Ripping boards with hand saw

[yeoman]

Hi,

First of all, I'm a uni student, so have a very limited budget.

I'd very much like a table saw. Or a bandsaw. I can't decide. In the interim, I need a way of ripping boards, anything up to 50mm thick.

I did think of a circular saw, but the fences on most C.saws I saw had a minimum of 150mm or so, which isn't that great for me because I'll be cutting most of my timber to no more than 50mm wide.

Is there a hand saw specifically for ripping?

Cheers,

Dave

[bitingmidge]

Dave,

Yes there is, and without being smart, it's called a Rip Saw. I'd have to look up the tpi, but they're bigger and have no, or little set.

You should be able to pick up an old one quite cheaply, and the cost of having it properly set will be more than the cost of a new saw, but worth it.

Alternatively, you could find a local joinery and ask them to rip the timber for you.

Cheers,

P

[Driver]

yeoman

Yo! (Couldn't resist that one )

There's no reason why a circular saw with a fence set at 150 mm can't be used to rip boards to 50 mm. Simply measure your 50 mm on the outboard side of the blade.

Set up a cutting guide by taking a piece of somehting relatively thin, say 6 mm thick ply or MDF. Screw to its upper surface a piece of timber say 19 mm thick, running the full length of the sheet. This will act as a guide to register the circular saw against. Run the saw along the guide, ripping off the outboard edge of the sheet.

You now have a saw guide accurately set up so that the blade of the circular saw will cut along its edge when the saw's baseplate is registered against the 19 mm timber.

Now place your board to be ripped in position, set the saw guide up so that it is set 50 mm back from the board's edge and rip away.

Does that all make sense?

Col

[channa]

Most of the circular saws I have seen have a gap of 150 if the fence is inserted from the motor side, but only about 35mm if the fence is inserted from the blade side - might be worth going back and having another look. On another note - I bought a cheap Bahco hardpoint "utility" saw - $10. They aren't designed to be resharpened so are theoretically disposable, but I've had mine for two years and have decided to buy a new one - cross-cuts like a hot knife through butter, slower but still pretty good ripping.

[steve54123alt]

just get an old disston, get it sharpened and set (or do it your self... easier then you think) and your away for 30 bucks... and the exercise is free! learn to saw with both hands though, or else you'll look like Arnie on one side and stickly on the other.

[JDarvall]

Drivers ideas good, I reakon. I'd just get a circular saw. Cheapo one will do ya. If you get a good one though, you'll probably still have it when you retire.

Make a few test cuts and check your cut timber to see that its cutting square. And adjust where necessary.

Freehand, you can be just as accurate with it as you can be with a hand rip saw anyway.

But if you want more accuracy, its easy to make up a fence to run your saw along. All you need do is get a long piece of straight timber maybe 1/2" thick so the circular saws housing clears it. For clearence also make this timber wide. Maybe 8", so you've got room to clamp it both ends. Clamp it just clear of the saws housing. And theres your guide fence. Bit fiddly to line up, but with practise you'll get it.

And for crosscutting, just use the same saw. Make yourself a T-square like the ones in school. Except make it wider again for housing clearence if you want to clamp down. I don't usually bother about clamping the square down. I just hold in place with my left hand. You just run the saw along this.

Don't rely on those notches at the nose of the circular saw to line up your cut, its just too inaccurate. Where your saftey glasses and get your eye in around the side, in close, to watch the blade move right onto your scribed line. ....You can be very accurate even while the blades spinning. You can slide the T-square and saw slightly right onto the waste side of the line. Pressure the T-square in tight to the wood your cutting,,,,pinch it and the timber between your fingers so it doesn't move, and push the side of the saws plate in tight to the T-square and away you go. .....remember, use a sharp blade. If its blunt, your'll be pushing too hard and the cut will wander. etc.

Wow, look at this. I've even gone out to get a photo for you. Spoiling ya an't I. Kids screaming everywhere, wifes cause I'm on the computer and I still go to this kind of effort. Bloody legend arn't I

I've been using this T-square for general carpentry for 5 years now. And its been just as accurate as a chop saw, IMO <- mustn't forget to say 'IMO'

Goodluck.

[silentC]

Bloody legend arn't I

And of course always wear shoes or boots when using power tools

[Wongo]

And of course always wear shoes or boots when using power tools

rubbish

[NewLou]

Gidday Yoeman

Get yourself an Ez Smartguide...........You won't be disappointed works out cheaper than a tablesaw & also helps develop your Circular Saw Skills. Check out the Pic of the last piece a stock I milled. I did this using a Jack Plane & the Smartguide.

IMO the EZ Smartguide is even more effective safer easier for large sheet materials like melamine plywood or MDF than a tablesaw. Check out this thread for my Journey with my Circular Saw & Smartguide to Date.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...5&page=1&pp=15

REgards Lou

[yeoman]

Cheers for all the responses guys, I appreciate the help.

So maybe a circ saw is the way to go, with some excellent ripping guides having been described in your posts.

One more requirement that I have in addition to ripping parallel to the edges of the board, is ripping at a slight angle, say 5/15 degrees.

I'm sure there are jigs that can be made to acheive this with a circ saw, but how do people feel about the saws with laser guides? Worth the money?

Cheers again,

Dave

[Driver]

A saw with a laser guide will still need a jig of some sort to help you cut accurately. All the laser does is show you where the saw is pointing. It'll help but, unless you have an extremely steady hand, it won't guarantee that you'll cut accurately.

What Jake (acripcotripper) says about lining up the notches on a saw probably applies equally to the laser guides, too.

[yeoman]

I rmember that my mum has a Makita Circ saw, I can't remember clearly, but I'm sure it's greater than 6". Maybe I can pinch that.

Maybe lasers aren't the way of the future then!

Thanks again,

Dave

[anthonyd]

yeoman,

If finances are an issue then go the circular saw route. Any piece of striaght timber will act as a good fence but if you can get your hands on a piece of aliminum angle iron then that woudl probably work better. The EZ guide is good but seems expensive to me.

But how's this for a good idea - dont go too cheap on the circular saw get a good one - maybe even the triton. My reason for saying this is that you can later get the triton workstation and then bolt the circular saw you bought onto that to get your tablesaw.

[paul.cleary]

Hi,
what kind of timber (pine, jarrah, etc) do you want to cut up and what is the project? Once the people here know this, they can fine-tune their advice.
The reason I say this is that I bought a Stanley Jet-Cut handsaw that cuts speedily through the softwood pinus radiata (NZ pine) for both cross and rip cuts for making my fence and tank stand, but would be hopeless as a saw for hardwood and fine woodwork projects.
Cheers

[channa]

Yeoman


I dug this out from under the house - it's what Driver is describing (except a bit rougher). It's what I used to use before I got my Triton!

I nailed a bit of skirting to a piece of SWMBOs old kitchen, started up the saw, held it firmly against the skirting and ran the saw along to cut off all of the wood I didn't want. The beauty of it is that you know that the edge of the board represents the inside edge of the blade, and therefore the line you are going to cut. This has two advantages for you. First, you don't even have to rule the line you want to cut, just mark each end, line the edge of the board up with the marks and you will cut from one to the other. And second, you can cut ANY angle you like - as long as you can mark each end of the line you want to cut. Honestly, IMHO, it's so easy, it's sex on toast!

Two words of caution: Always clamp the guide to your work, and remember to factor in the wood that is lost through the thickness of the blade - you don't have to worry about this if you clamp the guide over the wood you want to keep, but you do have to allow a couple of mm if you are clamping the guide to the waste side of the cut.

Cheers