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Breaking Down Plywood

Cynthia White said:
I bought some insulation today to cover the table, and tomorrow I'll start cutting on that with my little CS. The big one scares me. I'll stick with the 4 3/8" blade. (I did once see Norm Abrams use a little one on one of his shows....so I feel vindicated). ;)

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Cynthia,
I'm sure your more than capable using any tool, but if this is the first time you've used a CS to cut sheet goods or anything for that matter, it is very easy and you can get very creative (even do arches).

Forgive me, I don't want to sound insulting with this suggestion, just offering some advice not knowing your familiarity with the tool;). Remember on a CS, 1. don't let go of the saw if it binds/kicks back 2. Don't put your hand behind the saw (on what your cutting), in front is ok, not behind it 3. don't put your hand under the board you are cutting to support it (like if your cutting off thin strips - knew a guy that did this, darwin award right there for him):doh:
Looks like your all set up! Have fun cutting and looking forward to pictures of the shelves!
 
Toni

A thought that your comment brought to mind for me is the blade in use.

I dont know about others experiences but my CS saw is a real el cheapo Skil saw.

It was one of my first tools on arrival in Canada and i bought it on price.

Then i read in a magazine about changing the blade. I bought one of the real thin kerf Freud blades for this saw and what a difference. The blade was real cheap too.

I get very good clean cuts with mine as a result. Was one of the best and cheapest upgrades i have ever made.

I also think something else one can do is to add a zero clearance base to ones saw by using some 1/4 inch masonite. I say masonite rather than MDF since my version of what i mean by masonite is real hard dense stuff that looks similar to MDF but is sort of cross hatched on the backside as opposed to super smooth. I have not done this yet but plan to with a view to seeing what the improvement would be, but my primary reason is to be able to run my saw up against a guide. In my case the saw motor is so low to the table when the blade is out i cannot get much under it when i want to cut along a straight edge. Adding a ZCI base will remedy that i think.
 
Brian Altop said:
if this is the first time you've used a CS to cut sheet goods or anything for that matter, it is very easy and you can get very creative (even do arches).
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I remember about 18 years ago ... my Black & Decker circular saw started trying to cut arches in particleboard, even through I was trying to cut straight lines. :eek: It cut a curving kerf, and bound up pretty tight. Like a true "newb", I tried again and got the same result. I put the saw away for a few years; I don't remember how I ever finished cutting the lines I wanted.

Rob Keeble said:
A thought that your comment brought to mind for me is the blade in use.

I dont know about others experiences but my CS saw is a real el cheapo Skil saw.

It was one of my first tools on arrival in Canada and i bought it on price.

Then i read in a magazine about changing the blade. I bought one of the real thin kerf Freud blades for this saw and what a difference. The blade was real cheap too.

I get very good clean cuts with mine as a result. Was one of the best and cheapest upgrades i have ever made.
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I'll second that!

When we moved to a different home, we had a friend side the house, convert the garage to a studio for my wife, etc. He found out that I had a circular saw and asked if he could borrow it for the job. I told him that it wouldn't cut a straight line anymore, but that didn't bother him. He replaced the cheap, plain steel blade on it with a new blade of some kind, and voila!

I have since put a thin-kerf carbide blade on the saw, and it does a great job of cutting 4'x8's in half, etc. No more binding, nice clean edges, etc. :thumb:
 
Kerry Burton said:
I remember about 18 years ago ... my Black & Decker circular saw started trying to cut arches in particleboard, even through I was trying to cut straight lines. :eek: It cut a curving kerf, and bound up pretty tight. Like a true "newb", I tried again and got the same result. I put the saw away for a few years; I don't remember how I ever finished cutting the lines I wanted.



I'll second that!

When we moved to a different home, we had a friend side the house, convert the garage to a studio for my wife, etc. He found out that I had a circular saw and asked if he could borrow it for the job. I told him that it wouldn't cut a straight line anymore, but that didn't bother him. He replaced the cheap, plain steel blade on it with a new blade of some kind, and voila!

I have since put a thin-kerf carbide blade on the saw, and it does a great job of cutting 4'x8's in half, etc. No more binding, nice clean edges, etc. :thumb:
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Those are good ideas, Kerry and Rob, and I'll keep you posted. I've been tied up with some family shenanigans the last couple of days and fighting a migraine :bang: :pullhair: :deadhorse: so I've made zero progress other than get the vise attached. My son said, "vices (vises) are his specialty" :rofl:

Kerry I don't have a lot of experience with the CS, and I don't like it. The idea of a heavy thing with a big spinning blade gives me the heebee jeebies :eek: Of course, part of the problem is the CS I had was too big and too heavy for me--big Bosch. So I bought a little 4 3/8" one and I'm a *lot* happier with it and building confidence. I know not to let go if it binds and I hold it with 2 hands. I bought an extra fine blade for it too, so I'll compare the two cuts and give you a full report tomorrow.

