Beginner question about cutting work the same

[Paulhaggo]

Hello

Started my first project ever, a hedgehog house

So I have some sheets of plywood 20mm depth.

I am meant to cut a few pieces 40cm by 30cm so I got a workbench and a manual saw, I drew some lines on there and it turns our sawing straight is pretty hard. So I messed some up, more like 41 by 29.

So then I got a jigsaw, which I can do better with.

Then I ended up with 4 boards, all around 40x30 varying half a cm here and there.

So I can not make an tight seal when trying to make a box with them.

I then thought a electric mouse sander would able me to match them up if I stand them next to each other, if does not seem to remove much wood lol. I even got crouse paper.

So my question is, if your making 4 boards, which need to match up, how can I remove a tidy bit of certain sides,

I tried to rejig them but the little bit I want to remove is to small

Complete silly person here looking for advice

Thanks

 

[Nigel Burden]

When using a hand saw hold the saw with the index finger pointing towards the blade not wrapped around the handle and the three remaining fingers wrapped around the handle. There is no need to grip the handle tightly. Do not force the saw, let the weight do the work.

I found the best way to saw straight was to square some lines on some scrap wood and practice sawing just off the line, about 1mm. Do not expect to get it right first time, it takes practice, but it's worth it.

You will find that you will probably need to plane the saw cut after. The advice I would give you is to look at Paul Sellers videos on his website. He gives lots of advice on the basics.

Paul Sellers' Videos on Woodworking -Tutorials, Techniques and Projects

Nigel.

 

[TheTiddles]

It’s not so much for plywood (but you can), a shooting board and a plane will allow you to go to fractions of a mm precision and it’s not a skilled thing to use either.

practice helps with sawing, but only practicing doing it well

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't forget that if you are attempting to work to the mm (difficult enough for experienced people) you probably need to use a finer saw - you're probably using a first fix hardpoint, look for one with 10 tpi. A coarse saw will have more set and will give a wider cut. You need also to allow for the width of the pencil line - if you mark a line at say 200mm and cut on the line (which of course we do unless we know differently) your cut piece will be half the width of the saw cut (not the saw) short. Don't hold the saw at too big an angle to the ply, keep it shallow - the more of the blade that's in the cut, the more likely the line to be straight.
If you have any number of these to make it may well pay to get your ply sawn to size (at B&Q or somewhere with a sheet saw) - you'll pay more for the ply but save time and work. Obviously if you're intending to use a whole sheet you need to adjust your dimemsions to allow for the working, or you'll finish up with smaller offcuts.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

My suggestion, using the tools you have, is to cut a strip about 100mm wide the full width of the board, making sure that one edge is the edge of the board as you bought it, so you can be sure it is straight.
Use that as a guide rail to rest the side of your jigsaw against as you make your cuts. It may even be a good idea to cut two pieces at the same time by putting one on top of the other.
Good luck.

 

[artie]

I am meant to cut a few pieces 40cm by 30cm so I got a workbench and a manual saw, I drew some lines on there and it turns our sawing straight is pretty hard. So I messed some up, more like 41 by 29.

That's pretty tight tolerance for a hedgehog home.

 

[eribaMotters]

I'm guessing at a few things here.
Did you attempt to haul an 8 x 4 sheet of plywood across the top of your saw by yourself. If so then that could be the start of your problem. Unless you have a large outfeed table or rollers set up to take the weight then any level of accuracy is difficult to achieve. I usually use a cordless circular saw to cut the board down to a safe and manageable size.
If size allows I then dimension everything to an oversize measurement, re-set the saw and make a final cut to exact size.
Finally, it's a hedgehog box, does it matter if the thing is 10mm smaller overall.
Treat the project as a learning experience on using your new equipment so when you get onto making that nice piece you have made your basic mistakes.

Colin

 

[Jameshow]

Practice practice practice!!!

18mm ply us probably the hardest material to cut as a big sheet. Try and jig saw roughly and finish with a fine saw or a plane.

Cheers James

 

[Glitch]

Are you using the jigsaw freehand? Not ideal for a straight line.

Clamp a guide on top of the piece you are cutting.
Make sure both pieces can't move and the edge of the guide is parallel to the line you want to cut.
Trim up all the boards to the same size. Shouldn't matter if they end up slightly smaller than planned.
Be careful to make sure you keep the boards square. Hopefully you've still got some original edges and a square corner to measure off.
Maybe one board true and use it as a template for the others.

 

[pe2dave]

First (and best) sawing advice I ever had. Aged under 10, told to let the saw do the work.
60 years later I now understand it.
Take it slow (so you can concentrate on the line), don't force it (or you're likely to drift off the line)
and use a sharp saw.
Then practice for 60 years. It does get easier.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

The last few days I have been playing with a hand saw, and following advice from here discovered the reflection of the edge of the wood is is a great guide to making your cut square. It doesn't help you follow the line, but it keeps your saw at 90° as you cut down through. I'm only making forms and false work for cement, but every opportunity to practice, and all that.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Are you using the jigsaw freehand? Not ideal for a straight line.

I've always found it much easier to keep a jigsaw straight freehand without a fence - a fence makes it impossible to correct if the cut drifts towards the fence.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I'm guessing at a few things here.
Did you attempt to haul an 8 x 4 sheet of plywood across the top of your saw by yourself.
Colin

He's using a hand saw.

 

[paulrbarnard]

He's using a hand saw.

Moving the wood against the saw would work too and would explain the inaccuracy

 

[Jameshow]

Another tip I leant from cutting dovetails which is applicable for all cutting but not so much with thin boards is too cut in one dimension first and then the other.

So cut down the back face of the wood untill you reach the bottom of the cut and then concentrate on the flat face of the wood. Then your cut is straight in both dimensions.

If that makes sense!

Cheers James

 

[Fergie 307]

I have done a lot of similar stuff building shelving units and so on. I find the best way is to cut them to approximately the correct size, within a couple of mm. I then clamp them together and finish with a long straight cutter in a router. Just clamp a long straight edge across the board measured very precisely to allow for the offset of the cutter from the straight edge of the router and off you go. Perfectly right angled edges, and all as accurate as your ability to measure them.

 

[TRITON]

hold the saw with the index finger pointing towards the blade not wrapped around the handle and the three remaining fingers wrapped around the handle. There is no need to grip the handle tightly. Do not force the saw, let the weight do the work.

Close eyes and say Hummmmmmmmmm

 

[Fitzroy]

Welcome to the land of woodworking. Some key early lessons I learnt were, a sharp pencil and accurate marking. Saw to the waste side of your line and then finish to it. As your skills improve you can saw closer and closer to the line. Good work holding is super important, you can't cut a board accurately that is squirrelling all over the place as you try to cut.

IMHO the easiest tool tool to remove a small amount from the edge of a board is a hand plane, no 4, 4 1/2, 5, or 5 1/2. Holding the board steady with the edge to be planed horizontal, so ideally a workbench with a woodworking vice, and take fine cuts to get to the marked line.

Cheers

Fitz

 

[Paulhaggo]

Thank you everyone for your help, I shall try and hopefully post a pic of whatever I end up with as a finished project lol

 

[TRITON]

Please do, what we all like here is pics.

How else are we going to plagiarize your designs