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Cutting Plywood Down to Size Rough Cuts
Cutting a full sheet of plywood (or MDF) down to size on a table saw can be a challenge. The sheets are heavy and awkward to move around. And even after you wrestle it into position, the surface veneer has a frustrating tendency to chip out as you make the cut. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to simplify the job starting with the initial rough cuts.
Rough Cuts The first step is to lay out the pieces on the plywood. As a rule, I allow ¼" extra all the way around. This provides enough material to make a final clean-up pass later. But just because the pieces are cut to rough size doesnt mean you want a rough cut. The goal is to end up with clean, straight edges that can ride against the rip fence on the table saw (or be placed against the miter gauge).
To make the cutting guide, start by gluing the fence to an extra-wide base. The reference edge is formed by running the base of the saw against the fence and trimming off the waste.
"Good" Side Down One thing to be aware of is that the blade on a circular saw cuts on the upstroke. This means the surface of the plywood that the saw rides on is likely to splinter. So in order to reduce chipout on the good side of the plywood, youll want to place it face down on the foam.
Reducing Chipout But many times, you dont want either side to splinter. One way to reduce chipout is to use a blade thats specially designed for cutting plywood, as shown in the photo at right.
Another way to produce a clean cut is to make two passes. A shallow, first pass severs the fibers of the surface veneer, as illustrated in the detail in Figure 2. This means the fibers won't splinter when making the second, full-depth pass.
Have a nice weekend,
Bryan Nelson
Online Editor, ShopNotesTo help reduce chipout, these inexpensive, steel saw blades have tiny, razor sharp teeth that remove small amounts of material.
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