Panel- Cutting Guides 4 Ways to break sheet goods down to size By Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk Trimming parts to size on the tablesaw with a premium blade produces the cleanest edges. However, a portable circular saw outfitted with the Even if you own a full-sized closer look at commercial guides right blade can come close. tablesaw, cutting a 4 × 8' sheet reveals that they’re designed For smooth cuts with minimal of plywood, melamine, or MDF for the kind of saw or router splintering or tear-out, select a into manageable-sized pieces teamwork that you just can’t Hi-ATB carbide tooth blade. (I can be a real challenge. Sliding expect from a simple wooden 1 recommend the 7 ⁄4", 60-tooth tablesaws or industrial panel Freud LU79 (#844954, saws provide good solutions, a rundown of four popular $49.99.) This thin-kerf but they amount to expensive typesstraightedge. of commercial Here, you’ll guides. find blade comes in space-hogs for the small-shop I’ve included price, cutting handy when I’m woodworker who just needs capacity, and a few other details trying to squeeze to make a few cuts now and you’ll want to consider before one more piece then. Fortunately, you can from a sheet. achieve straight, accurate cuts Note: For our purposes here, To keep the by partnering your existing “crosscutting”making your final refers decision. to sawing blade cutting portable circular saw with across the direction of plywood’s as it should, your choice of a commercial face grain, or the narrow reserve its use for guide made for the job. dimension of a sheet. “Ripping” is sheet goods only. Why not just use a straight sawing with the grain, or parallel board for a guide, you ask? Well, a to a sheet’s longer dimension. 60 woodcraftmagazine.com Dec/Jan 2013 Crosscutting Guides variety of lengths, but make sure you get one in breaking down a full-sized sheet may involve that can grip a 48"-wide panel. Although shorter crosscuttingDepending on it–a your particularly parts layout, dicey the maneuver first move on a guides cost less, the savings won’t count for much standard tablesaw. This is where a crosscut guide when it’s time to crosscut a full sheet of plywood. saves the day. Guides are available in a All-In-One Guide By incorporating cam-lever clamps into a length of aluminum extrusion, WoodRiver turned an otherwise simple straightedge into a stand- alone sawing solution. To use WoodRiver Clamp Guide 50" #149192, $42.99 the tool, position it, slide the moveable jaw against the clamp locking lever. The low- workpiece, and flip the toggle making a cut perpendicular to more convenient to use spacers, in horizontal position to secure the edge of the sheet, you’ll need as shown in the photo at left. theprofile clamp lever even locks when well you’re enough to set the guide using a square. Optional connecting saw or You’ll also need to offset it from router subbases are available it down further provides even the cutline by an amount equal to to prevent a tool from straying, moreworking locking on the pressure. floor. Levering the distance between the saw’s but you don’t strictly need them Keep in mind that a guide like blade and baseplate edge. You can as long as you keep the machine this is not self-squaring, so when measure for this, but it’s much pressed against the guide in use. And, as with the Protractor All-in-One clamp guide, you’ll want to Guide make a pair of offset Trend Varijig With its adjustable protractor spacers for quick Variable Angle Guide head and bar, Trend’s Varijig setup of the cut. VJS/AG/36, $98 (acetoolonline.com) Variable Angle Guide offers a The only surprisingly accurate means of disadvantage I making wide angled cuts, which found was that the 36"-long bar doesn’t make on a stationary saw. After span a full-sized calibratingcan be difficult the head,or impossible I was able to sheet. The guide to accurately set the angle of the bar to within a half-degree with an optional across its length. The guide 56"-longcan be outfitted bar to do can be used freehand when the trick, but that will set you better suited as a secondary crosscutting narrow pieces, guide to be used when making but you’ll want to use clamps to this tool’s adjustability is a precise angled cuts after avoid slippage on longer cuts. uniqueback an advantage, additional I$90. think Although it’s breaking down panels. Opening photo: Paul Anthony; Demo photos: Brian Francis Dec/Jan 2013 woodcraftmagazine.com 61 Ripping Guides You can’t beat a tablesaw for making straight-line cuts, but wrangling 3 4"-thick MDF across a tablesaw ⁄isn’t for everyone. Sometimesa 100-lb. sheet it’s ofbetter to take the tool to the work instead of the other way around. That’s when ripping guides really earn their place in WoodRiver Plywood the workshop and on the jobsite. Rip & Rout Guide Kit #153650, $99.99 bottom track and can be set much underside clearance to allow Guide Rail anywhere along its length. A variety of optional accessories to set your panel on sawhorses. System makes the guide a nice choice Theworking versatility on the affordedfloor, so you’llby the have WoodRiver’s Two-part Guide- for the undecided. The system sliding clamps and two-part Rail system rolls two guides can be paired with a universal bar is a plus for transport and in one. Each of the two 56"- storage, but the separate parts long aluminum extrusions are easy to misplace, as opposed can be individually used for router/saw baseplate (#149196, to a one-piece guide. Also, to crosscutting panels, or the two $31.50) to keep a tool on track. can be joined with a connector forA protractor making angled head (#150005,cuts. long bar, you’ll need to either to create a guide that will $37.99)The guide is also rail available system is as provideprevent deflectionadditional ofsupport the 112"- at span an 8'-long sheet. The easy to set up as the All-in-One. its center or avoid excessive However, the clamps require too sideways pressure with the saw. panel clamps fit into the rail’s T-Square Guide Kreg’s Rip-Cut guide offers an alternative approach to ripping sheet goods. Employing the guide Kreg Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide as a sort of integral extended saw #153926, $34.99 fence enables ripping sections length. I found that I could rip subsequentup to 24" wide, sections regardless in less of time than it would take to reset the clamps on a typical straightedge guide. And, thanks to the cursor on the base and increments on the guide arm, it’s easy to reset the saw without pulling out a tape measure and offset spacers. straightedge guide for backup. to using a full-length guide, I This might be the only guide Unlike a straightedge, the Rip- found that the relatively short you’d need for jobsite carpentry, Cut guide follows the edge of a but for shop woodworking panel, so if it isn’t straight, the cut the saw to rotate somewhat, and cabinetry, you may want a won’t be either. And, compared veering10"-long from bearing the fencecutline. allowed 62 woodcraftmagazine.com Dec/Jan 2013.