Anyone got any hints on cutting plywood with nice clean, sharp, straight edges on both sides? The best I've managed so far is to cut it to within a few mm of the line with a jigsaw, then use the router against a clamped straightedge. Good results, but very time-consuming!
Get a sharp knife, like a marking knife (Axminster's Japanese ones, for around a fiver) and score along the edges of the saw kerf before cutting. Maybe score a little wider than this, if you can't guarantee accuracy.
Use the right sawblade. Circular saws are supplied with combi blades that are intended to crosscut 2x4s and even do some light ripping. If all you ever use your handheld saw for are the initial cuts on a big sheet of plywood or MDF, then it's worth getting a more appropriate blade. It's especially useful on a Lucky Golden Hedgehog brand saw from Happy Shopper.
Use birch plywood. Doesn't solve it, but the fibres are a lot less brittle than rainforest plywood. You'll still have tears, but they're less than 1/4" long. Give it a try, whenever you need some "nice" plywood.
With a jigsaw it's best to use the special blades made for the job. These have teeth like a miniature pruning saw - the teeth are not set but are all internal to the blade and are shaped with a sharp edge for both the pull and push cut. They are sold under a variety of names "cabinet", "extra fine cut" and a couple of others I can't recall at present. You can tell which they are by looking at the blade itself. If the teeth do not protrude left/right from the blade then you have the right one.
Another approach is to clamp the edge to be cut with scrap ply top and bottom and cut through the lot. Nice edge, but very wasteful on wood.
Try scoring the ply with a modelling knife first then cut with a good hard point hand saw. I personally only use a fine toothed wood or hacksaw jigsaw blade to cut shapes in plywood and any straight cuts are done with a hand saw.
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