How do I set up to rip 4 X 8 oak plywood as a one man operation. I don’t want to ruin the plywood by letting it hit the ground.
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shed man--as long as you have an out-feed table, you should be fine. Of course, perhaps that's precisely the problem? I work alone and often cut hardwood plywood solo. I am further handicapped by having a small workspace, meaning that i have no permanent out-feed table myself. To solve that problem, I bought some adjustable, folding work table legs a few years ago and fashioned a basic table that I can set-up and take down in a matter of a minute or so. Barring that, I have ripped hardwood plywoods using just a set of rollers, but I wouldn't really recommend it -- unless you've centered the rollers perfectly, one or both of the pieces that you've just cut and that you're rightly worried about protecting will inevitably fall to the ground.
I hope this helps.
Stephen
I have a straightedge guide to clamp to the wood for my circ saw when working alone, at least to gete down to manageable sizes.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
ditto what Pif said...circular saw...then table saw....with portable infeed and outfeed rollers.
If I have the room.....it's really no problem ripping full sheets of 3/4ply down on the portable DeWalt to set up the outfeed rollers.....and just handle the full sheet myself from the infeed side.....just set it up....set one end on the saw and the other on the floor....reach under and turn the switch.....
carefully and slowly lift the sheet.....slide against the fence.....and with a good stance...which is the importane thing....push it thru in a nice fluid motion.
As long as the outfeed rollers keep it level and from dropping or pinching...not bad at all.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
just use a shoot board and a worm drive skill saw, it is the poor mans table saw, and will give much better results than a portable play table saw.
I'd like to add that the least expensive (and perfectly straight) straight edge that I have found useful is an 8' metal stud. I always keep at least one in the back of the truck. That, along with two spring clamps and two sawhorses, and I can be very efficient at ripping plywood, OSB, MDF, etc.
I would also recommend having something laying on the sawhorses to lay the plywood upon; such as a "sacrificial" (Norm word) spare sheet of OSB, or at least three 2 x 4's laid flat. Just be sure to set the cutting depth accordingly.
Good luck!
I start with fold up 4 ft sawhorses. Screw two 8-10 ft 2xs toward edges. Lay a loose 2x in middle (ends up centered under circular saw/straight-edge track). Figure circular saw setback allowance and make jig board showing both sides of blade. Clamp straightedge to plywood and moveable 2x with visegrip 6sp clamps- they don't slip or loosen. The moveable 2x is centered under the point of contact between the circular saw table and straightedge. Use a Marathon carbide blade with the foot behind the tooth that limits the depth of each tooth pass (they're cheap at WM). I have had great success cutting plywood like this for years.
Some of you might already know this trick:
When using a circular saw to cut plywood, I use what I call a "sled" to guide the saw and simultaneously show the exact cut line.
Get a nice straightedge and secure it to a piece of 1/4" or 1/2" stock (the sole plate). Next, push the circular saw along the straightedge so that it neatly trims the soleplate, making it perfectly parallel to your straightedge.
From here on out, just position the freshly-cut edge of the sole plate exactly where you want to make your cut, and clamp the fixture. It eliminates problems with adding/subtracting setback distances, and the sole plate also helps to act as a backer and prevent tear out.
Ragnar
That's what my cutting straightedge is. It also keeps the saw shoe from scratching the good plywood if it has any dirty or rough spots in it.
You can make same kind of shooting board for routers to joint an edge.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
I think that is also what Brisketbean is calling a shoot board......I use one a lot.
Another thing peope do, if they're going to do a lot, is make up a framed platform....think of something like a 4 x 8 pallet, with no screw heads close to the surface....the top is all sacrificial. Just lay the sheet down, set the circular saw balde so it cuts a little into the sacrificial top....when the pieces are cut free, they're not going anywhere, so you don't get that panicky moment, or any danger to your sheet.cabinetmaker/college instructor. Cape Breton, N.SWAY too conservative to be merely right wing
Hi,
I saw your post re: ripping plywood with a sled -- tried to understand your design -- wasn't sure how you attached the 1/4 or 1/2 stock to the straigtedge -- you wouldn't happen to a picture (you know they say a picture is worth a thousand words.)
Thanks very much.
Devin Meenan
The 1/4 or 1/2" stock is a piece of plywood. Think of it as a piece of countertop with a thickened edge...the 1/4" ply is the big piece of counter, and the straightedge is the thickened edge. Flip it over so the straightedge (the saw guide) is on top, run the saw along the guide to make the cut line. Back to the formica top...imagine taking a 24" deep top and ripping it down to 6-7 inches by running the saw base against the thickened edge. To answer your question...run a bead of glue or adhesive along the straightedge and add a couple of screws. I use a piece of storefront aluminum extrusion...light, straight & strong.
I followed this article in Fine Woodworking to build a table and guide for sheet goods ripping with my circular saw. Works great.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00035.asp
bit
got it thanks
Devin,
Others have given more explanation..... but let me know if you'd still like a pic.
Ragnar
"I start with fold up 4 ft sawhorses. Screw two 8-10 ft 2xs toward edges."
I do something similar. On one set of my sawhorses, I attached a set of joist hangers - One pair on each face. (Yes, I used SR screws) When I'm cutting plywood, I lay a 2X in the joist hangers and tack them in place so they don't slip out.
Makes a nice setup for plywood, I think.I said "no" to drugs, but they just wouldn't listen.
shed man, If you have a lot of cuts to make then I would suggest renting a panel saw or paying the lumber yard to make the cuts for you. Sans that idea, the outfeed table or rollers work well but keeping the wood against the fence can be difficult. A splitter or riving knife on the saw behind the blade will help with that problem some as well as a set of fence mounted board buddies.
If you choose the circular saw route, then make sure you use a plywood/veneer blade and cut from the back side. A good trick I've used is to get yourself a sheet of MDF and lay it down on the shop floor then lay your material on top of it and set your blade depth to 1/16 deeper than the thickness of your material. Snap your cut line then use a long straight edge as a guide for scoring the cut line with a utility knife. Then use an edge guide to guide the circular saw along the cut line.
Thanks. I can see that working in my case.
I mention this technique with trepidation.
If you buy your panels from a big box and you give close supervision --meaning bring your own tape measure and double check everything--you can usually get the paid help to produce some pretty accurate cuts for you on the store panel cutter/cross cut saw.
I've had good results with it at least
Did I mention close supervision!
cje
Take what you want, leave the rest