Is it safe/reasonable to cut down thin sheets of plywood (1/8-3/8) using a circular saw and a very fine-toothed blade? I don't have any other tools available except my scroll saw and a hand saw, and the pieces are bigger than are easy to work with on my 16 inch scroll saw.
Circular Saw: 6-1/2" or 7-1/4"
- Thread starter jesseshoots
- Start date
Is it safe/reasonable to cut down thin sheets of plywood (1/8-3/8) using a circular saw and a very fine-toothed blade? I don't have any other tools available except my scroll saw and a hand saw, and the pieces are bigger than are easy to work with on my 16 inch scroll saw.
I say for sure, set the blade depth a bit deeper than the wood and go to town. Safety googles etc
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News to me as well. I bought my corded Kobalt about 10 years ago and I've always hated how difficult it is to judge the cut line.
Get a 4 x 8 sheet of 1” or thicker foam board to lay the plywood on and set the saw a tad deeper than the wood thickness- then it can’t collapse and bind the blade-
You can make a cutting guide by glueing a 8” x 48” piece of 1/4” luan to a 1x4 48” long and run the saw down the 1x4’s edge once dry and cut the 1/4” - this establishes that the cut edge is now where your blade runs- lay the guide on the marks, and you will get a perfect cut every time. You can see videos online.
Work safe.
I have had no serious accidents in my 30 years with tools in my hands- mainly because I developed safe habits early on. Mainly I never get my fingers near the blade, and I don’t force power tools or material. They all have an operational design that works if allowed to.
A saw can mame you for life, and I know of one female hobbyist missing most of a hand, as well as an 80 year old neighbor on a table saw I used only once and said “this thing is dangerous- needs to he done away with”.
I got out of bed at 1:20 and turned my phone on to add this-this is passion and care talking-
Never put your free hand behind the saw, circular saws kick back when they bind.
Never wrap your fingers around what you are cutting along the cut path- ever.
The best place for your free hand is on the tool. It has 2 handles.
If it binds release the trigger immediately and see what is going on, and start back slowly.
Never wire or wedge the guard back.
Avoid gloves, especially loose gloves.
Wear hearing and eye protection.
Keep pets and people away- don’t work with tools distracted, tired or flustered.
Unplug when not in use or remove the battery.
Not preaching, I just care. Tool injuries are needless and horrible. No cut is worth losing you fingers.
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AndyG-
Great points, yeah the wood you are cutting needs to be off the ground and some place under it for the blade to travel. Likely not the best but at a minimum I put a piece (or better several) of 2x lumber under just inside the cut line to lift the cut off the ground and help the saw not bind. Some things I don’t think of but Andy is 100% correct, safety, glasses, etc has to come first. Shit happens fast.
Great points, yeah the wood you are cutting needs to be off the ground and some place under it for the blade to travel. Likely not the best but at a minimum I put a piece (or better several) of 2x lumber under just inside the cut line to lift the cut off the ground and help the saw not bind. Some things I don’t think of but Andy is 100% correct, safety, glasses, etc has to come first. Shit happens fast.
Maybe it happened earlier for others, but I started thinking a lot more about safety once I had kids. Something about having someone I deeply care about that depends on me and my ability to provide.
I'm sure most hobby welders and maybe even some pros would laugh at my welding getup but it came straight from the factory PPE requirements where I used to work.
Sometimes things that happen in accidents can’t be undone/fixed so more safety the better I think. My uncle was putting air in a wheel barrow tire and the rim must have been rusted really bad and tire and rim blew and dam near blinded him. Would not think to wear glasses then but should have looked at the rim closer I guess. Just saying, shit happens.
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That’s being a man. Knowing those that count on you need you is a measure of a man. People drag their families through their bad decisions. Life can change permanently fast.
The first time I really became aware of it, my wife had taken our oldest (and only, at the time) to visit her parents. The family cabin was about 2.5 hours away and the lawn needed mowed, so I went up there and mowed that evening, stayed overnight, and went on a hike the next morning before going back home. I got to a point where there was about 30 feet of scrambling on all fours to reach the summit of the climb. Not rock climbing by any stretch, and not remotely technical, but the cost for a mistake could easily be a broken ankle or leg. And I was up there without anyone knowing where I was, with no cell reception. So I turned back 30 feet from the finish line and went back down.