Plans N O W 5 Quick

Circular Saw Jigs

Don’t sell your
O ne of the first portable power
tools often purchased is a cir-
cular saw. It’s also one of the most
circular saw short. versatile. Whether you’re cutting a
Get precision 2x4, breaking down a sheet of ply-
wood, or building a project around
results with five
the house, a circular saw definitely
simple jigs. gets a workout.
But in spite of that, a circular saw
often gets shortchanged. Typically, it
has a reputation as a tool used only
for rough carpentry work. That’s too
bad really. Especially since all it
takes to convert a circular saw into a
precision tool is to make a few jigs.
Five Jigs – Now I’m not talking
about complicated, time-consuming
jigs. Take the five jigs shown in the
next few pages for instance. Each of
these jigs can be knocked out in a
half hour (or less). As for material, a
few scrap pieces is all it takes. But
most important, each jig makes it easy
to produce a straight, accurate cut.
Blade Selection – While these jigs
definitely improve accuracy, it’s the
saw blade that determines the quality
of cut. To end up with a smooth, clean
cut, the key is to select a blade that’s
best suited to the job at hand, as
shown in the blue-colored box below.
The Basics – With a good blade,
you’ll be on your way to making a
smooth cut. But to ensure a safe, con-
trolled cut, it’s worth taking a minute
to review the basics shown below.

Which Blade? 6 Tips for Troublefree Cuts

Combination > 1 Set Up Supports. Support the board so the waste will fall free. (See
For general purpose work drawing below.) Then clamp the work with the “good” side face down.
like ripping and cross-
2 Adjust Depth of Cut. To clear dust from the kerf, adjust the depth of
cutting lumber or man-
cut so the gullets in the blade extend past the bottom of the board.
made materials, select
a carbide-tipped com- 3 Think Safety. Be sure to wear eye and ear protection. Also, loop
bination saw blade. the power cord over your shoulder to avoid accidentally cutting it.
Ripping > 4 Get a Grip. To make a controlled cut, grasp the saw with both hands
With fewer teeth that and set the wide part of the metal base on the workpiece — not the cutoff.
“lean” forward, this rip
blade makes fast cuts 5 Stand to the Side. Always stand to the side of the saw (not behind it).
with the grain. An anti- This way, you’ll be safely out of the way if the blade binds or kicks back.
stick coating prevents the
6 Maintain Speed. Move your whole body forward to maintain a steady
blade from gumming up.
cutting speed. Don’t force the saw blade or overextend your reach.
Crosscutting >
Lots of small, knife-like
teeth produce a glass- BE SURE TO
smooth surface when WEAR EYE
AND EAR
cutting across the grain PROTECTION
with this all-steel (no FOR CORRECT DEPTH
LOOP
carbide) saw blade. POWER OF CUT, GULLETS SHOULD
CORD EXTEND PAST BOTTOM OF BOARD
OVER
SHOULDER
Plywood >
To make crisp, clean cuts
STAND TO THE CLAMP BOARD
in plywood, this steel SIDE OF SAW BLADE TO SAWHORSE
blade has two hundred, (NOT BEHIND IT) OR OTHER
LOCATE SUPPORT
razor sharp teeth. A rim SUPPORTS USE TWO-HANDED
SO THE GRIP TO MAKE
that’s thinner than the WASTE CONTROLLED CUT
PIECE
“hub” prevents binding. FALLS
FREE

Specialty >
Carbide-tipped teeth, an NOTE:
JIG SHOWN
anti-stick coating, and S- ON PAGE 2
shaped heat vents make
this special-purpose blade
SAW IS
ideal for cutting pressure- SUPPORTED
treated lumber. BY WORKPIECE
(NOT THE CUTOFF)

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 J I G S & A C C E S S O R I E S
DISTANCE TRIM THIS
WASTE TO
1. Crosscut Guide FROM EDGE OF
SAW BASE
——————————————————————————————
TO BLADE
CREATE 45°
REFERENCE
EDGE
90° FENCE
One of the jigs I use frequently is the BASE (#/4" x 12")
(12" x 30" rgh.)
simple crosscut guide shown in the 45°
two photos below. It provides a quick,
accurate way to make a 45° miter or 90°
CLEAT
TRIM THIS (#/4" x 30"rgh.)
90° crosscut — without any guess- WASTE TO
45° FENCE
CREATE 90°
work. Just mark the board, position REFERENCE (#/4" x 16#/4")
EDGE
the jig on the line, and make the cut. NOTE: BASE IS MADE
WORKPIECE DISTANCE FROM FROM !/4" HARDBOARD;
Base – The base of this crosscut EDGE OF SAW BASE ALL OTHER PARTS
TO BLADE ARE #/4"-THICK HARDWOOD
guide is made from a 12"-wide piece
of 1/4" hardboard. As for length, it’s
best to start with an extra-long Fences – The next step is to add fences and then glue them in place.
piece. (I made mine 30" long.) Note: two hardwood fences that are used to Cleats – Finally, to square the jig
Later, the waste is trimmed off each guide the saw, one for 90° crosscuts to the edge of the board, glue two
end to form two reference edges that and the other for 45° miters. After hardwood cleats to the bottom of the
are used to align the jig to a layout trimming the ends of the 45° fence at base. Then trim the waste off each
line on the workpiece. an angle, carefully position both end to create the reference edges.

