Ripping Plywood Sheets

When cutting plywood on the tablesaw raising the blade height can make a big difference in cut quality.

Ripping plywood sheets.

I do about 1 4 so for ripping 3 4 thick plywood i set my blade to about 1 depth. In general the more teeth the smoother the cut. I keep two circular saws handy in my shop i know that isn t feasible for everyone but. The disadvantage of the 140 tooth plywood blade is that the teeth will dull much faster than the teeth on the three carbide blades.

Setting up plywood cutting station. For table and miter saws invest in an 80 tpi plywood blade one designed for cross miter saw or rip table saw cuts. In order to cut down plywood it needs to be set up on something like a. Most of the time safety dictates setting the blade low but this cuts away the underlying plies first leaving the top face unsupported as the teeth slice through.

I recently worked on a video series for festool in which i covered examples of how you might use a festool track saw in a shop or on the jobsite. Lift one corner and slide the carrier to the middle of the sheet. For a cleaner cut raise the blade a couple of inches as shown. The easiest way to cut down plywood sheets step 1.

If you have an outfeed table that at least lines up with the left wing of the saw table lift and place sheets on that edge. Stand the sheet on the long edge. When ripping a large sheet of plywood image 1 on a table saw use an outfeed table image 2 or roller stand. Setting up circular saw.

The one that is closest to the kerf should slide the sheet forward while the other one should press the plywood towards the cutline. For circular saws grab a 15 20 carbide tip blade designed for plywood. To make a clean smooth cut hold your sheet firmly against the fence and use both hands to guide the sheet through the blade. As long as they re sharp any of these four 7 1 4 in.

I keep a piece of rigid foam board in my workshop. When i cut plywood i place the plywood on top of the foam and cut right into the foam. Make sure the blade. In the following video i demonstrate a quick easy and safe method of ripping plywood sheets down into panels or strips.

How to cut and rip boards and plywood step 1. Blades will make smooth rip cuts in plywood and reasonably good crosscuts.