It looks interesting. I need to rip a bit of plywood. To much to want to do it on the table saw and not enough to justify the purchase of a panel saw.
Any of you guys using a Kreg Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide?
How is it working out for you?
The blue stuff looks like plastic. How is that holding up?
Don't have one, but my concern would be that it might not remain parallel unless you had a longer edge to the "T" riding the edge.
I guess that it all depends on just how many cuts you need to make. If it were me, I think that the first thing I'd consider would be a straight 8' length of 1x - carefully measure, clamp it at both ends and make your rip cut.
I have one -- bought it for a remodeling project where it would have been too much of a PITA to run all the way to the shop for every plywood cut. I'll say that the Kreg worked OK for this purpose with a DeWalt cordless saw but is is certainly not something I'd use for fine furniture work unless it was for the roughest sort of sheet breakdown which will later go through the table saw.
What is the problem with the guide?
SWMBO wants me to built some bookcases for her cookbooks. They will flank a window in the kitchen with a shelf across the entire top. My shop is way too small to cut plywood on the table saw, so the vast majority of cuts will need to be done by hand or by someone else.
Typically I've always used a straight edge to cut plywood, but I've never built anything with "quality" plywood. This is a timely question since I was just informed of the project today.
Where do you find a piece of 1x that's that straight? 1Xs also flex quite a bit. I've ripped down some MDF and used that as a straight-edge, though it's even easier if you rip a piece and mount it on top of another piece, then rip the bottom piece with the saw you're going to use. Then you know exactly where you're cutting.
However, "the first thing I'd consider" would be my track saw. ;-)
Another option, as I did, would be to purchase a 20' length of 1/2 X 2 alum inum bar - $60, I think it was. Have the metal shop cut it, for 8' and 12 ' straight edges. Doesn't rust, warp, rot, etc.
Sonny
Google build your own straight edge saw guide. That will give you a few visuals for how to do it. The popular mechanics and this old house links are good.
If you buy a sheet of 1/4" hardboard or luan, it will be good for making the guide and can be used for the backs of bookcases.
Make 2: One for crosscuts, about 55" long and one the full 8foot.
Use the factory edges for the straight edge guide sections. Tip: Use screws or small dabs of CA or hot glue to attach the straight edge to the sacrificial backing. That way, you can re-use the straight edge and move it over a bit for when you mess up the sacrificial backer, or get a different blade.
These work extremely well for bookcase type sheetgoods, where you will be covering the edges with faceframes or shelve edging. With a good blade, I get cuts as clean as on my tablesaw woth its zero-clearance insert.
By the way, search around for the thickest blade you can find. Those thin, fine-tooth generic plywood circular saw blades they sell for cheap, are terrible. Thin kerf blades bend easily and can result in a wavy cut, no matter how straight you keep the saw.
Take some calipers or read the specs on the blades to find their thickness. Spend what it takes to get a high quality, high tooth count, thick blade that won't bend.
Simply cut, with your circular saw, a length away from the long or short side of a sheet of plywood. Then with that piece use the factory edge as the saw guide and clamp it down.
snipped-for-privacy@notreal.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Sporting goods stores usually carry them, but they've got a blade on the end you'll have to cut off. :-)
Warrior makes them 3" longer than everyone else. It's much easier to cut a stick than it is to add length on the end.
Puckdropper
That's a great idea, but it doesn't answer the original question:
Is the Kreg Rip-Cut Circular Saw Guide any good?
While just about any homemade straightedge will work (some better than others) it still requires that you clamp the guide perfectly straight, etc. Doesn't the Kreg guide come with the advantage of a built-in edge guide to ensure parallel edges, especially for multiple cuts of the same size?
Of course, the more important question is: Does it come with any built-in
*disadvantages*, such as not really following the edge, i.e. drifting, poor saw clamping mechanism, hard to use ruler, etc?I'm not pushing back on any of the tried and true straightedge methods, many of which I've used for years, I'm just wondering if the Kreg jig offers any advantages for repeat cuts considering it's only $30.
The first thing that comes to mind is it's size. For those of us with small shops and limited storage, storing an 8' guide is problematic.
Leon wrote in news:VM6dnaV3595nu_bFnZ2dnUU7- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Time was you could count on the factory edge of a sheet of plywood being straight. I'm not confident this is the case any longer, at least not for the cheaper grades you'd get at Home Depot or the like.
John
Don't like the plastic ? .. free shipping until tomorrow ! :-)
John T.
A couple of things from just looking at it. The saw is always attached to the Kreg making it tedious to remove to do other cutting. The Festool slides on and off its jig with ease.
The Kreg looks to be a two-handed operation. With a clamp on straight-edge, you only need one hand on the saw.
The Kreg relies on the straightness of the stock being cut to provide a straight cut. While it may seem great for repetitive cuts, the slightest imperfection can be amplified on the next cut and each successive cut. A clamp on guide is straight every time, no matter what is being cut. That is probably the main advantage I see to the clamp on straight-edge.
For rough carpentry, I think the Kreg is very, very nice, especially for
30 bucks.
That's one reason I suggested hardboard/mdf. However, if you have several sheets of plywood, odds are pretty good that you'll get a good edge out of one. Pretty pathetic that we have to worry about that, though.
Another option, as I did, would be to purchase a 20' length of 1/2 X 2 aluminum bar - $60, I think it was. Have the metal shop cut it, for 8' and
12' straight edges. Doesn't rust, warp, rot, etc.Sonny
*********Probably what I'll wind up doing... more or less. I buy aluminum bar stock all the time for my mold making business. Probably have a dozen pieces long enough on the rack right now.
Of course, using a straightedge doesn't eliminate the problem of a sheet that isn't square to start with. Setting the straightedge based on measurements from the un-square edge will result in an un-square piece. If that isn't caught before the first cut is made, all further cuts will be off also.
As Mike said, it's a shame we have to worry about that variable. Squaring the end of a 1 x 6 is standard practice. Squaring the edge of a sheet good shouldn't be required.
Of course, using a straightedge doesn't eliminate the problem of a sheet that isn't square to start with. Setting the straightedge based on measurements from the un-square edge will result in an un-square piece. If that isn't caught before the first cut is made, all further cuts will be off also.
As Mike said, it's a shame we have to worry about that variable. Squaring the end of a 1 x 6 is standard practice. Squaring the edge of a sheet good shouldn't be required.
**********This is one of those rare circumstances where "good enough" really is good enough. I am throwing up a bunch of rough plywood and stick shelves. Not even going to trim the edges. As long as there are no holes for parts to fall through it will be good.
Not even to prevent bowing? Blasphemy! ;-)
For now... ;-)
There will be a stick frame under each shelf. Its pretty darn fast. Stick frames, 3/4 ply vertical, 1/2 ply shelves. One gun full of framing nails, and one gun full of sheeting nails. Last one I did was 26' long and 8' high with five shelves including the base. Took one day including cutting start to finish with only one gun constantly swapping nails. Each bay was 36" between the verticals. Helper was chopping frames while I assembled. I was amazed at how strong it came out. We climbed all over them as we built them section by section.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.