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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
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    gold coast
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    1

    Default Square cutout in middle of plywood

    Hi All newbie here,
    I have little experience with woodworking , I usually work with electronics but have always wanted to do woodwork, I am making a air drying box for cheese for a friend of mine, using free plywood sheets from work, what tool is best to cut a square in the middle of plywood, i have cut the plywood to shape using a circular saw ,i tried using a friends ozito pro plungesaw , but found it awkward to use with the triggers might just be practice.Does anyone have any advice on what to use, i was thinking either a track saw (but not sure if i can use it one small pieces of plywood around a4 in size) or a better plunge saw, or maybe a sliding mitre saw,
    Thanks for any advice
    Jason

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    193

    Default

    Depending on how neat the square hole needs to be you could use a jigsaw for an OK result or a router with with straight edges and template guide or flush trim bit.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    McBride BC Canada
    Posts
    3,543

    Default

    How thick is the plywood? I can see using my RotoZip against a simple straight-edge.
    I have a Dremel SawMax but I'd need to fool with the corners of the cut with a flush-cutting hand saw.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,166

    Default

    How many times do you need to repeat this?

    A4 shize sheets pretty much eliminates any reasonable track/plunge/mitre saw you have. You really need to think smaller scale - which would mean things like mentioned before a jigsaw or perhaps even a scrollsaw, or hand tools. For a one off I'd do it with a jigsaw to get roughly done and trim up with a router on a straight edge and chisel out the round corners if needed.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    lower eyre peninsular
    Age
    74
    Posts
    3,577

    Default

    what size piece of ply are you starting with?
    hat size is the piece you need to cut out?
    I presume the cutout piece needs to be square with square sharp internal corners
    I would love to grow my own food, but I can not find bacon seeds

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Alexandra Vic
    Age
    69
    Posts
    2,809

    Default

    Not much help now if you already have the material cut down to the final size, but generally it would be better and easier to mark out the panel and the hole you wish to cut while the panel is part of the sheet, then cut the hole using whatever method you end up choosing, then cut the panel out of the sheet. By having a lot more material available, it is easier to use guides, clamps, etc because there is plenty of material available for them to fix to, and it's easier to avoid clamps being close to the line and interfering with the passage of the tool.

    If your finished panel is approx A4 size, I doubt that there would be a lot of scope to cut the hole with any form of circular saw, plunge saw, track saw, or SCMS. That leaves the jigsaw, router, oscillating blade on a multitool, or scroll saw as the last remaining options to make the cut. With a scroll saw, you can't use anything but a line as a guide, so that would be the contradiction to my first suggestion, and you would also probably need to be working at panel size (or slightly larger) rather than half or quarter sheet size to be able to manipulate the material through the saw.The other options I have listed could all benefit from a guide or template for a finished cut, while keeping the clamping etc clear of the tool.
    I used to be an engineer, I'm not an engineer any more, but on the really good days I can remember when I was.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    414

    Default

    And of course if you've got very few tools, you can

    - chain drill just inside of the finished hole size,
    - then chop out with a chisel (bit of a hassle with plywood but with some swearing it works - also keeping the chisel very sharp is pretty well essential),
    - then finish off with a wood rasp and
    - tidy up with a file and sandpaper

    Yes, I've had to do it, that's in the southwest Pacific. Pretty basic place, only an odd selection of basic hand tools available. But, it works ok.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    geelong
    Posts
    359

    Default hole

    Quote Originally Posted by wooly75 View Post
    Hi All newbie here,
    I have little experience with woodworking , I usually work with electronics but have always wanted to do woodwork, I am making a air drying box for cheese for a friend of mine, using free plywood sheets from work, what tool is best to cut a square in the middle of plywood, i have cut the plywood to shape using a circular saw ,i tried using a friends ozito pro plungesaw , but found it awkward to use with the triggers might just be practice.Does anyone have any advice on what to use, i was thinking either a track saw (but not sure if i can use it one small pieces of plywood around a4 in size) or a better plunge saw, or maybe a sliding mitre saw,
    Thanks for any advice
    Jason
    Given minimal equipment -plunging a circular saw will do it -be careful with this procedure - go slow (probably comes under DO NOT with the safety instructions) generally speaking jigsaw to rough out followed by router and jigs.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,399

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by malb View Post
    That leaves the jigsaw, router, oscillating blade on a multitool, or scroll saw as the last remaining options to make the cut.
    Fein (or “Renovator”) oscillating multitools only excel in one application; making square holes. Tools at the low end of the quality spectrum are very cheap these days while still adequately performing.

    The best way to cut square holes using this tool is to use a straight edged plunging blade to define the corners and then a curved saw blade to join them up. You can do it freehand but better and cleaner cuts are best done by clamping straight edges around the hole to guide the blade. Take your time to get the first one spot on, then you can use it as the template to cut all the others.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

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