Breaking Down Plywood

I'm starting to break down big sheets of plywood, and I have a couple of questions.

I understand that I pretty much have to use a CS to get pieces down to manageable sizes. (Can't put full sheets on a "contractor's TS).

My questions are how do you approach it? I mean I can't reach across 4' of it or 8' of it for that matter. I'm wondering if there's an easy way (that I haven't figured out). Am I destined to get on my table or the floor and creep along on my knees?

2nd question is do you ever find that you get any kickback from the CS? Does the ply ever bind back around the blade? I have seen CS's with riving knives, but not often.......

thanks all, and good morning!
 
Cynthia, I have 4 4x4's a coupla feet long I put them under the sheet on both side of where I am gonna make the cut then I have a long straight edge 104" long that I clamp to the sheet as a guide. Yes You can get kickbacks but usually that if you don't properly support the sheet you are cutting and it gets pinched by the weight of the pieces
 
I have 2 shop made jigs I use. One is 4' long, the other is 8.
I'll post a photo later, which is better than an explanation. The saw rides along a fence, and maintains a straight and safe cut. I also have a 3'x 6' sacrificial table made of 2 x 2s, and I lay the 4 x 8 on it, and cut into the table itself. No dropping off, and it is quite safe.

Yes, you can get kickback with a CS.
 
Cynthia,
I rarely work in sheet goods, but when I do I go to the borg and buy a sheet of 2" thick foam insulation board. Put it on the floor and the plywood on top. Set your blade to extend 1/4" beyond the ply thickness and cut away. I discard the foam board when I am finished. Never experienced any binding because the foam supports both pieces. Just one way for you to consider.
 
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I do most of my work alone. I've made quite a few display counters, cabinets, work tables, etc. out of plywood/particle board. When I have to cut a 4x8 down, I usually set up a couple saw horses. I have a couple old door slabs that I saved. I lay the door across the saw horses and it gives me a good working height table. I'll lay the 4x8 on top and then set up for what I need to cut. I have a nice aluminum straight edge cutting guide I bought at the BORG. It's two 49" pieces that bolt together so you can use it as a 4 footer or an eight footer. I clamp the cutting guide in place and then set my CS blade just deep enough to get through the material. It's an old scrap door so I don't care if it gets cut. Then I go ahead and make my cut. Because the piece is completely supported, I don't usually have any kickback or binding issues. It works well for me.

In the past before I used an old door, I'd just screw two or three 2x4's to the top of a sawhorse. I'd use the same procedure and just let the blade cut through the stock and slightly into the 2x's. They're cheap and it really doesn't matter much. It allows the piece to be fully supported and it won't bind up as easily.

Good luck!

John
 
I normally put down 4 2x4 to support each piece and just put a knee on the plywood while I'm making the 8' cut. The 4' I can reach across, but you could do the same thing there.
 
I use rigid foam insulation. Mr. Hardboard-Scrap is playing the part of a piece of sheetgoods in the picture. Set your saw to clear the material being cut by 1/2" or so. Be sure the piece you are cutting is supported so that it remains supported including the piece you are cutting off.

You do not cut in the area between the faomboards. You cut into the foamboard. I have been using these pieces for 5 years and when they finally get shredded I will pick up a couple more. I prefer a few pieces of 2' x 4' foam as opposed to larger pieces. This allows me positioning flexibility as usually I have a shop made guide clamped to the material and need to have an open area for the clamp clearance.
 

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Cynthia,

I've been breaking down some sheets lately and here's how I've been doing it.

First, I made a little frame out of 2x3's and screwed it down to some sawhorses to provide a stable platform
FWW-4076.jpg

I made a 'flipper upper' to help get the plywood on the table. Basically, I put the far end of the piece of ply into the hook on the end. That allows me to put a sheet of ply up on the table just by twisting it from one end. Way easier than lifting.
FWW-4078.jpg

For some cuts, I use my saw on a track. You can make something that works pretty much the same using a shop made jig.
FWW-4077.jpg

If I'm doing a bunch of cuts the same width, I use the "ripmaster 3000". It's just a little jig I whipped up that lets me adjust the width of the cut. Makes quick work of cutting strips the same width.

