Anyone use a rip guide with circular saw ?

[Scott Perkins47]

When I bought my skill professional model about 15 years ago I also
got the adjustable rip guide and I have used it a number of times.
I dont know why I never see the borg stores carrying them to sell
as options on the circular saws. I'll tell you this, if you need
14" or less width plank off of a sheet of plywood, it works just
as good as an expensive straight edge without all the fuss.
Of course your cut is only as good as the edge your guide is following.
Scott

[Fred Belknap]

I have used a small vice grip on the base as a guide several times, works fine for smaller stuff. I can never find the rip guide when I need it. :)

[Dave Sweeney]

When I bought my current circular saw years ago I also bought the rip guide. I still have it and it's still a virgin.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Yeah - I've got one of those - last seen when I unpacked from my house move 6 years ago.

[Peter Quinn]

I look at it like this. My straight edge guide cost about $.29 to make from the scrap bin, its edge provides some tear out protection, it uses the entire base plate of the saw as a bearing surface to ensure straight cuts, and i can make them any length I need, and have in fact made a 15' guide on occasion. Its edge references the exact path the saw blade will travel making it very quick to set up and useful for a number of cuts some of which are nonparallel.


The rip guide for the skill saw would cost some what more than $.29, has a little tiny teency weency fence to act as a bearing surface, and may have to reference off a garbage edge that I am purposefully cutting off. All in all not an ideal situation for most of tHe work I do. I have one some where, but it has become one more POS whose usefulness I find limited and thus whose where abouts are lost to me.

I appreciate that you find yours useful but feel you may find your self a minority opinion on that subject.

[Rick Hubbard]

Hi Scott-

A couple of years ago I was visiting my mother in law (about 400 miles from where I live) and wound up agreeing to install some T-111 plywood siding on an outside storage shed. The tools available included a couple of screw drivers and a hammer, so I shuffled off to the local Sears store and bought a square, tape measure and a “throw-away” circular saw. While I was looking at the circular saws I found this contraption called an “Accu-Rip Circular Saw Rip Guide” that had all kinds of claims about ease of use and accuracy, so I shelled out thirty bucks figuring I would toss it AND the saw when I was done with the job. To make a long story short, I have no idea what happened to the circular saw because I left it behind when I came home, but I use the Accu-Rip thingy all the time. It is not “furniture-work-accurate” but it is super easy to use and indispensible for breaking down sheet of plywood prior to final cuts on the TS since it will rip up to 24 inches.

I see Lowes has them, as well as Sears. I’d get another one if this one disappeared for some reason

Rick

[Tom Adger]

The cutting guide I use the most with my circular saw is a 100" aluminum straight edge cutting guide I got from one of the big stores, sells for about $20. Comes with a couple of clamps. I use it mostly on plywood/mdf. It laps over the ends long way of a sheet of plywood by a couple of inches, giving your saw some support going into and out of the cut. If 100" is too cumbersome, it breaks down into two 50" pieces.