Plywood Crosscutting Guide

[Jim Summers]

Hello All,

I am getting ready to crosscut some plywood and eventually run my router across for some dados. I have always used a straight edge and c-clamps to set up a guide. But it is kind of a pain and I sometimes don't get it as square as I would like.

So I was looking around and saw some straight edges that have built in clamps that they claim will square up. Also has t-slots in it to attach slides for saws and routers. It is called a "boomer red bar clamp fence guide". You can see one at:

http://mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/boomer_clamp.html

I was wondering if anyone has used these and if so, are they a good guide?

Maybe there are other ones out there better and in the same price range?

I just need it from time to time and so I was hoping to not spend a whole lot on it.

Thanks

[Dan Barr]

that device you mention will square up to an extent. but it is based on how sraight the edge is in the first place. for working with plywood, youre probably going to get the same quality results if not better by using your current method. you cant trust that device to square completely on its own and you will need to check it just like you check your cuts right now.

If you want, just get a more ridgid cutting guide. i use an aluminum extrusion for most cuts. If the guide you use has any flex in it, your cuts will suffer. the stiffer the better.

i would save the money and stick with what youre already doing.

ciao,

dan

[Art Mann]

I have one of those clamp/edge guide things. It works ok, but I fabricated one out of scrap materials that works a lot better. The price was right (free). I got the idea from a guy on Wooodnet called Kudzu. Here are the instructions.

http://www.kudzupatch.com/woodshop/saw_guide/

[Jim Summers]

To cool. I think that a lot of my accuracy problems are due to the fact that I have to account for the distance from the sawblade to the straightedge and then try to keep it lined up.

Mine is aluminum, so I think I will use the ideas from the kudzu site and get a wide base piece and then drill a couple of holes in the straight edge. Then screw it to the wide piece and run the saw down it to establish the place to line up the cut. I guess I could make two one for the saw and one for the router with the size of bit I am using.

Thanks again!

[Doug Hobkirk]

You might check out EZSmart.com - they have a rock-solid rail system that I use and like - they also have a forum here at the Creek...

[Mike Marcade]

You could also make yourself a t-square type cutting guide out of plywood scraps. The long "t" makes it line up squarely pretty good.

[Art Mann]

Yeah, the T square would be a nice addition to the Kudzu design. It ought to be easy to add that feature.

[Matt Mutus]

another vote for the ez smart products.

But the site is eurekazone.com , not ezsmart.com

[Al Willits]

Ez will help you cut straight, not square, I use mine a lot and find I have to square the cuts as both the T square that came with the EZ and plywood are not always square, especially when doing long cuts.

Al

[Bill Huber]

I have about the same clamp, mine are called All In One but I think it is the same clamp just has a different color ends.

I use my for sheet goods all time, what I have is 2 pieces of 1/2 in plywood that are cut the width of my saw plate to the blade.

I square my plywood with a T Square and then mark my cuts on both edges of the sheet. Then use the 2 pieces of plywood to set my clamps at the right distance from the cut.
I also use the clamp for dado cuts with the router.

I have never had mine slip and I thing they are great, very easy and fast to use.

[Peter Quadarella]

It depends what you buy with the EZ Smart products. I use the PBB and it is amazingly accurate in terms of squareness. There are other products from eurekazone that are made specifically for squaring products when cutting also. Most of the product line requires you to square the guides once and then everything cut uses that as a reference.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I have the 4 foot All in One clamp and have the sled for the circular saw. I don't have (or have the room for) a panel saw so cutting 3ft of off a 4x8 sheet of plywood is real simple. Unlike the Kudzu design, the sled attaches to the clamp so the saw can't wander when you get near the end of your reach.

I don't find that it "square's itself up" at all. But you also don't have to find clamps to hold it in place. It's great for jointing the edge of rough cut boards using a router and spiral bit.

I just saw a tip on the web for cutting large panels on the table saw with one of these. Determine out where you want to cut and then measure back to the end of your TS and clamp it to the bottom of the panel. It will use the edge of the TS wing as a "fence". I tried it, it's not as hard as it sounds.

It's really nice, but I'm not sure that I would invest in all of them. I have found them in 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 foot long.