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Thread: How would you cut a large panel to size

  1. #1
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    How would you cut a large panel to size

    I have a 36" x 48" glue up with quarter sawn white oak I need to cut to finished length. It will be a cross cut on both ends. I was thinking my circular saw with a guide, but what blade to reduce chip out? Would finer toothed blade with more teeth be best? OR use a plunge router with light passes? What bit? Thanks Brian
    Brian

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    Go to Lowes and Home Depot and shop, they can provide what you need.

  3. #3
    A top bearing pattern bit run against a jointed edge clamped the piece.

  4. #4
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    Any woodworking clubs in the Indy area? Maybe find someone with a slider? I'm 4 hours away or you'd be welcome to use my SS with crosscut slider. You still would be but I doubt you want to make the trip. It will handle 48". Someone around there can surely help you out.

  5. #5
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    I would be most comfortable doing that cut on a table saw freehand about 1/8" overlength, and then trimming it to final length with a router, using a straight board clamped across the panel as a fence. This is not maybe the best way, but based on the tools I have it would be the easiest. If you have a strong circular saw that would be just as good as the table saw, too.

  6. #6
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    Freehand? You mean without a sled? That's a little nuts man and asking for trouble. Make a sled for your ts - not only will it be exponentially safer but you can cut square and to size in one cut.

  7. #7
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    How thick is it? Unless very thick an ordinary circ saw with a (sharp) fine-tooth crosscutting blade should cut it fine. I'd probably cut it with the circular saw, leaving a bit of material for a router to finish. I'd use a nice flush trim bit and a wooden straightedge to bring it right to dimension. Since I think you will be routing end grain, you will want to back up the cut where it goes off the end of the board to eliminate any spelching.

    You can get a very accurate and clean result with this if you have a good guide for the saw and a good straight edge on your router guide. The trick is to align the guides square to the long edges. If this is a table top then it may not matter much if its not dead square.

  8. #8
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    If you're going to use your circular saw, make a track for it. Long piece of material, wide enough for your saw to ride on. Attach a narrow (but very straight) piece to the one side to act as a stop for the saw. Run the circular saw through once and you'll have a "track" edge that you can align to the cut you've marked.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Hazelwood View Post
    How thick is it? Unless very thick an ordinary circ saw with a (sharp) fine-tooth crosscutting blade should cut it fine. I'd probably cut it with the circular saw, leaving a bit of material for a router to finish. I'd use a nice flush trim bit and a wooden straightedge to bring it right to dimension. Since I think you will be routing end grain, you will want to back up the cut where it goes off the end of the board to eliminate any spelching.

    You can get a very accurate and clean result with this if you have a good guide for the saw and a good straight edge on your router guide. The trick is to align the guides square to the long edges. If this is a table top then it may not matter much if its not dead square.
    Robert: 60tooth OK? I see a 140 tooth for osb/plywood? thanks Brian
    Brian

  10. #10
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    I'd do the cut with the saw proud of the final line and then template route in multiple passes to get that perfect surface with little or no tear-out. Blades with more teeth can certainly provide a cleaner cut, but with an unsupported edge as is the case with a "non track saw", there can still be issues as the blade exits the wood. I've honestly used a jigsaw to do the ends of thick tables prior to using the pattern routing technique to clean things up. (and that works well for curved ends, too)
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
    If you have a good quality circular saw set up right, with the right blade all you need is to clamp a straight edge to your work, take your time let the saw do the work & you can get joinery grade cross cuts. This pic shows a bread board end on a 40" wide Oak table top I did. Top was aprx 1 1/8" thick.
    Forgot to mention your top will need to be flat otherwise a hand held saw will create problems if the surface is uneven, maybe that's not a problem with a track saw, I've never used a track saw but have cut a lot of wood with a skill saw.

    crosscut.jpg
    Last edited by lou Brava; 01-10-2023 at 11:16 AM.

  12. #12
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    Don't use an osb blade. They're very thin and will flex, bind, etc when cutting a panel. High tooth count crosscut blade. 60 should be fine. Whatever you do, be prepared for "some" chip out - nature of the beast (cutting method).

  13. #13
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    Assuming this is a crosscut, if you are going to use a router as part of the job, I'd clamp a sacrificial piece of waste to each edge to eliminate any chance of blowing out the side grain since you will be routing end grain.
    --I had my patience tested. I'm negative--

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by John Kananis View Post
    Don't use an osb blade. They're very thin and will flex, bind, etc when cutting a panel. High tooth count crosscut blade. 60 should be fine. Whatever you do, be prepared for "some" chip out - nature of the beast (cutting method).
    Just cut it upside down the saw will not tear out at all on bottom side of the panel.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Runau View Post
    Robert: 60tooth OK? I see a 140 tooth for osb/plywood? thanks Brian
    The finishing/plywood blade I use for this kind of cut is 60 teeth. I cut 1-1/2" thick white oak butcher block with it just recently and it did fine. If you need a finished edge here the circ saw will only get you most of the way, regardless of blade. I would come back with either a router or sanding block.

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