How To Use A Circular Saw Guide For Long Cuts?
No matter if it’s a non-professional weekend project or professional woodworking, you might have to use a circular saw guide to make cuts on wooden panels or boards.
Now the question is, how would making a long cut would vary from making a short cut with the same tool of a circular saw.
Well, this brings us to a whole different set of precautions, steps, and requirements that are maybe not compulsory while making a shortcut. And in today’s article, we will take you through the exact craftings of those.
Stay tuned.
What’s Different about Making A Long Cut with a Circular Saw?
Usually, a table saw is the tool that most handyman or carpenter would recommend when it comes to making long cuts. But what if you don’t have one? Well, in that case, it’s possible to make it till the end using a circular saw.
But the difference between making a long cut with circular saw and table saw is- circular saws won’t make as smooth cuts as the table saws would. But making sure that you have a smooth circular saw and a couple of techniques in hand, you can make it just like any professional carpenter would.
The Following are the steps for the process. Check them out.
How to Use A Circular Saw for Long Cuts?
Step 1: Secure the subject
As we’re taking a longboard in concern, fitting it right into a stable position comes to be the first task. For that, you can use a sawhorse and a set of nails to put it on a straight fitting.
A little specifiers about which finish nails to use on which kind of boards goes as below-
- 4d finish nails for securing woods that are ¾ inches in thickness.
- 8d finish nails for securing woods that are 1-½ inches in thickness.
Take the finished nails and place one at each corner of the board/subject. You might have an idea about where the cutting light would be, and keep the nails away from that. This will prevent interruptions while you’re approaching the cut.
Once it’s done, make sure that the board is of consistent width and parallel sides.
Step 2: Draw Guides
You can’t make a smooth long cut with a circular saw unless your saw is guided properly. For that, you need to use a caulk to create a guide along with the help of some guiding tools.
Now, what guiding tools we’re talking about? Well, that depends on what kind of cut you’re making on the board. In most cases, it’s a square and a pencil that’s required. To be specific about the square, it can be anything among a speed square, a combination square or any similar tool that serves the purpose.
Step 3: Position your saw
This is the time to put the saw in action. For that, you’ve placed it properly.
In each circular saw, there is a part called the saw shoe. It looks like a metal frame around the blade.
Put the saw on the cutting guideline in such a manner that you can hold up the saw’s shoe with your fingers. Use your thumb to put on the shoe, and place your index finger underneath the board.
In case you want to make cabinet-quality straight long cuts, you might also need to do necessary clampings on it.
Done placing it up? Let’s catch the tool in the act.
Step 4: Start the saw and begin cutting
Got everything set? Now power up your circular saw after you’ve put the blade right on the guideline. While the cut is going on, keep pinching the saw shoe towards the board. As long as the saw is busy cutting, keep your thumb and index finger sliding with it. Make that it’s smooth enough not to hamper the journey of the saw itself.
Eventually, you might notice your saw to move on the wrong guide. As soon as you’ve noticed anything like that, stop cutting and start from the last accurate cutting edge.
Note: To prevent such accidental cuttings, many users suggest starting cutting from ½ inches behind the guideline. In this way, the accidental mistakes won’t harm the quality of the actual cutting edge.
Step 5: Finish the cut
By now, you’re supposed to get finished with the long cut you desired to make with your circular saw. But in case the subject is thick enough not to get it done by one cut, you might have to flip it over and continue the cut over again.
Some Tips Before We Finish
We have tried to keep this step by step guideline as simple as possible. But in different circumstances, different issues might appear on the board. Keeping those aside, here are some generic tips to keep on your mind while you are conducting the operation-
- Before occupying the saw blades into operation, inspect their sharpness level.
- Avoid chipped, blunted or damaged blades for such hectic operations.
- Wear protective glasses and other wearables before you operate with a circular saw.
- Try to avoid long, free-hand cuts on shortboards.
- In case you feel your fingers are too close to the cutting edge and blade, you can use a straight edge instead.
- Clean off the saw and remove the sawdusts once you are done with the operation. And make sure to lube the blade up in order to prevent rust from catching up.
Final Words
So, that was it! You’ve been just through a complete guide on how to use a circular saw guide for long cuts. Having that said, there can be a number of changes required to whatever we’ve advised, when you’re dealing with different circumstances. Beware of that and take essential consultancies from professionals.
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