to ensure that you get no breakout across the grain, you might be better using a "down cut" spiral cutter http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Spi ... ed_31.html

This will ensure that you get no breakout on the top surface and if you use a piece of sacrificial MDF underneath that will ensure that you get no breakout on the other side.

I've not used these cutters myself but I've seen them used and they do give a very clean cut. You might get away with a straight cutter but a spiral one would be better.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Ross K]

If you're talking about a large piece of solid hardwood, assuming you don't have a suitable table saw, the easiest way for a clean no-breakout cut would be a hand held circular saw, guide rail and sacrificial piece right under the cut line. If you're laying it all on the floor you can put a fair amount of your own weight over the cut as you go, holding the underside of the cut aginst the sacrificial piece, as you go, helping clean cutting.

Also a new blade with more teeth per inch would be a help in hardwood. And going along the cut slower rather than faster will also help.

 

[mailee]

or just an ordinary hand saw, like in those old films...

Ah yes I remember my Grandad telling me about those. :lol:

 

[Benchwayze]

Just buy one of those throwaway hand saws. They are sharp, they last a fair time and they waltz through timber. They usually cost less than a tenner.

Allow yourself a 1/4" or so oversize for cleaning up and use the router to trim the end grain square, for a datum.

Good exercise and by the time you set up the fence and router or portable saw, you'll have it done.

Trust me. If I can do it so can any able bodied person.


I you do use a circular saw or router method, have a look at this video first. (There's a little advert before the video proper starts)

http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/file.j ... r&temp=yes :wink:

 

[gidon]

I came across this link the other day on handling sheet goods that you might find useful (I want one of those troll things!):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nq_CYwa-Y98
Cheers
Gidon