using a table saw to cut 1/4 drywall sheet into 4"x4" squares? any other suggestions?

[dustin wassner]

I have been trying to cut this sheet of 1/4" drywall into 4"x4" squares and not only is it going very slow, but the cuts are not coming out very clean, even with a fresh razor blade. The project will require hundreds of squares to be cut into the future, so I am trying to determine a method that will do efficient clean cuts.

I have never cut drywall on a table saw and am not sure if there is a blade to do this. If anyone has had success with this, please let me know.

FWIW, I have an enclosed chute under the table around the blade for dust collection as well as an overarm-like port above the blade. I am not so concerned with dust on this as much as speed and clean cut.

thanks,
DW

[Mark Wooden]

The dust will probably kill the bearings and motor on the saw.
Try a drywall cut out tool and a straight edge. And a really good vacuum.
Good luck.

[Bill Space]

I doubt that is a good idea.

Why do you need a perfect cut? Usually it does not matter...

Anyway, if you need a perfect cut, for whatever reason, I doubt you will be happy with using a table saw to make it happen.

Maybe if it is a junk saw and you use it outside it might work. AT minimum you would need to use a diamond blade, or maybe, and this is maybe, a carbide tipped blade might work.

I think it is all about your need for a perfect cut. Is this really necessary? If so, and if you have an old saw you can use outside, why not try it? I probably would, but not with my normal woodworking equipment.

By the way, I used a diamond blade in a circular saw to cut some plaster, which is thicker than drywall, and the dust was terrible. Really unpleasant, even with a face shield and good respirator.

I would never do such a thing in my shop, even with dust collection.

edit: I see you said four inch squares... My mind was thinking four foot squares, as I have been doing drywall recently. Still... Anyway, you can buy a handsaw for drywall at home depot that might work if you take your time and work slowly. Also, Harbor freight sells a small saw for doing tile work that might work for you using a diamond blade. Not too expensive and works well for the money spend, when doing tile work as a homeowner...

Bill

[dustin wassner]

thanks bill. The squares I need are only 4"x4" and are for a teenage art project I am trying to make. The pieces will be handled by people that I think would appreciate a clean square cut rather than an unclean one. Hope that makes sense.

[Jamie Buxton]

The dust from cutting sheetrock with a table saw will be bad. Can you use some other sheet material? Plywood would be much more amenable to cutting into 4" squares on a table saw. Or masonite.

[scott vroom]

Bad idea.

Straight edge and a sharp util knife, snap off and clean up edge with a surform.

Or I'd look for a different material for the project.

[Jon Endres]

I have had very good success cutting friable materials such as this with a bandsaw. Very fine tooth blade, or even a knife-edge blade (hard to find but they're out there, or can be made), start by cutting 4" strips against a fence then cut the squares out the other direction. Dust collection will still be essential but not nearly as bad as with a table saw. I have only seen but not tried cutting drywall with a table saw and I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Ben Zara]

Probably want to avoid gypsum dust getting into your table saw innards. Utility knife and straight edge is the way to go.

[dustin wassner]

Jon,

How long would a fine tooth blade last you when doing this?

DW

[Mike Kees]

Dustin this discussion reminds me of the time my Dad wanted me to help him with some drywall. When I pulled into his driveway here was this hairy old guy with no shirt and his pouch with suspenders cutting drywall with his skilsaw. Huge cloud of dust, ( wish I had a picture). Scott has the best advice of how to cut it. Do you have to use drywall? As others have stated some other material would be easier. I personally would not cut it with any shop machine,good luck Mike.

[dustin wassner]

Thanks everyone. Yes the material must be drywall. I can score both sides and snap it but the cut is just a little too rough. I was thinking of trying a rasp but it adds more time than I would like.

[Peter Christensen]

I would hate to clean up the table saw and DC filters might be wrecked but it I were to use a TS I would get a few 7 1/4" thin kerf skill saw blades. Less dust with the 1/16" wide blades and you can either toss them when done or get exchange blades. I wonder if renting a brick saw or tile saw using it outside with the construction blades might be better. You can hose it off before returning it.

