Advice on cutting away wavy edge to oak worktop?

[Chris152]

I have a leftover piece of worktop someone's given me to make a table for them. The front and back are fine to plane, but both ends are wavy, cut in a hurry I guess. I tried to saw one end straight with a xx year old circular saw but it's terrible - can't get the blade perpendicular to the base and the blade's in terrible shape.

So I either hand saw it (not a favourite idea, as I also plan to rip saw it in half lengthways) or I do it on the bandsaw. I can't use the fence as the edge I want to cut is so wavy, so thought I could screw a baton to the underside of the wood (the underside is facing up in this picture) as a guide to run along the right hand side of the saw table, allowing a straight cut.

Is this a reasonable idea or is there a better way?

Thanks.

edit - or is getting a decent track saw the answer?

 

[RobinBHM]

router with bearing guided straight bit and straight edge?

or router with template guide and a 1/2" straight bit

 

[SteveF]

get a festool track saw is the answer
or do you have some scrap mdf?
double sided tape to mdf and run through ts with the mdf running along fence (make sure it cant come unstuck)
or a straight edge clamped on it and use a router

Steve

 

[Ttrees]

Can you not make the base for the circular saw parallel with the blade ?
I've never used one of those, but imagine it wouldn't be that hard to either file the base parallel
or screw a baton to it to make it cut against a clamped fence.
I would be looking for two new blades for your saw, rip and crosscut.

Tom

 

[Chris152]

Thanks for the replies. I see now why some people list their kit in a signature below their posts! I've only got the bandsaw and a small pillar drill - the rest is handheld power (drills and a couple of sanders - oh and a circular saw that seems to be a terrible mess), and hand tools. So no router or table saw.

My circular saw really is in a bad way - and the angle of cut adjusts but won't come perpendicular, and looks like it never did (the gauge says it's perpendicular, but it's not). It's a 1400 watt Wickes saw and screams like nothing else. And i did make a fence, which worked just fine.

So if I'm going to use a circular saw I think it should be something that's an upgrade, along with a dedicated sawing table which I'll build. Looking online, I think a tracksaw for occasional use outside (they chuck out a hell of a lot of mess, don't they?) is the way to go. I plan to build mainly small tables and I'm sure I'd use it for each one to trim ends (unless that's also a bad idea). My hand sawing skills leave something to be desired at the moment, judging by my dovetail cuts...

Does anything compare to festool and is cheaper? I've seen this asked a lot online and in this forum, but just wondering if there's anything available right now that's also good for what I need.

 

[Racers]

You need one of the track saws Lidl where selling last week they might have some left.

Pete

 

[Chris152]

You need one of the track saws Lidl where selling last week they might have some left.

Pete

the annoying thing is I looked at them last week in the shop and didn't think to get it. Do you know if they have the riving knife?

 

[Racers]

None of the track saws do I think, on a track its safer than free hand!

Pete

 

[Chris152]

I've found some that do since I did my post - this one has it as part of the blade cover:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/festool-hk55 ... l-ax959912

Is that a good saw to go for, complete with track?

 

[Ttrees]

Why can't you sort out the circular saw ?
Are you saying the blade is not parallel with the base/fence or attachments...
Or is it not giving a 90 degree cut relative to the face?

I would try to fix it since it seems you've nothing to lose
Maybe try taking a piccy of the problem ?
Tom

 

[Robbo3]

Does anything compare to festool and is cheaper? I've seen this asked a lot online and in this forum, but just wondering if there's anything available right now that's also good for what I need.

Peter Millard, who I believe is a forum member, compared the Festool & Titon
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8sagpnlF1Q

 

[sunnybob]

Hot glue a piece of straight edged scrap on top of the oak to over lap the good edge.
Measure from the new straight edge to where you want to cut. adjust the bandsaw fence to that and off you go.
If the blade is old and the oak is tough, cut very very slowly.

You MUST have a hot glue gun in your workshop, start at less than a tenner and is amazingly versatile

 

[Chris152]

Thanks all.

Tom - I watched a long h&s video on circular saws last night, and my old saw fails on so much they list. It also rattles as the blade turns, which kind of worried me. The angle problem, though, is that the blade cuts along the line ok but creates an angled cut when it should be perpendicular, though it's set to cut in the most upright position the blade will reach. It might always have been this way - as I recall, I only used it for cutting sheets for a shed I built about 10 years ago. I'm happy to retire it now!

You MUST have a hot glue gun in your workshop, start at less than a tenner and is amazingly versatile

Yes, I have one and forgot to list it! But given what I said about making cross-cuts across ends of table tops/ glued boards in future, tho, it looks like I might as well bite the bullet now and get a track saw.

That Peter Millard video is excellent. The Titon's £100 and they have them down the road. I've now read the incredibly helpful thread on this site on riving knifes/ blade guards/ blades that are less like to bind and - at the risk of opening that can of worms again - is it still safer to have a riving knife? The Titon doesn't have one but has anti-kickback attachment to the rail. And - the Titon doesn't have a power break - is that important as a safety feature?

 

[Ttrees]

Hi Chris
Did I hear you correctly that you own a plane ?
I would make an angled shim for attaching to the base if I was in a pinch, so the saw blade is 90 degrees to
the base.
If the saw is not able to cut that to that depth, you can always flip it over
and cut from the other side.
I would clamp up a fence to ride against
That rattling is prob a bearing, if you look it up.
Good luck

 

[jnw010]

Also worth mentioning that most plunge / track saws have pretty effective dust control when used with a shop vac.

 

[Racers]

Hi Chris
Did I hear you correctly that you own a plane ?
I would make an angled shim for attaching to the base if I was in a pinch, so the saw blade is 90 degrees to
the base.
If the saw is not able to cut that to that depth, you can always flip it over
and cut from the other side.
I would clamp up a fence to ride against
That rattling is prob a bearing, if you look it up.
Good luck

The rattling is the gears not meshing very well (backlash), typical of a cheap saw.

I would look at the curved slots near the pivots where the clamp goes through, it could be you need to file some out of the end to allow your saw to go to 90deg.
Or just chuck it in the bin and get a track saw.

Pete

 

[Chris152]

It's not that I'm tight fisted, but the thought of spending £100, let alone £300+ to make a couple of cuts a week has been worrying me. So I decided to give it a go with a handsaw with some help.

I'm really pleased - it only took about 4 mins to make the cut and I think it's spot on. You can see how far off the circular saw was in the second shot. I'm going to try the same method with a rip cut on the same board and if that works, I'll be delighted!
Thanks again all for your replies, at some time I may still get that Festool...

 

[Ttrees]

Have you got a ripsaw for cutting along the grain?
Oops forgot you have a bandsaw
Some swipes with a plane and your sorted
Have fun
Tom

 

[Chris152]

Have you got a ripsaw for cutting along the grain?
Oops forgot you have a bandsaw
Some swipes with a plane and your sorted
Have fun
Tom

Ha, tbh I'd forgotten the bandsaw's perfect for that! I was even looking for a hardpoint ripsaw on line... (hammer)
Thanks Tom.