Sawing a straight line

[dhazard]

Great Idea Jack, but who has a strait cut in a Teardrop? Dan

[TomS]

Great Idea Jack, but who has a strait cut in a Teardrop? Dan

Hmmm... I remember making lots of straight cuts in plywood when building mine. There are the roof skins, bulkhead and cabinet skins, the counter, etc.

[madjack]

Great Idea Jack, but who has a strait cut in a Teardrop? Dan

...can't speak for others but other than the profile/door...well, everything else .......................................

[cracker39]

When I lay out the outline on my 5.2mm oak ply for the sides of my TTT, I'll cut of the top surplus from two of the sheets (4' width) for the short one. I bought 8 sheets of it on a close-out, so I'll have two left to use for facing cabinets inside the cabin and can cut the two 8' pieces from one of them.

Here's taking that idea one step further. A two-sided guide. For some reason, I sometimes cut from the "other" side of the saw base. Maybe some folks won't ever do this, and I don't do it often. I think I'll make a "two-sided" guide as it won't take any more work to construct except for one more cut to get the other straight edge.

After cutting the short and long strips about 4 1/2" wide , I can run them through the table saw with the factory edge against the fence 4" from the blade to get a straight edge on both sides, glue them to the wide pieces with enough left on either side to cut off. My saw base has 1 1/2" extending from the right side of the blade, and 4 1/2" from the left side. So, I'd cut the bottom piece 11" wide (4"+1.5"+4.5"+1" surplus) to make sure I have enough surplus to cut 1/2" off both sides to get the straight edge after gluing the 4" strip onto it. Sorry, I just can't seem to leave a good idea alone. New ideas of ways to modify them jusst seem to pop into my mind.

I also think that when lining up the guide for the cut you need to take into allowance the blade width. It depends on just how accurate your measurement needs to be, as the blade can be from about 1/32" to 1/8" wide. If you place the edge of your guide right on the line for the edge of the piece, you will cut off an extra blade width of material.

And Dan, about the straight cuts on a TD? You're right about that. I'll have a 5'x9' floor and need straight cuts there, and for doing cabinet doors and facings (at least an initial cut or two to get the ply down to a size manageable on the table saw), but, I'll use these guides for many other projects where a straight cut in a ply sheet is necessary.

[Boodro]

hey Madjack , how about a few pics of that setup! ( Cuz ya know we loves dem Pics!)

[madjack]

...Boo, don't have any pics...how about a line drawing........................................
p.s. nothing in the drawing is to any sort of scale...........

[Ira]

I remember making lots of straight cuts in plywood when building mine. There are the roof skins, bulkhead and cabinet skins, the counter, etc.

I had a lot of straight cuts in my Cubby too--but none of them came out that way.

[cracker39]

This has absolutely nothing to do with building a camping trailer but somewhat to do with cutting a straight line. But, if anyone ever wants to use Hardie Panel on a builiding (house, shed, barn, etc.) I have some advice. Hardi Panel (4x8 sheets) or Hardie Planks are made from portland cement, celulose fibers, sand, and water. These suckers are heavy too, between 80 and 85 lbs per sheet I'd estimate. Mine have a stucco pattern.

Cutting these is the problem. The literature says to use a Hardi blade, but I haven't see any. I tried a plywood blade in my circular saw and after cutting about 2 feet, the teeth were flat on the ends...goodbye blade. I switched to a thin metal cutting blade I had handy. It does cut, but slowly. Then, I tried a new techinque that works. The panels are about 3/8" thick. I se the depth for about 1/8", and cut a score line. Then set it for another 1/8" deeper and scored again. Then, I snapped the strip off and rasped the edge clean. If you ever do use this stuff, and cut it, wear a mask and safety glasses. The dust is probably toxic and it does fly.

These panels have a 50 year guarantee. I figure the cost of $20 a sheet isn't extravagant, as most wood siding is almost that much, and using sheathing and vinyl or alum siding would cost as much. I used my framing nailer where the nails not be seen, and am counter sinking and screwing in short deck screws and filling with caulk elsewhere. These panels are also pre primed and sealed. All they need is a coat of ext. paint. Handling them by yourself is a job. They have to be handled carefully as they are prone to break if bent too much before they are put in place.

[willy1959]

My best Foreman told me he wants to buy this set up, tonight

http://www.festools.com/festool_product ... =FD561-174

I thought it was pertinant to the thread..

I can HEAR my father rolling over in his grave, as to why a craftsman needs this.

But I respect "jerry" (above mentioned foreman)

and thought you all would like to see link

[mikeschn]

Oh I like that saw... no more looking for straight pieces of wood to use as a guide!!! But $400?

Mike...

[asianflava]

Oh I like that saw... no more looking for straight pieces of wood to use as a guide!!! But $400?

Mike...

Yeah $400, is a lot of wood.

I've checked out the Festools at my local Woodcraft store. They are all expensive. They had better be something for as much as they cost.

[madjack]

a few years ago I needed a new circular saw...I went out and bought the absolutely top/best DeWalt 7 1/4" saw there was...15amps, one handed depth and angle adjustments, cast base...I find that I still reach for the cheapa$$ Black & Decker...why, because it weighs half of what the DeWalt does...after a few cuts doing production work that DeWalt starts getting real heavy...
madjack

[cracker39]

a few years ago I needed a new circular saw...I went out and bought the absolutely top/best DeWalt 7 1/4" saw there was...15amps, one handed depth and angle adjustments, cast base...I find that I still reach for the cheapa$$ Black & Decker...why, because it weighs half of what the DeWalt does...after a few cuts doing production work that DeWalt starts getting real heavy...
madjack

I find that the same is true with my Dewalt cordless drill. Most of my drill work is driving screws anyway, so I use my two HF 18V drills most of the time because they are lighter and the arthritus in my right wrist is always inflamed from too much use. About the only time I am using the Dewalt is when one of the HF batteries is on the charger and I need to do both drilling and driving screws and it's faster and easier to use two drills. Or, when I do have heavy duty drilling to do, I prefer to use the Dewalt.

BTW, if anyone is using a HF drill, read the instructions on charging carefully. It states that leaving the battery on the charger over 2 hrs can cause it to go bad, and I think I've weakened one of mine because I didn't reat that right away. My Dewalt charger shuts down when the battery is charged, but the HD doesn't. You get what you pay for.