[Robyn Horton]

There was someone that used a track saw to cut strips for a big commercial job . He just used his track saw with dust a dust collector and stacked several sheets and cut away . The cut edge was really good looking and flat .

[Bill Graham]

Jon,

How long would a fine tooth blade last you when doing this?

DW

A long time, gyp is soft.

[Geoff Crimmins]

I'd be inclined to see if it could be cut with a CNC laser cutter or water jet cutter. If either of those would work, it would likely give the cleanest cut with the least amount of dust. A Google search indicates that a track saw with a dust extractor can work fairly well. Maybe a reciprocating saw or handheld jigsaw with a drywall blade and a straight edge. Maybe a Rotozip with a straight edge. The abrasive dust may kill any power tool you use for the cutting. I like the idea of stacking a couple of sheets and cutting them all at once. It's not easy stuff to get clean cuts on. You also might see what size sheets of drywall are available by special order. If you could buy it in smaller sizes that might save you some work.

[Prashun Patel]

Even if you cut it clean; open edged squares will create a lot of dust during handling.

May I ask what specifically this is for? Perhaps there is a similar, easier-to-handle choice of material.

That being said, if you must do this, I would use a straight edge, score. Snap away from the score, then score the other side which will present a crease.
The rough gypsum edges can be run against a block, clamped to the bench that has been faced with 150 grit sandpaper.

[Bill Dufour]

Hardiplank?
Cardboard cuts pretty nice on the table saw. Well that is to say preschoolers never complained about the cut quality.
Bill D

[Thomas L Carpenter]

Doubt you can do this yourself but an high pressure stream of water that is computer controlled would do this. I know there is equipment out there but don't know what it's called or where you could find one. Looked into one years ago to cut a food stream out of a WP extruder.

[Bill Graham]

Thanks everyone. Yes the material must be drywall. I can score both sides and snap it but the cut is just a little too rough. I was thinking of trying a rasp but it adds more time than I would like.

Not a rasp, a Surform plane (https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-21-295-Surform-Regular-Blade/dp/B00002X1ZK?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffsb-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00002X1ZK). Every drywall hanger I've ever known has the pocket version in his tool pouch, I still have my old one from back in the day. Clamp the long one in a vise, one pass on each side of the square and you're done. It won't give you that Forrest crosscut blade quality but it won't have big bumps either.

Honestly, the more I think about it why not cut it on the table saw? You say you have good dust collection so that eliminates that issue as long as you can clean out the filters afterwards. Gyp is very soft so I wouldn't be concerned about abrasive damage, all the bearings in your saw are shielded anyway(if they weren't they'd fill up with sawdust). You'll get fast and accurate results. So why not? Just because it's not commonly done doesn't mean it can't.

I'd suggest using the thinnest blade you can find to cut down on dust as much as possible, something like the old HSS planer blades (https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW3372-10-Inch-Hollow-Ground/dp/B00004RH4Q) we used for plywood back before carbide became affordable. The thin plate and minimal kerf keeps dust down and will help with the filter cleaning afterwards.

Just don't use Type-X gyp, the fiberglass in it makes everything I just said irrelevant. It'll eat any blade you use and do lasting damage over time to the exposed mechanics in your saw. Even solid carbide router bits don't last long cutting fiberglass.

My gut reaction to your post was "OMG, don't even think about doing that!". I spent years in the commercial drywall industry, we cut with a razor knife and smoothed with a Surform when we had to because that was the most cost-effective way to do it. Our objective was to hang a hundred+ sheets every day, the rough edges either got covered up with trim or taped over. Your application is light-years different and , the more I think about it the more I see a justifiable usage situation.

I say go for it! Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Bill Dufour]

Cast them in plaster of Paris?

[Gary Radice]

I also would not cut drywall on a tablesaw because of the dust and damage to the saw and blade. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

But maybe out in the driveway with a tile saw (no water of course) with a diamond blade?

[Walter Plummer]

I would consider a RotoZip tool. https://www.rotozip.com/en_US/web/rotozip/tool-detail/-/rotozip-show-product/ss355-10-rotosaw-control-any-cut.

