I just made up my mind on what kind of circular saw I will buy it will be one of the makitas I don’t no what model yet this will be for home use any suggestions would help my wife and I just bought this house and want to do or try to do most of the work if we can so I’ll be asking a lot of questions. I would also like to ask if anyone as any suggestions on buying or making any guides for my circular saw so that I’ll be able to rip and crosscut perfect 90s I have seen and read a lot of articles on cutting plywood with a straightedge and making your own but I would like your input on this before buying or making one thanks a lot for your help.
thanks
Steve
Replies
do a search on the EZ guide.
there are a number of folks who prefer to make their own shooting board.
I own an EZ and like it.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
Those EZ guides are sweet. I have two of them. One to do 48" cuts and one for the 96" cuts. EZ to use........
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” Reagan....
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. -Truman Capote
Large and small speed square. Hook the flange on the edge of the board away from you and hold it tight and run the edge of the base of the saw against the edge of the speed square crossing the board at 90 degrees. Having said that you can always buy an inexpensive power miter saw then you can cut perfect 90's and what ever other odd angles you need, lots of older homes are not always plumb and square, hence the need for an ocational odd angle ( 89, 91 , 46 etc. degree angles) . Lots of luck to ya; it's a good feeling ( to me anyhow) at the end of the day to look on a job well done. Bill D.
Chief,
The previous answers are good.
Some day I'll buy a commercial guide, but for years the homemade ones have worked just fine.
If you are just starting to collect tools, I'd recommend that you make your own guides and spend the guide $$ on a powered miter box or some other basic tool. For the price of the guide, you'll have many options.
You'll find plenty of information in "Advanced Search" (above left) on guides and shooting boards.
There are several different kinds of guides. I would separate them into two categories. One type of guide you mark the wood, line up your blade with mark and cut. With this method you either line up your blade with the mark or you measure over whatever your saw base is offset from the blade. So you have a couple of thing to remember. Sometimes you forget to measure over. The saw base rides on the wood and sometimes during cross cuts the blade will lift the wood along the cut. When cross cutting doors and plywood it can happen a lot.
The other type ( my preference) is to take a thin piece of material that the saw slides on top of so it won't mar nice woods and then have a straight edge the saw rides against off to the side. The thin piece of material does a couple of things. First, the saw doesn't ride on the wood. Second, when you first set up the straight edge on top of the thin material you set it so that the first pass you make with the saw will cut the thin material. Once you cut the thin material with the saw the blade will pass right next to it every time so there isn't any measuring over at all. You put the guide on your marks and it cuts on your mark. One less thing to think about. The other thing is that the thin material sits right on top of the good side of your cut so the grain isn't lifted during cross cuts.
I will buy a commercial one some time but have just made my own for now. By the way each saw needs it's own and if you change types of blades it can be off a little. so make another one! I just picked up a straight edge today to make a new one for my new saw.
The reason you use a thin material is because the thicker the material under the saw is the less depth capacity you have. So keep the material as thin as you can and keep the straight edge material thin also. If you set you saw for a deep cut the saw body can hang up on the straight edge if it is to tall.
Yep,
You and I are talking about the same type of shooting board with the saw riding on a thin piece of material. I've made several lengths and even made some the same way for cutting dadoes with my router.
Each saw blade or router bit requires its own shooting board, but they are cheap and easy to make.
I checked "Advanced Search" and found pictures of one similar to mine in a post by "Snort".
Click on the red print below.
oldfred
. I have three of these shooting boards. A 97", 60" and 36". The ...- from Snort, 3/15/2003
edited to say the shooting board in the pictures appears to be made entirely of 1/4" stock. I usually double up the 1/4" or use 3/8" plywood for the top "fence" piece on my shooting boards to prevent the saw from jumping up and over the edge. Also, mine never look as professional as Snort's. I make them with whatever is lying around and nail them together with clinched 3d nails.
Edited 10/17/2007 12:35 am ET by oldfred
That's basically it. Today I picked up a 4' piece of 1/8" x 1" steel for the one I'm building for my new saw. I'm going to drill it and tap it for small screws. I figure I can use it again and again with new boards. Something different that's all.
