# circular saw rip jig



## joetab24 (Aug 15, 2010)

hi guys,

as I work on my enclosed porch project, that I've mentioned in a few other recent posts, I will need to cut some 1X6s and 1 X4s to slightly narrower widths. Is there a jig I can use to do this with my circular saw? I've seen some rip cut jigs but they seem to be for cutting plywood. Maybe I'm mistaken. Thanks for the info!

Joe


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*How many? How long?*

Aside from the ripping guide that fits on the saw shoe, there's not a jig for ripping that I'm aware of. That don't mean you can't make one. If they're all under 4 ft long then a simple hinge on one end of a track that captures the saw shoe and a stop to register the board at a specific width and non slip surface like sandpaper under neath....I can't think of anything.:no::blink:
If they're longer like 8 ft then a hinged track won't work, but a panel ripping guide whose cut edge is the cut edge like this:


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Tack em down, draw a cut line for a foot or so, grab the front of your saw plate with thumb on top, index finger underneath, use your index for a guide along the edge of the board.

If your only rippen a small amount, take it off the far side of the board.

It works. :smile:


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Yah, what he said*

Or if you get the width nailed down :laughing: ....just clamp a small block under the saw base at the needed offset, no marking, no lines, better repeat accuracy than your thumb, but thumbs are good for short runs, lengths. :thumbsup: bill


----------



## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

I think I would want to use a rip blade.


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> Or if you get the width nailed down :laughing: ....just clamp a small block under the saw base at the needed offset, no marking, no lines, better repeat accuracy than your thumb, but thumbs are good for short runs, lengths. :thumbsup: bill


 
That's it? 

I thought for sure you were gonna jump on me for reccomending such a procedure. :yes:

It's really not as bad as it might seam to a beguiner.

But then again I prolly got more miles rippin' backwards than most.


----------



## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

I would also clamp a fence, at least 1' long, to the saw base, and keep it tight against the edge.
But it really is a good reason to buy a ts!


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Now we find out....But then again I*

Scott: 
But then again I prolly got more miles rippin' backwards than most. 
And I suppose you wedge up the guard on the circ saw and jamb it down hard to stop it?  Some guys....just can't be trained. :no: :smile: bill


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> Some guys....just can't be trained. :no: :smile: bill


Yep ..... it's hard to train an ol' 10 fingered dog!


----------



## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

I used to rip 7-1/4" x 12ft lengths of cement siding into 1-1/4" starter strips with a jig and a circ. First I built a 2-layer plywood base 13 ft long, and laid it on pallets on the site's driveway. Lay down a piece of stock. Nail down scrap the same thickness at the ends, and a strip along one side. This strip was the width of my saw's shoe from one edge to the blade, minus 1-1/4". Then nail a strip of 3/4 along the edge of that. Sorry no pics. But each time I could buzz the saw along and cut a strip, flip it out carefully, then slide the stock further into the jig and rip again. Usually I'd later cut the strips into 6 footers since they were likely to snap anyway. Dusty ugly nasty job. The jig helped a lot and kept the strips uniform, and my thumb away from the rip. (I hate having those two words so close together)


----------



## maxwoodshop (Feb 7, 2011)

IMO the thunb and index finger would work best in this situation. as the panel rip jig would'nt follow the crown of the board and make the width uneven. I have logged several hundred feet of ripping boards in this manner, and with a little prctice is very acurate. 


btw you have'nt truly lived until you have ripped a bevel backward with a cir saw!:laughing:


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*None of 'em lived to tell?*

Quote:
btw you have'nt truly lived until you have ripped a bevel backward with a cir saw!:laughing: 
You are among those that survived I take it? I have done a 90 but not a bevel. Scary.... bill


----------



## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

No spam,no personal gains,no nuthin.........if anybody's lookin for a "lable"(and can't remember for the life of me what it is),XY or panel cutter........a friend has one for sale.This has a router attatched but could easily be made to swap in a circ saw.I think he wants 500 for it.Just sayin,don't have a dog in the fight.PM me and you can discuss the particulars with him.Its near Richmond Va.BW


----------



## Demosthine (Jan 18, 2011)

I have a jig I built for just that reason. I don't remember where I saw it, but the process is below. This works really well for lengths up to three to four feet.

