Sawing through birch plywood, don't want to damage veneer

[Michael Mahan]

depth of blade & angle of attack helps as well on a circular saw , fine tooth blade with just a 1/8" over on the depth help loads

[Greg Hines, MD]

Using tape, and a guide for your saw, and a sharp blade, and scoring the veneer, will all help. Probably best to do them all. I made my own guides, out of 1/4" hardboard, a plywood strip down the middle, and a t-bar on the underside to keep it square. I use a circular saw all the time to deal with this, and it works for me. See my photos for some pics of my guides.

Doc

[Jamie Buxton]

Have you considered using MDF instead of plywood? You can cut it with a hand-powered saw without chip-out.

MDF brings its own issues, so using it instead of plywood might or might not be feasible depending on what you're building.

[John TenEyck]

Score both sides, as recommended. But then cut it long so that any tearout stops at your score lines. Now put the board on a shooting board and hand plane the cut edge down to the score marks. Just like they used to work wood by hand.

John

[Roy Turbett]

Has anyone ever tried backing up the plywood with something like MDF or foam board? I know some guys use foam board as a backer when cutting plywood on the floor with a circular saw but wonder if this would work with a hand saw too. Its the same idea as a zero clearance insert on a tablesaw.

[johnny means]

First of all, tape on birch ply is a bad idea. The tape will tear fibers right out of the veneer when you removed it, even painter's tape. Scoring with a knife is the way to go. But, you can't cut right on the score mark, you need to cut just shy of the score then hand plane or block sand to the line. I would avoid doing this type of work in the shop at all cost (much easier to make and use a saw track), but it's saved my butt on a job site a few times.

[Mark Wooden]

With the tools you want to use, change to solid stock. Pine, bass, poplar, oak and maple have been used for tool boxes for centuries.
If you insist on using ply, with a skill or jigsaw, score the top,leave the line and plane to size. If using a handsaw, score both sides and clamp a straight edge on the line on both sides so you don't wander and tear it out and then,again, plane to size.

And then, if using hand tools on plywood, be prepared to sharpen your tools frequently- the glue and particulates in it dulls tools fast. I won't use most of my hand tools on it because of it.

[Jim Matthews]

Has anyone ever tried backing up the plywood with something like MDF or foam board? I know some guys use foam board as a backer when cutting plywood on the floor with a circular saw but wonder if this would work with a hand saw too. Its the same idea as a zero clearance insert on a tablesaw.

I cut all my sheet goods on a hard insulation board.
I still get chip out, when I use my circular saw.

Scoring two parallel lines confines the chip out, some.
With a better blade - finer finishes can be achieved.

Those come at too high a price for my occasional use.

[John TenEyck]

I cut all my sheet goods on a hard insulation board.
I still get chip out, when I use my circular saw.

Scoring two parallel lines confines the chip out, some.
With a better blade - finer finishes can be achieved.

Those come at too high a price for my occasional use.

The Freud Diablo thin kerf blades generally cut with minimal tearout when I cut hardwood veneered plywood. In most cases, even the exit side of the cut (top) is nearly perfect. I think I paid about $10 for a 7-1/2" diameter one at HD.

John

[Jim Matthews]

$10?

I thought my new computer was cheap.
What's that, two lattes at Starbucks?

Which blade?

Freud LU79R007 - $48

[Rob Schwartz]

Hi all!

I took the advice and went with poplar wood- It's lighter and easier to work with

I finished the project last night, and here are some pictures:

13709595014_f494866c70_b.jpgasd.jpg

I am making a guide online on how to do the entire project, and I'll post a link here if anyone wants a peek.

Thanks again,

Rob

[Rob Schwartz]

All right- here it is:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Func...ooden-Toolbox/

Rob

[Justin Ludwig]

Simple, functional, and has a hairy chest (pun intended) look to it. I hope it helps out someone looking to explore DIY toolbox options! I like it. Good job, Rob.