I like the idea of tapping threads for re using it. How will you have room to clamp the guide to a board without the saw motor hitting the clamps - extend the bottom piece to both sides of the metal fence?
oldfred, That is what I do . I make them up so I can use the saw either with the narrow side of the saw's base against the fence or the wide side.
Gives me a place for clamps in either case.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Good idea. I'll try one that way.
Thanks!
I've never done it that way but you never know when you need to use the other side. Why not use both sides? Smarter than an average bear.
90 degree crosscuts - Speed Square as already mentioned.
Longer than 12"? Clamp a framing square to the stock as a guide.
Rips? EZ guide or DIY shooting board. Rips in narrow stock are best done with a table saw, although I have had some luck with saw mounted rip guides.
My shooting board is 8' long, made up of 3/4" plywood and a 1"w x 1/8" thick piece of aluminum which is screwed to the plywood (every 6"). The plywood was ~12" wide when I started, screwed the aluminum down straight onto the plywood. Just worry about getting/keeping the aluminum straight.
Checked saw for square (blade to saw shoe), then made guided cuts down both sides of the aluminum. Edge of plywood = edge of cut. After the initial two cuts were made the board measures about 11-1/4" wide.
The unused side of the board provides a clamping surface for use.
My shooting board works well for sheet goods but I really made it for trimming doors. 1/8" to 0" taper cut on this side? No problem.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Thanks for the info I'll give that some consideration.
Steve
Another vote for the EZ guide. Had a chance to really put it through it's paces this last weekend. It excelled on lumber and finish grade ply. One nice feature (other than providing perfectly straight tearout free cuts) is that you don't have to account for the distance of the base to the blade. Just line the guide up with you cut mark and make your cut. Always accurate and EZ!
How hard is it to set up the EZ Guide I'm just learning how to use a circular saw not bought one yet until this weekend just doing a lot of reading but the info on the EZ Guide will help.
thanks
Steve
Steve,
Setting up the guide wasn't to hard. The hardest part to setting up the system is mounting the EZ base to the base of your saw. The included step by step instuctions were a great help. The most important thing to do is to go slow when your doing this step. Once the base is perfectly aligned and mounted to your saw there is some final trimming of the anti chip parts. The whole process might have taken me a good hour but I was splitting my attention between a few things.
thanks for the info.
Steve
You know? I don't even attach my saw to the guide. I mark my sheet goods then put a second mark 1 1/2 inches off that mark which takes up the difference for the saw I use. I just run the saw down the side of the guide. Works good for me.
I prefer the flexibility of using my saw and not having it attached to something.
edited: Dang! I don't even have the EZ guide..... Mine are the tru-grip. Sorry. But at any rate I love mine and use them all the time. Clamps have never slipped that are attached to the guides.
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” Reagan....
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. -Truman Capote
Edited 10/16/2007 3:21 pm ET by jarhead2
the 100" EZ is actually two 50" pieces that you put together with the provided parts, can use as a 50" or 100".when I first had it I just use it as a guide and did not have the base attached to the saw.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?s=2938a98b80b58345d0b3fb81d7b7cc7b&f=26this is a forum on the EZ
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
The EZ Smart guide is great, but once you put the base plate on, you can't cut all the way through 2 by lumber (or doors) anymore, unless you go for a larger saw, like an 8 1/4". I think Hilti and Makita have them.
I found it better to have two saws, one dedicated for the EZ guide.
I got the bosch 8" to go with mine and it cuts more than anything I would want to
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Which model is that? I want to keep something in mind.
Fesstool
Festool: I have the smaller of the two, you
might be better off with the larger. Although
I like mine a lot, you might find the EZ does
as much for less with a bit less convenience.
The expense of blades and/or sharpening will
surely make the EZ more cost effective.
Here we go again?
You can make your own shooting board for straight cuts or spend a couple bills for the EZ guide
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Lots of good replies. The shooting board is probably the easiest way to get started. You and always get the EZ Guide (see here: http://www.eurekazone.com/) later when you have a better idea of the kind of woodworking you'll be doing.
