Cutting plywood

[Brian Runau]

Greetings.

This is a beginners question, but oh well.

I am cutting some 6" wide 3/4 by 8' birch plywood for a mitre saw extension. I can't get a cut with parallel sides?

I have a small craftsman saw with a biesemeier? fence, but I seem to get some cupping in the cut on one side, despite cutting it wide and trimming each side twice a little at a time to try and get any imperfections out.

I know I am missing something simple, but...

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Brian

[Lee Schierer]

It sounds like your saw may not be properly aligned. Another sign of poor alignment would be any burn marks on the sides of your cuts. Your blade needs to be parallel to the miter slot and the fence needs to be parallel to the same miter slot. A cheap dial indicator ($20) will show you how far off your saw might be and help getting it aligned. Your Beismeyer fence can easily be adjusted.

[Alan Schwabacher]

The other things to keep in mind are that you need a straight edge on your workpiece to run against the fence. And as you cut, your attention should be mostly on the front corner to be sure your stock is firmly against the fence, rather than looking mostly at the blade. Be sure your hands can't approach the blade though, even if your attention is elsewhere.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Bryan, since you are getting cupping, the most likely suspects are;

- fence that isn't straight

- reference edge on the material that isn't straight

- failure to keep leading edge of material tight to the fence. Don't watch the blade, it's doing its job without you watching it. Obviously make sure that you have your guard installed always.

Regards, Rod.

[Brian Runau]

Sure enough. Fence is parallel, but blade is farther away from fence in back than front.

Appreciate the help.

Brian

[Loren Hedahl]

Sure enough. Fence is parallel, but blade is farther away from fence in back than front.

Appreciate the help.

Brian


That's infinitely better than the other way around, at least safety-wise.

In fact I set mine up a few thousanths slack at the back vs the front.

[Charles Lent]

Once you have your saw aligned, you might have better luck by making your fence longer. A straight board clamped to your fence that extends out the front of your saw a few feet will give you more fence surface to align your plywood against before it reaches the blade. This fence extension should be as long as your fence plus a few feet.

When I'm working with full sheets and I'm alone, I prefer using a straight edge and my circular saw. I've made a cutting table that's just an open frame of 2x4's with banquet table legs that I put the sheet stock on. Then I clamp the straight edge to the stock and make the needed cuts with my circular saw. A good sharp blade, a zero clearance plate on the bottom of the saw, and careful measuring gives me the same quality and accuracy of cut that I can get with my cabinet saw. It takes a bit more time to do it this way, but it's a lot safer and more accurate than trying to cut full sheets alone on a table saw.

Charley

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Any help appreciated.

Since you're asking for any help.

I bought a GSS last year and haven't looked back.

Using it makes cuts like your trying to do a pleasure, instead of a frustrating chore.

[Steven DeMars]

Hello,


Since you're asking for any help.

I bought a GSS last year and haven't looked back.

Using it makes cuts like your trying to do a pleasure, instead of a frustrating chore.

Whats a GSS?:confused:

[Matt Meiser]

Whats a GSS?:confused:

Guided Saw Stop--Invented to create forum chaos. Do you run it on 110 or 220? :eek::D

I think he was referring to a guided circular saw system like Dewalt, EZ Smart, and Festool.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Matt's got it.
In my case it's a Festool TS 55EQ.

[Jim Becker]

Guided Saw Stop--

"Guided Saw System"...we don't need THAT much chaos around here, Matt.... ;)

[Paul Demetropoulos]

"Guided Saw System"...we don't need THAT much chaos around here, Matt.... ;)


110107

...and which one would you say is the best one for Brian to get Jim?