FWW-4079.jpg

FWW-4080.jpg
 
I'm starting to break down big sheets of plywood, and I have a couple of questions.

I understand that I pretty much have to use a CS to get pieces down to manageable sizes. (Can't put full sheets on a "contractor's TS).

My questions are how do you approach it? I mean I can't reach across 4' of it or 8' of it for that matter. I'm wondering if there's an easy way (that I haven't figured out). Am I destined to get on my table or the floor and creep along on my knees?

2nd question is do you ever find that you get any kickback from the CS? Does the ply ever bind back around the blade? I have seen CS's with riving knives, but not often.......

thanks all, and good morning!

Cynthia,
If you don't need it in 8' lengths, most BORG's have a panel saw and will cut the sheets to length for you... usually 1 cut is free, the others are about $0.50 each... at least here in East TN. You might do some figuring on what sizes you'll be needing and have it cut before you leave the store, then the smaller pieces are easier to handle.... I know anymore that my shoulders are getting too old and stiff to handle 4x8 ft sheets of ply.. just another thought.
 
I made a cart with 5" standing ribs in a checker pattern. These ribs are strips of plywood that lock together and are sacrifiical. I use a Makita MGA 5007 (has a brake) with the EZ Smart track system. My plywood is stored on on the 8" side on shelves that are about 32" off the floor. I can wheel the cart over to the plywood shelves and flip the sheet on the cart by myself. I can layout the parts on a sheet of plywood and cut them more accurately than on my tablesaw since I am moving the circular saw on a track instead of moving the sheet of plywood. It was an investment, but well worth it. My sheet goods are square and I like the cut quality. I don't think I could come up with a better way.
 
These are not much to write about, but they do the trick. Piece of 1 x 4 attached to a piece of 1/4" hardboard.
 

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I guess I'm still to young and dumb cause I just cut all my sheet goods with my Ridgid ts3650 contractor table saw.:eek::thumb:


Not alone. I can't imagine breaking down sheets with anything less than a tablesaw. I do believe that a person could do some really accurate work with a track saw, or even a really good straight edge, but the amount of time required to do so, plus the extra material handling, makes me shudder.
 
I did something once I'll never do again.

I ripped a full sheet of plywood on a 10" portable saw. Sitting on a board on sawhorses.

On a hill.



It's a straight edge and circular saw since.
 
Not alone. I can't imagine breaking down sheets with anything less than a tablesaw. I do believe that a person could do some really accurate work with a track saw, or even a really good straight edge, but the amount of time required to do so, plus the extra material handling, makes me shudder.

I was waiting for Karl to chime in :D :thumb:

For pros, I can't imagine NOT doing it on a tablesaw, but you need to have the room, and right sized saw, and right sized out feed tables to do it.

Doing it where you have to actually measure each cut, set the track in position, then cut, then remove the piece then repeat, takes a lot of time...
 
One more piece of advice from me is that if you have a crosscut you can do first, do it. It will make your rip cuts easier.
 
I use the "EZ" system. It's a bit pricey for some of the components, but is a really accurate method of breaking down plywood, and doing any number of other woodworking tasks. I built a version of their cutting table, and it works just great at supporting whole or partial sheets during cutting.
 
For pros, I can't imagine NOT doing it on a tablesaw, but you need to have the room, and right sized saw, and right sized out feed tables to do it.

I'd think with a portable saw mounted solidly, and an out feed table it would be do able. Actually a tablesaw is a pretty horrible machine for cutting up sheet stock, but a decent cheap alternative to a beam saw, cnc, or a panel saw.

I've ripped up and crosscut full sheets on job sites with a portable saw and a wobbly stand, wouldn't recommend it.
 
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