[Jacques Gagnon]

... let's go for the crazy one :D :

How about a multi-function tool (Fein Multimaster and clones) attached to a "carrier" that rides along a straight edge. The fine tooth blade cuts relatively rapidly; does not generate too much dust; can cut two sheets at a time; should give you a pretty good edge. Not as fast as a knife.

[Edwin Santos]

I second the vote for trying a Rotozip tool with a jig, or a trim router with a 1/4" or smaller spiral bit, maybe doing the work outside where the dust is less of an issue. In fact, if you have a trim router, I see no reason why you couldn't buy a 1/8" rotozip drywall cutting bit and get a collet adapter so you can use it in your router.

Get a worktable together, make a plywood jig to the final size you need, use a piece of foam insulation board for a backer, and go to town cutting out the squares.

[Floyd Mah]

Haven't seen any suggestions for using an oscillating saw, the so-called multi-tool. HF sells a nice variable speed oscillating saw for just a few bucks. The advantage compared to the other suggestions is that you can use a very thin blade along with a straight edge guide. Quarter inch dry wall means that the cuts don't have to be deep. Use a foam board to rest the dry wall. The semi-circular disc blade can be used to make nice straight cuts.

Oops, just saw that Jacques also suggested the same approach. I guess I like my idea, and his, even better.

[Bob Faris]

Try a jig saw. Stack two sheets and use a straight edge. I've used a jigsaw to cut holes in drywall and the edges of the cut are smooth.

[Jim Dwight]

I use an old blade on my tracksaw to cut drywall. The edge is clean in the gypsum but the paper is a little fuzzed. I don't do it a lot but I think the good dust collection of the track saw should help it not be damaged. I am also not sure that gypsum dust is worse for a saw than sawdust. I also don't think it's terribly hard on the blade but I don't want the gypsum dust on my woodworking projects - so I use an old blade.

[dustin wassner]

thanks for the responses everyone. I now have some experimenting to do...

[John K Jordan]

Thanks everyone. Yes the material must be drywall. I can score both sides and snap it but the cut is just a little too rough. I was thinking of trying a rasp but it adds more time than I would like.

I'd probably score and snap then take my 6" belt sander outside and sand the edges. I haven't tried sanding paper-clad drywall but if fraying was a problem perhaps painting the paper first with sander sealer or something would help.

A bandsaw might be better than a rotating saw.

Too bad it has to be drywall. I've cut similar squares of 1/2" radiata pine plywood for art classes and lightly sanded the sharp edges with the belt sander. Probably lighter weight than drywall. Curious, is drywall specified as a project requirement?

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

I have been trying to cut this sheet of 1/4" drywall into 4"x4" squares

For 1/4" drywall I would just use a sharp utility knife and a straight edge. You might need to run the blade along the cut line twice to cut all the way through. Should be faster and safer than using a table saw for cutting such small pieces.

[Ole Anderson]

My go-to for this unusual project would be a band saw as previously mentioned. Very thin blade means less dust and the bearings are a longer distance from the cutting action than a TS, which IMO would be a terrible choice. I don't think a very fine blade would be necessary, certainly not a knife blade.

[Ole Anderson]

For 1/4" drywall I would just use a sharp utility knife and a straight edge. You might need to run the blade along the cut line twice to cut all the way through. Should be faster and safer than using a table saw for cutting such small pieces.

Lee, if you can cut all the way through 1/2" drywall in any number of reasonable knife passes, you are a better man than I.

[Jim Riseborough]

The dust will probably kill the bearings and motor on the saw.
Try a drywall cut out tool and a straight edge. And a really good vacuum.
Good luck.

Just use a wet saw! :D

[Mark Woodmark]

At job sites I find myself grabbing my multitool (oscillating saw) quite often to cut drywall. Cuts straight, easy to handle, but does kick up some dust. I have also found many other uses for this tool. It is incredibly versatile. Get one with the Starlock blade fastening system. I have gone through three prior to my current one because the little teeth that holds the blade on break off