how best to set up for cutting sheet timber ?

[johnny]

I am struggling to cut up large 2440x1220mm sheets of chipboard, ply and mdf with a circular saw for flooring roof and wall lining in my shed
Up until now I have been using a strip of 25x25mm quadrant screwed to the sheet but it is time consuming to measure and set up for accurate cutting and leaves unwanted screw holes in the sheets.

There must be a better way :roll:

Surely there must be an aluminium guide ? that I could fix with some sort of F or G clamps ? maybe just a length of aluminium angle would do with some sort of quick release clamps ?

 

[Stu_2]

You could very easily make up your own tracks from 6mm MDF. I used that method for my circular saws before I had a track saw. Cheap as chips and Works a treat

 

[johnny]

I would probably use something thicker than 6mm in case my cheapo saw jumped over the mdf guide or bent and broke the mdf in the middle .
what clamps would you recommend using ?

 

[Normancb]

Take a sheet of say 19 mm MDF or ply and cut a 6" wide strip off along one long edge. Mark the manufacturers edge and use as a guide for sawing - clamp it with a G clamp at each end. I've broken down many sheets that way. It's thick enough to be a slid guide, and wide enough not to flex and to get the clamps well out of the way.

 

[carlb40]

Video of the above

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtlxOQrXhEo

 

[Stu_2]

I would probably use something thicker than 6mm in case my cheapo saw jumped over the mdf guide or bent and broke the mdf in the middle .
what clamps would you recommend using ?

I think you've misunderstood. Edge guides are a PITA. I'm suggesting making a proper track, not an edge guide. Have a look at this post. You can see the pics of one of my old ones.

6mm MDF will be fine. Also, you don't want the centre strip to be too high, as it can obstruct the motor housing, depending on the size of your saw (more of an issue with small saws). Leave a decent bit of material on the non-cutting side for clamping.

Cheers

EDIT: Just watched Carl's YouTube link, which is exactly what I was suggesting. You can't go wrong doing that

 

[gmgmgm]

Are you familiar with sawboards? If not... this could be your salvation.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sawboard

 

[Roughcut]

Unless you are running to grab your wallet on the way to the tool shop to buy a Festool Track saw I would agree with the above suggestions to make a saw board.
Cheap to make........easy to use.

 

[Hemsby]

Similar to Normancb, but I use a piece of 4 x 2 with a pair of clamps. I have used this method for many years and it is possible to cut accurate dimensions.

Although I now have a bench saw I still use this method to cut the large sheets into manageable sized pieces.

Regards

 

[johnny]

Take a sheet of say 19 mm MDF or ply and cut a 6" wide strip off along one long edge. Mark the manufacturers edge and use as a guide for sawing - clamp it with a G clamp at each end. I've broken down many sheets that way. It's thick enough to be a slid guide, and wide enough not to flex and to get the clamps well out of the way.

thanks Norman. The problem with cutting a straight edge at the moment is I have nothing straight enough to use to cut one with :roll: #-o

I have an aluminium 1000mm spirit level so I could probably use that .
I agree that you need to use at least 10-12mm thickness to be certain that the circular saw guide does not ride up and over the guide . When you are cuttting a floppy 6mm thick sheet of MDF there is no way in the world you can run a saw up 2440 mm with a 6mm guide leastways not when you are supporting the sheet on a door stuck on 2x workmates. :lol:

I was hoping that someone would suggest some kind of one handed quick release /set clamp I could use rather than G clamps which are a bit of a pitta to use when you are ripping down 8+ sheets of 6mm MDF

I think I am going to order up a pair of 'F' clamps which look like they might make less marks on the MDF.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone

 

[johnny]

Are you familiar with sawboards? If not... this could be your salvation.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sawboard

yep thats just the kinda thing I need but not having the wherewithall to make an accurate one I was hoping that you could buy one .
I might have a go at making one tomorrow thanks for the link

 

[johnny]

I would probably use something thicker than 6mm in case my cheapo saw jumped over the mdf guide or bent and broke the mdf in the middle .
what clamps would you recommend using ?