I have to go outside and help Santa unload his sleigh for his last visit here this year.....and gloat about it before going back to the plywood....:D
 
Cynthia White said:
Kerry I don't have a lot of experience with the CS, and I don't like it. The idea of a heavy thing with a big spinning blade gives me the heebee jeebies :eek:
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Yep, I know just how you feel. My cheapo B&D unit isn't exactly heavy, but it makes a lot of noise as though it were! :rolleyes:

I wasn't necessarily recommending that you go with a CS; just validating what Rob said about the difference a blade can make. I've debated about sharing the way I make these kinds of break-down cuts (on my hand and knees on the driveway, with supporting strips of particle board instead of a slab of styrofoam) but I thought it would be better with pics ... and I don't have any yet. :(

Hope you caught Santa before he got away for good! :thumb:
 
Kerry Burton said:
Yep, I know just how you feel. My cheapo B&D unit isn't exactly heavy, but it makes a lot of noise as though it were! :rolleyes:

I wasn't necessarily recommending that you go with a CS; just validating what Rob said about the difference a blade can make. I've debated about sharing the way I make these kinds of break-down cuts (on my hand and knees on the driveway, with supporting strips of particle board instead of a slab of styrofoam) but I thought it would be better with pics ... and I don't have any yet. :(

Hope you caught Santa before he got away for good! :thumb:
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I really don't have a choice. I *have* to break it down with the CS first. I've tried with the big CS and 2X4's on the table, and that was scary...now I'm going to try with the little CS on insulation. Rob was concerned about my table height but I purposely built it low so that I could sit at it on a chair, so standing over it is fine--I still feel in control. It's only 32" and I'm 5'6". Drew told me I may not like using the insulation--it can make a mess--so I'll decide on that tomorrow. Still haven't touched the good ply yet....don't wanna make any big booboos if I can help it. Thank you for helping....:)
 
Cynthia you probably all ready have the saw set for cutting just through the ply. But I tossing it out anyways:thumb:
 
Chuck Thoits said:
That Bosh is not a big CS Stephen.
Now this is a big CS http://www.baileysonline.com/itemde...tm_medium=cse:thumb::thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Might be a bit of over kill for 3/4" plywood.:thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl:
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Yea i've used that saw before, and your right it is Big. The problem with that saw is the blade has to much flex.:D
I was just calling the bosch big as that's what Cynthia was calling it.:thumb: My self i don't care for the bosch saws as they don't feel right to me, after all these years using the mikita.
 
Cynthia White said:
Chuck, everything is relative. To me, this is a big circular saw. It weighs 10 lbs which I find heavy to maneuver. You may find it light as a feather.

This one is 6.8 pounds. For me that's significantly lighter. :thumb:
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You got it all wrong. The reason you find the second one easier to maneuver is because it's a Makita.:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Stephen Bellinger said:
Yea i've used that saw before, and your right it is Big. The problem with that saw is the blade has to much flex.:D
I was just calling the bosch big as that's what Cynthia was calling it.:thumb: My self i don't care for the bosch saws as they don't feel right to me, after all these years using the mikita.
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Agreed:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
I have a small shop so most of the time I'm breaking down plywood outside by laying it over four 2x4's and cutting it with a CS. I got tired of all the bending over so two days ago I made a 4x8" lattice (or grid) of notched 2x4's that rests across two sawhorses. There are no screws or fasteners used. Using a dado blade I cut interlocking notches so it locks together. Two 2x4"x8' go from sawhorse to sawhorse with five 2x4"x4' going across and locking into notches. This way the whole thing can be taken apart and stored up in the joists of my shop ceiling.

I'm working on a cabinet for the laundry room and it was so much more easy to cut the parts on the table.
 
Terry Wawro said:
I have a small shop so most of the time I'm breaking down plywood outside by laying it over four 2x4's and cutting it with a CS. I got tired of all the bending over so two days ago I made a 4x8" lattice (or grid) of notched 2x4's that rests across two sawhorses. There are no screws or fasteners used. Using a dado blade I cut interlocking notches so it locks together. Two 2x4"x8' go from sawhorse to sawhorse with five 2x4"x4' going across and locking into notches. This way the whole thing can be taken apart and stored up in the joists of my shop ceiling.

I'm working on a cabinet for the laundry room and it was so much more easy to cut the parts on the table.
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Hey, Welcome to the FWW Terry!

I use a similar process, much easier on my back to break it down up off the ground! :thumb:
 
Was cruising through my FWW DVD and found this.

It's a folding panel frame for using with a cutting guide. Either a shop built one or one of the aluminum thingamabobs.

Seems like it'd be kind of nice, since you would have to be reaching over the board to cut it if it was laying flat.

The question I have is what would keep the wood from pinching the sawblade as you made the cut? Do commercial panel saws even care about that?

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Brent Dowell said:
Was cruising through my FWW DVD and found this.

It's a folding panel frame for using with a cutting guide. Either a shop built one or one of the aluminum thingamabobs.

Seems like it'd be kind of nice, since you would have to be reaching over the board to cut it if it was laying flat.

The question I have is what would keep the wood from pinching the sawblade as you made the cut? Do commercial panel saws even care about that?

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I've only ever used a panel router and that was to cut dados. I would think a few clamps would take care of the pinching problem since it is an open frame.
 
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