- Using a length of plywood about a foot wide by two foot long, attach a miter bar on the underside and rip the length of the plywood to make a straight edge on the blade size. The miter bar ensures that it will be a straight edge.
- Use three or four toggle clamps mounted parallel to the straight edge.
- Clamp down the 1x? piece in question and rip the straight edge.

For my jig, I have a straight edge mounted on top of the plywood sheet, approximately six inches from the blade. This allows me to quickly rip six inch strips. I have a three inch multi-track and a two and a half multi-track from Rockler that I use to adjust the width to fit what I need. For the longer lengths, the multi-track will slide along the straight edge mounted to the plywood, giving you a clean, long, straight edge that I haven't managed any other way.


----------



## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Instead of getting splinters in my index finger I use the ripping guide that came with my saw.


----------



## Demosthine (Jan 18, 2011)

Oops, now I feel like an idiot. I just went back to re-read some of the posts and realized you said "circular saw." I was thinking table saw.

For this, I use the ripping guide that came with saw, just like LongKnife. This doesn't really help ensure a true straight edge from one end to the other, but it's the only good option I see. I'll think about it and see if I can come up with something.


----------



## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

mdntrdr said:


> Tack em down, draw a cut line for a foot or so, grab the front of your saw plate with thumb on top, index finger underneath, use your index for a guide along the edge of the board.
> 
> If your only rippen a small amount, take it off the far side of the board.
> 
> It works. :smile:


Like he said. With practice you'll be amazed how accurate this method is. Yepperz! 

I recommend marking your cutline the full length of the workpiece using a pencil and a combination square. 

Watch out for splinters!

If you decide to use the ripping guide that came with your saw add a 3/4" hardwood extension to the guide for better accuracy. Some guides have pre-drilled holes for this purpose. Just be sure to round over the leading edge of the hardwood so it doesn't grab.

J


----------



## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

maxwoodshop said:


> IMO the thunb and index finger would work best in this situation. as the panel rip jig would'nt follow the crown of the board and make the width uneven. I have logged several hundred feet of ripping boards in this manner, and with a little prctice is very acurate.
> 
> btw you have'nt truly lived until you have ripped a bevel backward with a cir saw!:laughing:


Ok Max. You've peaked my curiosity.

1rst, why would you do that?

2nd, you've got bigger grapes than I do. You do still have them right?

J


----------



## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

One place you see "backing it in" is on 45*,riser to skirtbd joints.The risers aren't the prob...its the attendant skirt.Open R set of stairs requires a saw that tilts one way.....Open L set requires other way.

Just a note that there are WAY better methods for this joint(read that,Rabbits)considering the problems with backing it in.To wit:It makes me shudder even thinking about how many "oops" I have seen using this technique.For us its beyond the "last resort",in that I'd rather go buy a new tool,than to have to do it.Just sayin,BW


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

jharris said:


> Ok Max. You've peaked my curiosity.
> 
> 1rst, why would you do that?
> 
> ...


 
I've done it for angled birdsmouths on rafters. :smile:


----------



## joetab24 (Aug 15, 2010)

a novice here. I just want to be sure I understand this. Would I be able to rip a 1 X 6 with a jig like this? I can visualize how this would work with a piece of plywood. Would it be the same setup for a 1 X 6?

-------------------------------------------------------------------
to update

I made this jig. I still need to get the rigid foam for it to sit on. Thinking about it, I guess a 1 X 6 be more likely than plywood to move if I use this setup to cut. I am anticipating I will need to rip about an 1" to 1.5" off the 1 X 6 (in the market for a table saw but I still haven't pulled the trigger). Because I am new to all of this, I have a tough time visualizing this. I will have to get the foam and actually see what everything looks like. I need to clamp the 1 X 6 to the jig, and I know I need to keep the clamp out of the way of the saw.


----------



## Scoma (Apr 1, 2011)

mdntrdr said:


> Tack em down, draw a cut line for a foot or so, grab the front of your saw plate with thumb on top, index finger underneath, use your index for a guide along the edge of the board.
> 
> If your only rippen a small amount, take it off the far side of the board.
> 
> It works. :smile:


This, and if you're worried about splinters wrap your left index finger with painters tape. I've probably ripped a few miles this way and it works quite well once you get the hang of it.