I think you've misunderstood. Edge guides are a PITA. I'm suggesting making a proper track, not an edge guide. Have a look at this post. You can see the pics of one of my old ones.

6mm MDF will be fine. Also, you don't want the centre strip to be too high, as it can obstruct the motor housing, depending on the size of your saw (more of an issue with small saws). Leave a decent bit of material on the non-cutting side for clamping.

Cheers

EDIT: Just watched Carl's YouTube link, which is exactly what I was suggesting. You can't go wrong doing that

Stu I followed your link to the thread about making a sawguide and almost immediately had the dreaded UPDATE JAVA Virus pop up on my screen.
This is a particulary nasty Trogan virus and I have had to format my hard drive last month to get rid of it.
Just thought I ought to warn anyone else reading this thread and following your link.

 

[Stu_2]

Strange, the link is to a post on this forum?

 

[johnny]

Strange, the link is to a post on this forum?

well I'm not going back there to get a screen grab I'm afraid. It took me nearly 2x days to rebuild my hard drive the last time .
I may have selected another link on that page I can't remember now but I shut down the tab immediately.

 

[gmgmgm]

Are you familiar with sawboards? If not... this could be your salvation.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sawboard

yep thats just the kinda thing I need but not having the wherewithall to make an accurate one I was hoping that you could buy one .
I might have a go at making one tomorrow thanks for the link

To get the reference straight edge, buy some basic melamine-coated white shelving board (even from B&Q) to fit your dimensions/length. Tough and straight for £10.

 

[johnny]

Are you familiar with sawboards? If not... this could be your salvation.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sawboard

yep thats just the kinda thing I need but not having the wherewithall to make an accurate one I was hoping that you could buy one .
I might have a go at making one tomorrow thanks for the link

To get the reference straight edge, buy some basic melamine-coated white shelving board (even from B&Q) to fit your dimensions/length. Tough and straight for £10.

thats an excellent idea thanks. I don't know why I didn't think of that . i have a couple of shelves that are about 1200mm long ,just the ticket.

I must say the response to this has been tremendous thank you everyone that responded . I have never used a circular saw before and had no idea you could construct a saw board to save having to measure up for a strip-of-wood guide every cut. Brilliant !

 

[Noel]

When you are cuttting a floppy 6mm thick sheet of MDF there is no way in the world you can run a saw up 2440 mm with a 6mm guide leastways not when you are supporting the sheet on a door stuck on 2x workmates

Find a sheet of polystyrene and use that as a base to cut the sheets on the floor with the CC blade just deep enough so the polystyrene is only scored. Or use your old door on the workmates with the polystyrene on it. No more floppy sheets.

 

[johnny]

I've ripped over 20x boards so far into smaller panels so far so i think the mess would be phenomenal ! :shock:

You want to see the mess my cat can make with a piece of polystyrene in a few minutes lol. :lol: :lol:

I think I'd need to set my blade a bit deeper than a few mm or it would rip the bottom of the board surely ?

 

[Normancb]

The manufacturers edge on a new sheet of ply or MDF is a straight as you'll ever need - just cut about 6" off the edge of a sheet, note the manufacturers edge and use that as your reference - doesn't matter if the edge you just cut isn't straight - the other one will be.

You can get plasterers straight edges made of aluminium and of varying lengths, up to at least 2.5 m.

Proper tracks or saw boards which locate the saw and stop it wandering off the line are better but take money or time - a decently adjusted saw with the blade accurately parallel to the edge of the base (they often aren't) will do fine.

 

[carlb40]

I've ripped over 20x boards so far into smaller panels so far so i think the mess would be phenomenal ! :shock:

You want to see the mess my cat can make with a piece of polystyrene in a few minutes lol. :lol: :lol:

I think I'd need to set my blade a bit deeper than a few mm or it would rip the bottom of the board surely ?

All you need really is one full tooth to protrude through the board you are cutting.