How to Cut 16" off a large piece

[IBBugsy]

I have a 4' x 4' piece of 3/4" plywood that needs 16" cut off (to make a 48" x 32" piece).

I can set the fence to 16" but the 32" remaining on the left of the saw not balanced. I think I have only 2 options:

1) Try to use a roller stand on the left of the saw to support the plywood as I cut or

2) Use a hand circular saw with a guide.

I expect the circular saw will feel more "comfortable" but I haven't tried the roller stand to see if that "feels" right.

Any quick thoughts out there by those with experience?

Thanks!

[BobSch]

I have a 4' x 4' piece of 3/4" plywood that needs 16" cut off (to make a 48" x 32" piece).

I can set the fence to 16" but the 32" remaining on the left of the saw not balanced. I think I have only 2 options:

1) Try to use a roller stand on the left of the saw to support the plywood as I cut or

2) Use a hand circular saw with a guide.

I expect the circular saw will feel more "comfortable" but I haven't tried the roller stand to see if that "feels" right.

Any quick thoughts out there by those with experience?

Thanks!

Personally, I'd go for door #2.

[LarryG]

I routinely use method #1, although my "roller stand" is actually a Ridgid flip-top.

But just because I do it doesn't mean you should do it, if you have reservations.

A third option would be to use a router and a 1/4" straight bit. This was my "table saw" for many years, before I was able to set up a permanent shop and buy my BT3100.

[LCHIEN]

probably just as important is to have outfeed support in the back - otherwise you will have nearly 4 feet hanging off the back of the saw that is going to fall in two pieces to the floor.

If you don't have an outfeed table, the I would recommend having two roller stands, one behind the saw to support both the 16" wide piece and the 32" wide piece.
And a second roller stand to the back to support the outside of the 32" piece.

Now you can push this piece thru, the big cutoff will be supported on three points once its thru. 16" is wide enough you can push the board with your right hand, and push the 32" side with your left hand.
Once it's split finto two pieces, your hands should be comfortable off to the side of the blade, but still holding on to both pieces.

I would push the 16" piece all the way thru so as to prevent the blade from scoring the side of the 16" piece, and move the end of the 32" piece 1/2" to the left to keep it away from the blade.
Now you can reach down with the left hand and turn off the saw.
The big 32" cutoff on the left should be supported by the table and one outfeed stand, your hand holding it down and the left side on the 2nd roller stand, thus its not going anywhere. The 16" piece shold be supported by the table and the 1st roller stand and also not going anywhere.

If you don't have or won't get two roller stands then use the circular saw.
In my opinion you will get a better cut on the table saw justifying the acquisition of roller stands which you need anyway for other work.

[SARGE..g-47]

My thoughts are that if you don't 32" rip capacity right, I would agree with Bob on door # 2 and the circular saw. When I work with 8' panels, I keep a carbide 60T 7 1/2" on my PC circular for just that. A Tru-Grip comes in handy even though you can use anything as a guide. And if you're cutting exotic hard-wood panels, I would "score" through the first layer on the cut line and place a piece of tape over the "score" after the guide is set up. It will eliminate tear-out as a circular saw blade cuts up and not down as a TS. I use a cheap Oldham carbide 60T and it does a marvelous job regardless of it's price.

And if you use the TS, I will agree with Larry on using stand supports. I also agree on this recommendation of Ridgid "flip-tops". They adjust very easily and have a friction surface. Rollers IMO, are like trying to sit on top of a flag pole with a ball-bearing under your hinny. Easy for stock to get out of control and that can lead to problems. Just my opinion as I have used both over the years and sold my standard rollers cheap.

And I also agree with Loring about having rear support. It is every much as important as side support with a blade spiinning at high revolution. When working alone, you have to calculate all angles before the cut to get controlled results as opposed to the results controlling you. Again, just my personal thoughts.

Good luck...

[IBBugsy]

Thanks!

I like LarryG's suggestion of a router. It will give me a better quality cut than my circular saw and give me some experience with the router. I've only made a few practice cuts with a router so far and this would be my first "real" cut. I know I would have to do it with several passes....

