Why can't I get a square cut from either my circular saw or my table saw????

[Adam Herd]

Trying to make this cabinet and I have the plywood down to width now I just need to square one end and cut the other to length but this is seemingly impossible. I am using a guide with my circular saw. when I place my square on the wood and the guide the guide is square. Then after I make my cut the guide is still square. but the cut is not. I will upload pictures. When I use my square as a straight edge on the actual cut the cut isn't straight. I tried using my table saw to cut the wood but the table isn't long enough and the miter gauge hangs off the table a little. I tried it anyway and got the exact same cut as with my circular saw. What is going on??? I'm very frustrated. The gaps and everything is hard to see in the pictures but I hope they help.
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[Jim Morgan]

In the first picture you posted, the stock of your combination square is to the left; you are using this configuration to line up your cut. In the second & third pictures, the stock is to the right, and the cut does not quite line up. My guess is that your combination square is not square. If you search, you can find several threads with further information on this.

[Adam Herd]

I thought about that but I checked my square for square and used other squares to check both the the guide and the cut. So thats unfortunately not the problem because that would would be to easy of a fix.

[Lee Schierer]

Most likely your circular saw base is not aligned with the blade, which is causing your blade to try to cut on an angle.

On your table saw, use your fence to make that cut not your miter gauge. However, before you make any cuts make sure your table saw has been properly aligned. The blade must be parallel to the miter gauge slot and the fence when clamped must also be parallel to the blade. If you tell use the manufacturer and model of your table saw, I'm sure someone can give you step by step instructions on how to align your saw.

[Adam Herd]

My saw is an old Delta 8 1/4" "bench saw". I hate it because of the weird size and stuff and I am currently in the process of find a new table saw.

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

It is hard for me to tell how far out you are on the cut from the pictures.

Given that the square is square, the guide doesn't shift when clamping (I have had that happen with that style of straight edge), then I am with Lee that the circular saw is not aligned.

[Doug Hepler]

Adam,

Too many variables to answer with confidnce. It's possible that your circ saw is creeping as suggested earlier. If you are not positioning your body correctly you may not be able to see it. IMO your table saw will be your best bet. It may not be adjusted correctly. Start by checking the alignment of the fence with the blade. You can make a static measurement but the easiest way is to cut a piece of scrap and measure both ends. They should agree within measurability. (If you have a dial caliper, cut the strip 5" or so, narrow enough to measure with the dial caliper.) Adjust the fence until it is parallel to the blade and lock it in place.

Next, it would be good to check whether the miter slots are parallel to the blade. put a 3/4" piece of wood on edge in the right miter slot. I assume that it will fit snugly. Slide the fence over to the wood and check. There should be no gap between the fence and the wood at either end. If the miter slots are not parallel to the blade you have a much more difficult adjustment to make because you will have to rotate the table relative to the saw arbor. Let's assume that they are parallel to the blade.

Now, if the miter slots are parallel to the blade you can square the miter gauge to the blade.
1. Rip a piece of flat plywood, ideally 24" long and 12" wide. The “long” edges (perpendicular to the cut line) must be straight and parallel. The dimensions are not at all critical but should be large enough to allow good test resolution.
2. If you are setting up the miter gauge for the first time, set it as square as possible with a try square.
3. Mark both ends of the cut line so that you can identify the once-mated parts after the cut and keep track of which end was against the
miter gauge.
4. Cut the test board
5. Flip the offcut over, keeping the cut sides
adjacent to each other.
6. Place both pieces against a straight surface, e.g., the miter gauge or saw table. Push the pieces together along the cut line. The boards
will touch at one end of the cut.
7. The width of any gap equals twice the error. A gap at the bottom means that the miter gauge should be moved counter clockwise, and vice versa.
8. Adjust by trial and error.

By this point, the saw is set up to cut accurate right angles. Screw an extension board (3/4" ply is best) to the miter gauge and you should get square corners.

Doug

[Art Mann]

When you get your replacement saw, it would be very worthwhile for you to make a cross cut sled. There more articles and videos on this subject than you can read or watch in a year and many of them are very good. In effect, you fabricate something very accurately that you can use for precision cuts forever more without difficulty.

[Bill Adamsen]

+1 on the sled. A TS with a sled can do very repeatable cuts and if properly adjusted, they'll absolutely meet your expectations. Wax the top of the saw (and maybe bottom of sled) and you will be shocked at how powerful the tool you just made has become. And it doesn't need to be too complicated. It doesn't really need saying, but the sled needs to take into consideration operator safety. There should be significant shielding on the back side where the blade would exit the rear sled fence.

To Doug's point, for a sled to operate correctly the miter slot needs to run parallel to the blade. Doug describes a good method for doing that.

[glenn bradley]

I'll chime in that to get through your current task I would make a quick sled for the tablesaw. It may be a throw-away due to your current saws format but, you can at least continue your project. At the very least this is a testament to how much easier things go one you have the means to cut things straight and square. Take a little time to make a temporary sled. It'll be worth it in the end.

[larry senen]

i have that same clamping straight edge, there's a little slop in it. if you put pressure on the left edge with the square then cut on the right edge you'll get that result. so set it up by pushing it into the square. hope that makes sense.

[Ted Reischl]

Table saw sleds are the way to go! Forget trying to make "precision" cuts with a hand held circular saw.

My first project in woodworking was a set of kitchen cabinets. Trust me when I say I knew exactly NOTHING about woodworking when I started. But, I got lucky and stopped at the library to get a book on making cabinets. I forget the book, but the author made it very clear: Cabinets must be square, period. To get square cuts make a simple TS sled. He said that a sled was the "secret" to making cabinets in the home shop. As far as I am concerned he was exactly right.

Before I made those cabinets I used to hack stuff out with a circular saw, never could get anything right.

[andy bessette]

... Forget trying to make "precision" cuts with a hand held circular saw...

This. Poor technique.

[Doug Hepler]

Adam,

I have to comment on the consensus here that you need to make a TS sled. Sleds are great for crosscutting. No question. For the size of your pieces a miter guide extension should work OK for you.

Please see my earlier post. Wouldn't you need to be able to make accurate saw cuts to make a sled? Shouldn't you adjust your TS before trying to make a sled? If the sled will run against the fence, the fence should be parallel to the blade. If the sled will run in the miter slots they should run parallel to the blade.

BTW I saw your other post. Maybe you need another TS. I wouldn't know. But I'm pretty sure that you need an accurate table saw. These two things aren't necessarily the same.

Doug

[John Gulick]

This. Poor technique.

I do not agree with Ted, I have and still make quite precision cuts with a hand held "skil saw" Have for years and with a little practice can get good results.