If you are reading this, you must be a DIY or woodwork hobbyist. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, you are always met with the need to cut things like hardwoods, plywood and other materials. The accuracy of the cuts you make on the plywood determines the accuracy of the entire project.
Based on these circumstances, we provide you with a step by step procedure on how to cut plywood with a circular saw/Track saw to guide you during the whole exercise. The process seems simple but a slight mistake makes the entire project unsatisfactory. Thus, meet the specific requirements of the projects, this information is crucial.
Table of Contents
10 Steps of How to Cut Plywood with a Circular Saw
Requirements
- Plywood.
- Two clamps.
- A long piece of wood.
- A Budget circular saw is enough.
- Two stools/ a supporting platform.
- A sharpened pencil.
(Steps Involved)
Step 1: Set up the work area
Set up the two stools or a supporting surface on the designated work area and ensure that they are stead so that you can comfortably work on them.
Step 2: Lay the plywood on the supporting mechanisms
Depending on where you are working on, carry your plywood and lay it flat on the work surface before you start working on it. Ensure that it is put in a straight manner in line with the supporting surface to make it easy to make the required markings. Also, place it in a way that its edge is positioned away from the supporting surface. This reduces the instances of cutting the supporting surface as you rip the plywood.
Step 3: Make the cutting marks on the Plywood
Using the sharpened pencil, accurately make a small marking on where you intend to cut the plywood. The marks should be on both the top and the bottom of the plywood. They should exhibit similar measurements from the edges to further enhance accuracy.
Step 4: Make the second marks
The second marks should be based on the distance between the circular blade and the edge of the circular saw. This enhances your accurate estimation of where to place the wood that acts as the guiding aspect during the cutting process. You do not want to carelessly put your wood on the plywood, as this may result in careless and inaccurate results.
To be sure about the exact location to place the piece of wood, mark the exact measurements on the plywood on both the top and bottom areas. These are measured from the initial marks placed on the plywood to ensure that the blade lies exactly on top of them during the cutting process.
Step 5: Clamp the wood
Ensure that the wood is accurately placed on the second marks and in a straight manner. It should be parallel to the initial marks to ensure that the cut remains straight. In this case, the wood acts as the guiding aspect of where the circular saw blade cuts the plywood.
The two clamps are then used to tightly hold the piece of wood on both the top and bottom to ensure that the ripping exercise takes place in the designated areas. The fact that the wood is straight means that the resulting cut will be equally straight.
Step 6: Adjust the saw
Ensure that as you do this, the saw is not plugged. Ensure that the position of the saw is correctly readjusted in readiness to embark in the ripping process. The blade should be fixed according to the requirements of your project and blade is clean. You can check how to change the blade
Step 7: Place more weight on the idle part of the board
This is to ensure that the board is pressed down against the supporting mechanisms to ensure that it is immobile. It enhances the efficiency of the whole exercise.
Step 8: Place the edge of the saw against the wood
Once the wood is in line with the second marks, lift your saw and place it beside the wood and ensure that its edge is in line with the edge of the wood. This places the blade exactly at the point it is supposed to cut. After confirming it is in the required setting, you can now brace yourself to commence the ripping exercise.
Step 9: Make the cut
At this point, everything is intact, and the board is steady and hence it is the right time to plug your saw and make the required cut. Ensure that once the blade is at the maximum speed, you begin your cut without stopping in the midway. sharpen the blade if necessary. But if you want to make holes must use a top quality hole saw kit. It looks good when you make hole on plywood by hole saw kit.
Since the piece of wood supports the compact circular saw’s movement, you can be sure of heightened accuracy during the cutting exercise. Once the piece of plywood is ripped off, it leaves you with the required size of plywood for your project.
Step 10: power off and unplug the saw
After achieving the required size of plywood, it is safe to switch off the circular saw and unplug it from the primary source of power if you no longer need to make other similar cuts. You don’t want to spoil your experience with unwarranted injuries from the circular saw blade.
Additional tip: When cutting plywood with different saw blades, splintering is a common occurrence, and it can be so annoying. With such circumstances, you wonder how to cut the plywood without splintering and we have a solution for that.
First, you should ensure that you use the right blade (one with close and many teeth) during the cutting exercise. Also, embrace the use of masking tape to ensure that the plywood is kept intact during the ripping process. After cutting the plywood, you can slowly remove the tape to meet your smooth and evenly split plywood without any form of splintering.
When dealing with circular saws or Portable Bandsaws, your safety should be paramount, and hence, it is prudent to take into consideration different measures. As we embark on the exercise, let’s first consider some of these precautionary measures. You should read compact circular saw reviews before purchasing the best unit. Definitely you don’t want to waste you money. If you have problem of budget go for the best budget bandsaw that may also help you
Quick safety tips
- Avoid direct contact with the spinning blades as they may cause injuries on you as you engage in the ripping process.
- Use the right blades for different projects and avoid making assumptions that some blades can be used for all the project materials.
- Ensure you regularly check, clean, and maintain your saws with authorized dealers in a holistic manner to ensure that any problems are detected earlier.
- Switch off and disengage the saws from the power sources when they are not in use to bar the unintended powering of the saws.
- Get the facts right by continually referring to the user manual when you are unsure of anything as you engage in your projects.
- Do not start the ripping process when you are not sober or with divided attention, as this may not only lead to inaccuracies but also lead to bodily injuries.
- Do not handle a spinning blade but instead wait until it becomes motionless before adjusting or tightening it for better functioning.
Final Verdict
Plywood is often used during the DIY and Wood work projects. They usually come in big sizes, and they often require some ripping adjustments. Any mistakes during the ripping process are transferred across the entire project and hence it is of great significance to grasp the step by step process followed by “How to cut plywood with a circular saw” article of the cutting exercise.
If you desire to have the most accurate rip on the plywood without any form of splintering, then these guidelines suit you. Also, for the beginners in the DIY hobbies, there is a need to understand these steps because in the end, they will need to split and design the big pieces of plywood.
Furthermore, these guidelines offer the safety mechanisms during the entire exercise, and this not only leave you with satisfactory results but also equip you with the cautionary tactics during the ripping exercise. Thus, for accuracy and safety when handling the circular saw on the plywood, these steps got you covered.
Note : With the circular saw you can also cut the concrete blocks but the process is different.