How To Get A Clean Edge On Plywood On The Tablesaw

Perfect Plywood Panels On The Table Saw: Crude To Concluding Size

By: Ted Raife

With the correct setup and a well-thought-out approach, it'south a cakewalk to go from total sheets to crisp, accurately sized panels.

The table saw and plywood are certainly two of the near important woodworking innovations of all time. I can't imagine working without either. And although the two may not seem similar a skillful lucifer, the table saw is e'er my first choice when the task is breaking downward full sheets of plywood into accurately sized panels for a project. It's all in how you plan for the chore. I'll offer my uncomplicated approach.

THE BEST SETUP. The showtime step is to make sure your saw setup is upwardly to snuff. This starts with the right bract. A lx-molar triple chip or crosscut bract will produce clean cuts with minimal chipping. Installing a zero-clearance insert as shown below, will guarantee even better results.

Side by side comes outfeed support. When cutting large panels, stable outfeed support covering both sides of the blade is a must (top photo). And if necessary, don't hesitate to position support to the left side of the saw.

Rough SIZE. At present you're staring at a 4' ten eight' sheet wondering how to keep. You want to begin past breaking the sheet down into manageable, rough-sized pieces. Then you can cutting these roughsized pieces to finished size.

2 HALVES. I like to commencement by ripping the sheet into judge halves, as in the top photo above. (The exact width may depend on the finished widths required.) You'll observe that the resulting half sheets are much easier to handle.

The factory edges on a sheet of plywood are unremarkably directly plenty to be used every bit a guide for cut. Merely they're generally not clean enough to be used equally a finished border. Yous'll ever want to trim a factory edge during terminal sizing of a console. So ever allow extra width for this trim cut.

The goal is to end with a direct, clean cutting on each piece. This border will be used to begin cutting the pieces to terminal size. So accept intendance and maintain good command when making the cuts (Shop Tip, below).

ROUGH LENGTH. If the projection calls for broad panels (the middle chiffonier of the media centre), yous next face the task of crosscutting the one-half sheets to rough length. There are a couple of ways to get this done. Whenever possible, I use the rip fence as a guide to crosscut wide panels. Although a one-half sail of plywood tin be a chip unwieldy, the end of the panel riding confronting the rip debate will provide a stable guide edge.

You'll demand adequate outfeed and side support to hold and catch both pieces. The play tricks is to keep the stop snug to the argue while feeding the console. You'll need to push the trapped piece completely through the blade, so position yourself with ane mitt on each side of the bract.

GUIDE CLEAT. If the saw's rip capacity won't let you make the cuts using the contend, y'all tin piece of work effectually this by using a cleat to guide the cutting. The cleat is clamped to the underside of the console and positioned to run along the border of the saw's left extension wing, as in the upper right photograph.

Rough TO FINAL SIZE

Once the sheet or sheets are broken downwardly into the rough sizes that are needed, cutting them to finished size follows a straightforward sequence.

The first footstep is to rip the pieces to finished width. You should have 1 clean, directly "long" border on each piece. The factory border volition ever be trimmed away (upper left photo below). So the reverse border should serve every bit your reference edge. If this edge isn't cut clean and straight, y'all'll want to re-cut it before going further.

Fix the rip fence to the desired finished width and with the proficient edge against the argue, run the panel through the blade. To make the smoothest, cleanest cutting, ever try to feed the console steadily without pausing. A jerky, inconsistent feed can create a scored or burned edge. Think ahead to position your hands and body to let for a steady, controlled push button.

CROSSCUT TO LENGTH. The final step is to crosscut the pieces to finished length. Again, this is not a "one technique fits all" situation.

To ensure clean edges and a square panel, I e'er make a finish cut on both ends. The first cut simply trims and squares one finish. This is followed past a square cut to finished length.

One of the easiest and well-nigh accurate ways to cut the panels to length is to use a crosscut sled, as shown below. A sled profoundly reduces the endeavor needed to feed the panel beyond the bract for an accurate cut. When multiple identical pieces are needed, a stop cake can be clamped to the sled for the final squaring cut. (I avoid using the miter gauge. Information technology provides poor support and control.)

A sled may not accommodate broad panels. Here, you have a couple of options. One is to use a square factory border referenced confronting the rip fence to guide the panel. If a panel is non too long in relation to its width (no more 2 to 1), information technology can exist safely cut to length in this way. Again, this can be a practiced style to accurately size identical multiple pieces.

Panels also large for either a sled or the rip debate can be cut to last length using the cleat method mentioned previously and shown above. Make sure the edge of the table is parallel to the blade and the cleat is attached squarely.

The lesson hither is that when edifice a large plywood project, starting with square, accurately sized panels makes everything else easier. And the table saw is the place to get this done.