[SHADOWFOX]

Instead of immediately cutting the piece with a router, I would recommend marking your final size then use a jigsaw or circular saw and freehand it by cutting the piece 1/8" or 1/4" oversize then put the straight edge right on your final size mark and use a flush trim bit to clean out the excess material.

[Tom Miller]

If you see yourself performing this task more than once or twice, you might consider putting a little time/effort/money into your setup. That doesn't necessarily point to any particular approach, but whatever you end up with should be something that is somewhat easy/enjoyable to use, and gives good results (those two aspects being closely related).

If you want to go the router/circular saw approach, you might consider making a saw board. (You can search with that term for examples.) Or, you might make an adjustable saw-horse-mounted contraption for outboard support on the left side of your BT (think 6' long 2x4 on edge). Some type of outfeed support in back of your saw, BTW, will be considered indispensible once you have it.

I've also considered making (and maybe have seen examples of) a rail-mounted, pull-out outboard support for the left side of my BT3, too. (I'm sensing some deja-vu, so I think there might be something in the forums about that.)

Regards,
Tom

[IBBugsy]

Thinking long term, I do expect I'll need some type of support both to the left and behind my TS since I'll be working alone most of the time.

That's why my current project (my first "real" project) is a mobile workbench. I'm making it 1/4" lower than my TS height so I can use it for outboard support. I've heard that's the apropriate height for outboard support.

I'm a little in a humorous Catch 22 situation (which I posted in another discussion here) in that I need the outboard support in order to make something as an outboard support!

I've already made a few simple jigs to help with this project and I'll take a look at a saw board. Again, a humorous problem I see with using the circular saw or router is how to support it for the cut. I have 2 sawhorses but I think I'll need three for this. I'll probably use a sawhorse on each side of the cut and then the roller stand as another support for the larger board.

Slowly but progressively, I'll have the tools/equipment I'll need....

[RayintheUK]

If you decide to try the tablesaw and have suitable supports, lower the blade below the table and do a dry run with power disconnected. At least you'll get a feel for the forces involved, the difficulty of reaching the switch, supporting the board once cut, etc. etc.

If it feels the slightest bit iffy, DON'T DO IT!

Ray.

[BobSch]

If you decide to try the tablesaw and have suitable supports, lower the blade below the table and do a dry run with power disconnected. At least you'll get a feel for the forces involved, the difficulty of reaching the switch, supporting the board once cut, etc. etc.

If it feels the slightest bit iffy, DON'T DO IT!

Ray.

The best advice of all.

[IBBugsy]

If it feels the slightest bit iffy, DON'T DO IT!

Ray.

Yup, my thoughts exactly. I've already dropped the idea of using the TS due to my "feelings" from a dry run.

Though I am a Newbie with a TS, I've watched and helped my Dad use his many times over the years and have seen kickback. Between that and being basically scared of power tools to begin with, I give my "feelings" a lot of respect!

I found directions for a saw board and I'm going that route. One side will be set for the circular saw and the other for the router. I'll be making the first cut a little large with the CS and then cleaning the cut accurately with the router.

I'm now up to two jigs and a saw board! I'm also heading out to get more clamps (there's a bunch of gluing with this project). 7 just doesn't cut it!

Thanks for all the advice!

[just4funsies]

You could also go to one of the box stores and buy a new piece of ply, which they will cut to your specs for free, and then save the piece you already have for another project with different cutting needs. This is a waste of money if you never use plywood, but not so if you'll use it anyway...

[glencross]

to obviate getting roller stands etc etc, why not just have the lumber yard cut off the 16" for you?

just a thought......

[IBBugsy]

to obviate getting roller stands etc etc, why not just have the lumber yard cut off the 16" for you?

just a thought......

I got the plywood at a small lumberyard about 1 mile from my house. They mostly deal with contractors but "tolerate" weekend warriors. Wood is good quality compared to the HD about 10 miles away (this is 3/4 birch plywood). However, they charge $1 a cut, even on the first cut. I had them cut the 4x8 down to 4x4, thinking I could do the rest on the TS. But the boards are still too big for me to feel comfortable on the TS.

I have 4 of these boards and need to make several different cuts on them. The 16" cut mentioned above was just the start. Figured I didn't need to bore you guys with all the details.

I'll be using the sawboard to make about 2-3 cuts on each board and then the remaining cuts should be fine on the TS.