Thread: What do I need to cut decking longwise?

Handsaw (keep you fit), Circular Saw, Jigsaw they are all cheaper than a table saw but if you're looking for an excuse to get one then go for it.

Smallish (250 -300mm) bandsaw would also be suitable.

Crikey. Just buy a circular saw.

One plank or lots? A cheap contractors saw will do, but you'll need some infeed and outfeed supports or the help of an assistant; one to push the wood in and one to pull it through from the other end. Carefully. The motor though will be fairly puny so it'll be a slow job.

A good quality 9 1/4" hand held circular saw fitted with a fence will glide through the decking, you just have to figure out how to support the plank while you cut it. A set of wooden saw horses will do providing you don't mind cutting into the tops.

If all you want to do is cut decking and absolutely nothing else, buy a 600mm wide sheet of 19mm MDF 2m long and rip two 100mm wide strips from it. Screw or clamp a good circular saw about a 30cm in from one end and plunge the spinning blade through the sheet. Then flip the whole thing over and glue and nail those 100mm strips at 90 degrees along the underneath edges for strength, then mount it on saw horses or stands. Add a full length fence the distance from the blade you want to trim the wood to and there you have your very own single purpose table saw for a few hundred bucks. Just make sure the fence is truly parallel to the blade and keep your fingers well and truly clear of that unguarded blade. When you've finished you can sell the saw on for around half to two thirds of what you paid for it.

For ripping deck boards, in fact for most things, a 185mm circular saw is big enough and a good first saw. The Hitachi c7sb2 is a good saw.

Small circular saw with guide would be the best bet for the job, less than $200 but if you're after an excuse to buy a tablesaw, well need more info on what other uses you have for it in future

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

I have about 20m of 19mm hardwood decking to cut of various lengths from 180mm width to about 100mm. I have a circular saw which i used to make the actual deck and cut the decking to size but getting an accurate straight line longwise with it doesn't seem an easy task. I also just had an extension done for an office which I am fitting my own desk tables into flush to walls so also need to cut beach bench tops accurately. I started (a practice cut) with my circular saw and am not happy with my finish, It just isn't an accurate straight line. I could sand it but its extra time and still problematic.

Along with the deck job I am thinking a table saw might help out here too but I see they range from a few hundred to a 1500. Do you get guides for circular saws? trying to watch and follow my pencil line isn't working for me and like someone mentioned, holding the long decking and a saw and following a line isn't easy. Maybe it's time to call in the wifey! If I buy something it would be nice to get the right tool which if possible has multiuses as I am enjoying my little jobs!

Someone mentioned a band saw which I just read up on. It looks like a big jigsaw, so would this do the job plus allow you to make shapes as well as straight lines? Do the Blades last long?

I don't like the idea of a makeshift table saw. My Dad once took out a country towns power by going thru an overhead power line with a chain saw when lopping a tree. I now have a lot of respect for any type of saw! Amazingly he was fine by the way, and the power company have lopped his trees ever since!

Thanks again!

From what you've said, I take it that you don't have one of these bits to attach to your saw, the black bit as shown?

Saw Guide.jpg

I've ripped numerous metres of timber accurately using one of these and so would a lot of tradies.

It's the best way. I'd be happy to show you how to use a circular saw as accurately as a table saw if you are in the western suburbs or don't mind travelling a bit. You will still need to tidy edges up with a table saw. A bandsaw needs a deal of set up to rip off a fence and again you will need to clean up. Don't even think about a jigsaw! For the circ. use the guide, and in addition, screw a short length of deck board to the guide to make it more positive. A ripping guide can work if the boards are all straight, otherwise you need to wedge them straight if you use a ripping guide.
Edit* When I said ripping guide I meant a ripping jig, made from ply with a fence screwed to it...

If all else fails , buy a second hand TRITON table saw , these take a 9 1/4" circular Saw and have the facility for ripping and cross cutting, .

A 9 1/4" power saw with the rip table set up , will give good cuts , jig saw & band saw are not really suitable for your needs .

You will still have to dress the cut edge, with a power plane & router , regardless what you cut the boards with, .

I am on the north of Bne and have a table saw , available if you need ,.to borrow.

Jeff
vk4

I have both table saw and band saw, when I needed to rip down some 4m lengths of grey iron bark decking last weekend, I used my circular saw with guide.... pushing a 4m piece through a table saw would need 2 people, and I'd be concerned with decking, any bow in the boards could make using a table saw dicey....