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

[/QUOTE] I made this jig. I still need to get the rigid foam for it to sit on. Thinking about it, I guess a 1 X 6 be more likely than plywood to move if I use this setup to cut. I am anticipating I will need to rip about an 1" to 1.5" off the 1 X 6 (in the market for a table saw but I still haven't pulled the trigger). Because I am new to all of this, I have a tough time visualizing this. I will have to get the foam and actually see what everything looks like. I need to clamp the 1 X 6 to the jig, and I know I need to keep the clamp out of the way of the saw.[/QUOTE]

A tip would be to use another 1 x 6 under the far side of the jig so you don't have to "balance" it on a narrow board. Anything with a 1 x dimension will work. :thumbsup: bill


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I use a jig I made. Seems simple, but works good. It basically is a "T" square. It can be any length. I have them in several lengths. The saw shoe rides against the edge...no extra guides are needed. It's just a straightedge with a guide at the bottom that's left long until the first cut, which puts the guide at where the blade cuts. After that just put a mark and set the guide for where to cut. For really long pieces, a clamp at the end is sometimes needed. It's a very fast set up.
.




















 







.


----------



## joetab24 (Aug 15, 2010)

thanks cabinetman,

I've made one of these, and I use it almost daily.


----------



## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

i bought a saw guide from lowes that u clamp down. Swanson is the brand. works great for cutting MDF for speaker boxes (used to do car audio) and i use it to guide the skilsaw for edging ruff boards.


----------



## davesplane (Apr 26, 2010)

i had a customer that was looking for some inline filters and his web site was http://www.woodmantools.com/
it looks interesting.


----------



## joetab24 (Aug 15, 2010)

****** (deleted original message. moved to correct location)


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Huh?*



joetab24 said:


> sorry...this post belongs in a different thread


Which "post"?
To answer your original question, the cheapest, most simple rip guide is one like this:










Amazon.com: DEWALT DW3278 Circular Saw Rip Fence for Models DW360, DW361, DW364, and DW357: Home Improvement

And these: Amazon.com: Milescraft 14070713 Saw Guide for Circular and Jig Saws: Home Improvement


----------



## MrWoodworking (Apr 14, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> Which "post"?
> To answer your original question, the cheapest, most simple rip guide is one like this:
> 
> 
> ...


These are handy if you have a good edge to work with and aren't on too skinny a board, but otherwise freehand (finger as guide) will usually give just as good results.


----------



## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

like others have said you can get a rip guid for a skil saw for about 20 bucks that seems like it is the easist way:smile:


----------



## tito5 (Apr 5, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> a panel ripping guide whose cut edge is the cut edge like this:


I made a jig like this today out of a 4 ft long board and a straight edge guide.....it works awesome!!!! I was able to make cuts so much faster and with a lot more confidence than before. 
Woodtings....Thank you for posting this pic, I didn't know it but I needed this so bad!!!!


----------



## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

what i sometimes do is take a peice of mdf with the factort edge facing the saw drw a lide pull the blade all the way up so there is no blade and at several points along the line line up the mare in the saw with the line and move the mdf oveer after doing that i clamd it down and nowhave a good way to get a straight edge evey time sure it takes a bit of time but not realy that long two minuets at the most to keep the plywood off the ground i put 2X4 every couple of feet under it to support it


----------



## Goldglv (Jun 24, 2009)

I've been reading the threads in here about the best way to make a cutting guide for a circ saw. I have a question....would I be able to run over to Lowes and buy a piece of MDF and then glue that to a piece of hardboard to make a cutting guide? 

Would it be safe to assume that the factory edge of MDF is straight?


----------



## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

yes the factory edge tends to be straight


----------



## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

BWSmith said:


> One place you see "backing it in" is on 45*,riser to skirtbd joints.The risers aren't the prob...its the attendant skirt.Open R set of stairs requires a saw that tilts one way.....Open L set requires other way.
> 
> Just a note that there are WAY better methods for this joint(read that,Rabbits)considering the problems with backing it in.To wit:It makes me shudder even thinking about how many "oops" I have seen using this technique.For us its beyond the "last resort",in that I'd rather go buy a new tool,than to have to do it.Just sayin,BW


This why I bought a left hand circular saw.:thumbsup:


----------