And just in case you're not sure what a shooting board is, here's a link to a description I posted before: http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=80412.37
I made the same type shooting board, but instead of 1x6, I glued a piece of hardwood door stop, 3/16" thick, to the plywood for the edge guide 1 1/2" in from the factory edge. I can cut with the blade at full depth without interfering with the motor housing and the 1 1/2" border is just enough room for a spring clamp to secure to the workpiece.
BruceT
I think DonCanDo hit it on the head by waiting to see if you'll need a manufactured guide or not. Handy as ten yes, but not necessary to the extent it sounds like you'll be doing.
Have to have a circular saw for sure but of a more useful immediate concern than a manufactured guide you'll want to get a mitersaw and set it on a stand. That'll be the workhorse tool you'll get the most use out of and go back to again and again.
Homemade from masonite hardboard and wood glue. 1/4 inch is enough to catch shoe of saw, but allows motor to be set at full depth. Flexibility in the hardboard is handy if the material being cut sags slightly on the sawhorses. Couple spring clamps to hold in place. 90-degree I use a chopsaw or speed square.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
I've got the EZ guide, but I only really needed it when I came to start doing some real precision work. DIY shooter is what you (the O.P.) really need. NatW's shooter sounds better than the one I used for 3 years.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
If your hair looks funny, it's because God likes to scratch his nuts. You nut, you.
Makita circulars come with a rip guide that works pretty well. For framing purposes, it's as accurate as you'll likely need to be. Try it out while you're deciding whether to buy the EZ guide.
Edit to add that I also use a homemade cutoff sled for trimming doors. Mine is 1/2" plywood with a 1/4" strip as a guide placed 1 1/2 inches from the backside to allow for clamps.
Edited 10/16/2007 10:39 pm by ptp
Edited 10/16/2007 10:54 pm by ptp
Good stuff all around, but:
I like a shooting board, but they are... for whatever reason, ephemeral objects that come and go according to some arcane principal that only shooting boards are privy to.
I don’t know. Maybe its just me, but everytime I make one it just evaporates into thin air or something horrible happens to it.
There’s a guide by Swanson that Lowes sells for around $20+... two 50 inch sections that join together. Mine always wants to make a concave cut when I join the halves. I check it with a long level and clamp a board to the waste side of the plywood and tap it back and forth to push the backside of the middle straight.
I just went thru 7 sheets of birch plywood for closets and I used the Swanson guide to pare off pieces for the table saw, and they all ran as true as a factory edge.
Popawheelie has it. People around here don’t use the term "shooting board", but I took from the previous discussion that’s that what it is. Anyway the Swanson guide is still a good tool.
http://www.eurekazone.com/products/detail/sgs.htmlThe 100" system is $209"20% off All Items(excluding extended packages) until 10-28-07.
As always, the discount will come in the form of a refund, within one business day."
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
you know you just bought a house and your buying yourself a skill saw. i don't see ya going out and plunking down 400.00 for a ez guide straight edge. like was mentioned a 8.00 speed square does real well cross cutting less than 12". next to have is a straight edge and 2 clamps.now if you want to get real fancy you can make shooter board,if not sure how you could find one in the archives probably or ask here.
makita good saw,i really like my millwaukee also.....sorry i just started another debate!
like was also mentioned i think the next tool buy is a chop saw,you can buy a decent one for a 100.00 anymore.the fun of homeowning is the excuse to buy more tools. larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
buy a sheet of 4x8 rigid foam board the cheaper white styrofoam 1.5" to 2" thick...
lay it on the floor... lay your plywood on top of this... set your blade 1/2" (or less) than the material you'll be cutting... i have a few of these i use on my site... it was used board to start with and has had 100's of cuts made on it...
this will support your material... so that you can cut as many cuts as you want without anything drop'n or fall'n helps to keep your cuts cleaner... once it's been used the overcuts into the foam will act to catch the sawdust leave'n your work area cleaner... works great for any sheet goods... even protects the good stuff as you cut...
p