# Issue with jagged edge from wrong saw blade



## Ambrose665 (Aug 16, 2020)

So this is my first time building anything with wood, I’m trying to make a desk. I bought a big sheet of finished wood from Home Depot, I had it cut there BUT they cut it with the wrong saw blade now I’m stuck with wood that is all jagged on the edge of the face.... how In the absolute world should I go about fixing it??? I tried sanding but the splintered edges go through the first layer of wood. I did research and thought I’d use a block plane to slice the layer off but a home depot clerk suggested against that, now my only idea in mind is to just use a circular saw with a finishing blade to take a whole quarter inch Of wood entirely. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Dave Mills (Dec 4, 2019)

Yes likely a circular saw with a good blade on it, aligned against a straight edge or board is your answer. A plane, or sandpaper is not going to solve this.

Home Depot just rough cuts wood to the general size to make it easier to carry home. You always (in my experience at least) need to assume you're going to make a final cut at home.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Yup, that's a problem .....*



Ambrose665 said:


> So this is my first time building anything with wood, I’m trying to make a desk. I bought a big sheet of finished wood from Home Depot, I had it cut there BUT they cut it with the wrong saw blade now I’m stuck with wood that is all jagged on the edge of the face.... how In the absolute world should I go about fixing it??? I tried sanding but the splintered edges go through the first layer of wood. I did research and thought I’d use a block plane to slice the layer off but a home depot clerk suggested against that, now my only idea in mind is to just use a circular saw with a finishing blade to take a whole quarter inch Of wood entirely. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance.



Sorry your first woodworking experience is not going well. :sad2:
Your best solution may be to take a large sheet home on the roof of your vehicle and cut it yourself using a good fine tooth blade in a circular saw with a straight edge guide.... I donno? 

That's an added expense but your other pieces can be used for the internal structure and drawers etc, so not a total waste!


Here's what you need to understand about cutting plywood.
A fine tooth blade with very little offset to the teeth will not splintere the thin veneer on plywood.
A square corner is vital to assembly, so you need an accurate method to cut the pieces into perfect rectangles. 

A table saw is the preferred method.
Any other method will be time consuming, tedious and may not be as precise..... circular saw with a guide etc. 

A track saw like this is a cheap alternative IF you don't already own a circular saw:
https://www.menards.com/main/tools/...k/2410748/p-1455839716898-c-1537277164163.htm
You will need an accurate way to make 90 degree measurements and mark your workpieces for cutting:
https://www.menards.com/main/tools/...all-t-square/sl676/p-1444437195545-c-8951.htm


There are other sources for those tools, but Menards is really the cheapest place I know. :|


----------



## gmercer_48083 (Apr 9, 2016)

Using a straight edge and a sharp utility knife, make a knife cut line to sever the fibers of the wood. That way when you saw on the waste side of the cut line... the splintered fibers of the wood will not fray beyond the cut line. Use a clamped straight edge to guide your saw... and make sure the blade of your saw is on the waste side of the cut line.


----------



## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

The plywood that the Big Box stores sell is not of the highest quality. You will find much better plywood at a lumber yard. You will probably pay more at a lumber yard.....but you get what you pay for.


----------



## Nick2727 (Jun 14, 2020)

I work at the west fraser plywood mill, that supplies home depot in Canada anyway with there plywood. 

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/ca...and-composites/plywood/sheathing-plywood.html

All the west fraser products are manufactured at the Edmonton division.

Quantity or quality mentality around here. That's for sure.


----------



## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

Nick2727 said:


> I work at the west fraser plywood mill, that supplies home depot in Canada anyway with there plywood.
> 
> https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/ca...and-composites/plywood/sheathing-plywood.html
> 
> ...


I don't understand the 'quantity or quality' comment. Please explain.
Do you also manufacture for lumberyards? Are the specs the same as the HD products?


----------



## Nick2727 (Jun 14, 2020)

If you buy west fraser Spruce/pine/fir plywood it's came from Edmonton. There are 2 more plywood plants west fraser operates in Canada they make different products. 

Home depot run the same specs as the rest. Only difference is they get they're lifts of plywood bagged, I assume it's stored outside. Home depot is the only company we bag the plywood for. 

