Avoiding splinters

Here’s the bad side:
Cutting plywood across the grain can create a splintered edge on one side of the board. This won’t matter as long as you have a good side and a bad side on the workpiece. The trick is to cut on the correct side. Here are the rules: good side facing up for a handsaw, table saw and radial arm saw; good side facing down for a circular saw and jig saw.

Haven’t got a bad side?
If both faces of a panel are intended as good sides, you have two options. One is to first make a deep score line with a sharp knife on both faces of the wood. This will ensure a cleaner saw cut and prevent the saw from leaving a ragged edge. The other option (which doesn’t always work) is to apply a strip of masking tape to both faces of the board where you intend to cut. Mark your cut line on the tape. After you make the cut, peel off the two strips of tape.

Handsaw

Guidance:
To ensure a straight cut, use a guide to keep the saw vertically straight, and make frequent visual checks of the blade. A block of 2″ x 2″ (50 mm x 50 mm) wood cut straight and square will suffice as a guide for short cuts. For long cuts in thin plywood, clamp a length of 2″ x 2″ (50 mm x 50 mm) wood alongside the cutting line.

Deep thoughts:
A purpose-made depth gauge can help you cut saw kerfs to a specific depth. To make one, first measure the desired depth from the tips of the saw teeth up on both sides of the saw blade; then draw lines parallel to the teeth, again on both sides of the blade. Position strips of wood with a straight edge along the guidelines, straight edges facing down. Secure the strips to the blade with a pair of spring clamps. Make the cut until the edges of the depth gauge meet the work surface.

Circular saw

Ground level:
Forget about struggling sheets of plywood on sawhorses. Here are three ways to cut plywood on the floor:

1: Support the plywood on two or more lengths of 4″ x 2″ (100 mm x 50 mm) timber.

2: Put another piece of plywood under the one you’re cutting, and set your saw depth so that the blade barely grazes the lower sheet (which will be marked).

3: Set your saw so that the blade doesn’t go all the way through; then break the two pieces apart and clean up the cut edges with a plane and sandpaper.

Binding kerf:
A circular saw blade tends to catch the work when the kerf behind it closes up. Keep the kerf from binding the blade by inserting a wood shim or other small object into the kerf. When making longer cuts, slide the shim closer (but not too close) to the blade as you gradually progress.

Easy measuring:
For those of you who hafe to cut several boards to the same length, here’s a way to speed up the job. Cut one end of each board square; butt those ends against a straightedge nailed to your bench. On one board, measure and mark the desired length minus the distance between the saw blade and the end of the base; clamp a straightedge at this mark, extending it across all the boards. Now you can make one pass.

Kerf bender:
Bending wood is as easy as making a series of straight kerfs with your circular saw, using a square to guide the cuts. There’s no rule of thumb about how far apart or how deep to cut the kerfs. Practice on scrap first. For tighter bends, space the kerfs more closely, but don’t make them too deep or they will be visible from the opposite side. Before bending the wood, briefly soak it in hot water.

Seeking guidance:
If you plan to cut a lot of wood to the same length, give this jig a try. Use any scrap pieces of wood with straight and squared edges. Attach the two pieces with glue and screws, making sure they are set at an exact right angle. Make the right-hand arm of the guide slightly longer than the distance from the circular saw blade to the left edge of the saw’s base. Your first pass with the guide will cut off the arm’s extra length. When vou’re ready to use the guide, line up the right end of the guide with the cut mark on the wood.

Jig saw

Take an iron to it:
It takes more than a pencilled line and good intentions to cut a straight line with a jig saw. For long cuts, use a length of 1″ (25 mm) angle iron as a straightedge guide. Clamped parallel to the cutting line, the angle iron will guide the blade along the desired path; as well as helping to keep the blade perpendicular.

Supporting role:
To support the work while using a jig saw, clamp it to your workbench so that the area you are cutting juts past the edge of the bench, Or support the work on blocks made from scrap wood that is thicker than the length of your blade. As you reach the end of a cut, the work can collapse toward the cut and bind the blade. To prevent this from happening, slide additional blocks under the work after you cut halfway through it. Make sure the path for the saw blade avoids both the bench and the blocks.

Taking the plunge:
To start a cut in the centre of the wood — not an edge — without drilling a hole first, tilt the saw, resting the front of its base on the work; then, with the saw on medium speed, slowly and firmly lower the blade into the wood.

Miter saw

Another Supporting role:
If you don’t have a helper around to support long pieces of wood, make a couple of T-blocks. They’ll support the work whether you’re working on a table or on the floor. If your miter saw is set up in a permanent area, you can nail or screw the T-blocks in place.

Ending repetition:
If you have to cut a series of workpieces to the same length, try avoiding repetitive measuring and marking by using a stop block. To raise the stop block to the correct height, nail it to another block of the same thickness as the bed of the miter saw. Clamp the block in place.

On the wide side:
Here’s how to trick your miter saw into making a wider cut. Slide a piece of 3/4″ (19 mm) scrap wood under the workpiece. This raises the work so that a wider part of the blade will reach it.

Table saw

Ripping fun:
To rip an uneven board straight when neither edge is true, nail a straight board on top of it. Use the straight board as a guide to run against the rip fence; the newly cut edge of the uneven board will then be true.

Narrow escape:
To safely cut a narrow board, fasten a wider board to its edge with contact adhesive. After the cut is complete, pull the boards apart; there’ll be no damage.

Mighty miter jig:
With this jig on your table saw, you’ll cut perfect miter angles every time. To guide the jig, fit two strips of hardwood into the miter gauge grooves in the saw’s table; then glue a 3/4″ (19 mm) plywood base to the top of the strips and square the base to the table. Cut a slot for the blade partway through the base. Mark a 45 degree angle from both sides of the blade slot; screw two wood blocks with straight edges along these lines. Glue sandpaper strips to the outside edges of the wood blocks to keep the work from slipping.
Slot

Tall order:
To create a raised panel for a door, make a tenon, or cut a slot into the end of a board, use this jig to make a smoother, more controlled cut. The jig is designed to straddle the rip fence of a table saw. Make the jig out of scrap wood and plywood, and size it to fit your needs — the jig’s face can be smaller or larger, depending on the project. The jig should slide snugly and smoothly on the fence. Secure the work to the jig with G-clamps or other small clamps.