Quantity over quality comment meant we are mass production 24/7 operation. Produce produce produce.

I'm not sure how offer they cut test panels. I believe it's every 1000 sheets? Not sure.

They cut off 1' or 2' of the panel to be sent to have the bond tested.

Which leaves very cheap 7x4 sheets for me to get as an employee! 

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure west fraser is doing absolutely nothing different than any other company operating at a scale to compete to fill home depots orders.

As for someone that mentioned the pine beetle issue.. for us, we've ran into small burnt logs. Being located in Alberta our logs come from northern Alberta, the peeling facilty is actually in slave lake, 3 hours north. That's irrelevant.

We've been processing a lot of fiber that's been affected by the numerous wildfires. Trees are smaller in general. Smaller trees leave smaller cores of the trees.

The really good look wood. No not holes and what not. Comes from bigger trees. Far from the limbs growth.

I've been here 10 years. Our timber supply has been gradually going down hill. Has been since most the guys here can remember. Most the stuff we make plywood put of now would of been garbage decades ago. 

Plywood is a commodities market. It's all about being low cost.

They just invested 25million in a new dryer to be able to lay off 20 people.


----------



## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

It seems that most of the HD plywood we get here on the (USA) East Coast is imported.....but not from Canada.... more like China or South America.


----------



## Nick2727 (Jun 14, 2020)

I don't doubt it. They have more than 1 supplier I'm sure.

We are about a 5 minute drive to the Edmonton CN rail yard.

A lot of its shipped out by rail.


----------



## Bernie_72 (Aug 9, 2020)

JIMMIEM said:


> The plywood that the Big Box stores sell is not of the highest quality. You will find much better plywood at a lumber yard. You will probably pay more at a lumber yard.....but you get what you pay for.


I used to buy plywood from the big box stores, but I was tired of finding so many voids, even in their more expensive hardwood plywood.

Like you suggested I started looking at local lumber yards. I found a place about 15 minutes from me that sells Baltic Birch (BBB) plywood with slight defects for a very reasonable price. The defects are generally small edge damage or perhaps one of the veneer faces is not ideal. These small defects have never caused a problem with any projects as I'm always cutting at least a little off of every edge and I have yet to build a project where I expose both faces of a piece of plywood. 

Buying from this lumber yard I can get good Baltic Birch plywood for less than what I'd pay for even the cheap pine plywood from the big box stores. Now I never have tear-out with my tracksaw and I very rarely find anything but the smallest of voids.


----------



## JIMMIEM (Oct 12, 2014)

Bernie_72 said:


> I used to buy plywood from the big box stores, but I was tired of finding so many voids, even in their more expensive hardwood plywood.
> 
> Like you suggested I started looking at local lumber yards. I found a place about 15 minutes from me that sells Baltic Birch (BBB) plywood with slight defects for a very reasonable price. The defects are generally small edge damage or perhaps one of the veneer faces is not ideal. These small defects have never caused a problem with any projects as I'm always cutting at least a little off of every edge and I have yet to build a project where I expose both faces of a piece of plywood.
> 
> Buying from this lumber yard I can get good Baltic Birch plywood for less than what I'd pay for even the cheap pine plywood from the big box stores. Now I never have tear-out with my tracksaw and I very rarely find anything but the smallest of voids.


That's like hitting the lottery!!!!!!


----------



## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

Bernie_72 said:


> Like you suggested I started looking at local lumber yards. I found a place about 15 minutes from me that sells Baltic Birch (BBB) plywood with slight defects for a very reasonable price.


Kettle Moraine Hardwoods? That's the only place I get lumber. I love that place!


----------



## Bernie_72 (Aug 9, 2020)

sanchez said:


> Kettle Moraine Hardwoods? That's the only place I get lumber. I love that place!


Exactly! Kettle Moraine Hardwoods is great! It's hard to beat their selection or prices.


----------



## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

cleaning up the edge without cutting it again is a bad idea
buy some trim and edge band it, home depot has a variety of trim for shelf edges
careful sanding bigbox plywood, the veneer layer is paper thing


----------