{ 45° Miters. To make precision 45° miters, align the angled { 90° Crosscuts. Simply turn the guide around and align
end of the crosscut guide with the layout mark. Then run the the opposite end to make a 90° crosscut. To square the
base of the saw against the fence as you make a cut. jig, make sure the cleat is tight against the workpiece.

2. Cutoff Saddle ———————————————————————————————

Working with thick lumber (like a To make the saddle, simply screw
4x4 post) presents a challenge. Even a pair of hardboard sides to a ply-
WASTE with the saw set for the maximum wood back. (See drawing.) Just be
depth of cut, the blade still won’t cut sure to size the back so the saddle
NOTE: all the way through. fits snug around the workpiece.
WIDTH OF
DISTANCE BACK IS The way to get around this is to
FROM EDGE SIZED TO
OF SAW BASE PRODUCE make two cuts, working from oppo-
TO BLADE SNUG FIT
site sides of the post. The only prob-
lem is the kerfs don’t always line up.
So you end up with a small ridge of
material on the end of the post and a
cut that’s not square.
SIDE Saddle – The solution is to clamp
(6" x 12"- BACK a U-shaped “saddle” to the post, as
!/4" Hdbd.) (CUSTOM
WIDTH x 12"- shown at right. This saddle serves
#/4" PLY.
as a guide for the base of the saw
which makes it easy to produce a
smooth, square cut. Just cut one side { Cutoff Saddle. To ensure smooth, square cuts when
of the post, then flip it to the opposite working with thick lumber, this cutoff saddle guides the
#8 x 1!/4" Fh
WOOD- side to make the second pass. saw when making cuts from two opposite sides of the post.
SCREW
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 J I G S & A C C E S S O R I E S

3. Edge Guide —————————————————————————————————

SHOE
I know guys who can use a (1!/4" x 2"-
!/4" Hdbd.)
a. SHOE
(1!/4" x 7"-
b.
circular saw freehand to !/4" Hdbd.)
make a straight cut from
one end of a board to the
CUT TO CUT TO
other. But to be honest, I MATCH MATCH
SAW
REAR FRONT SAW
need a guide that rides BASE CLEAT CLEAT BASE
(1" x 2") (1" x 7") !/4" x 1!/4"
against the edge of a board KNOB &
WASHER SIDE CLEAT
to make a straight rip cut. REAR CLEAT
& SHOE (#/4" x 14!/2"-
!/4" x 1" !/4" HARDBOARD)
Although I’ve tried a number of KNOB & (DETAIL 'a')
WASHER CUT TO MATCH
metal edge guides, I’ve been a bit dis- OPENING IN
!/4"
appointed in them. Often the guide BASE T-NUT SAW BASE
(14!/2" x 18!/2"-
flexes, or it’s too short. As a result, the !/2" PLY.)
saw blade tends to veer off or bind.
To solve these problems, I made
CUT !/4"-
the edge guide shown in the photo WIDE SLOT,
8!/4"LONG
below. It makes it easy to rip a board &/8" CUT !/2"-
WIDE DADO,
up to 10" wide. This edge guide con- !/8" DEEP FRONT CLEAT
& SHOE
sists of two main parts: a base that (DETAIL 'b')
serves as a mounting platform for
the saw and an adjustable fence.
2!/2" KEY
(!/2" x 2"-
BASE c.
Base – If you look at the drawing !/4" Hdbd.)
at right, you can see that the base of GUIDE
FENCE
the edge guide is a piece of 1/2" ply- (2" x 14!/2"- STRIP
!/2" PLY.) !/4" (1" x 14!/2"- FENCE
wood with two grooves in the bot- T-NUT !/4" Hdbd.)
tom. Later, these grooves accept GUIDE STRIP
keys that will help align the fence.
To make the fence adjustable, Just a note about the front and rear It’s held in place with a threaded
there’s a long slot in the base. You’ll cleats. The lower part of each cleat is knob and T-nut. Just take this cleat
also need to cut an opening for the a scrap piece of wood that’s thick- off to slide the saw under the front
saw blade and guard to fit through. nessed to match the height of the cleat. To secure the saw, reinstall the
(I cut it to match the opening in the saw base (details ‘a’ and ‘b’). This way, rear cleat and tighten the knob.
metal base of the saw.) a wider strip of hardboard glued on Fence – After completing the
Cleats – The saw base is held in top forms an overhanging lip for the base of the edge guide, you can add
place with a system of cleats. A couple metal base of the saw to slide under. the fence. The nice thing about this
of two-part cleats hold the front and Although the front and side cleats fence is it’s long and rigid — just what
back of the saw base. And two hard- are glued to the base of the edge you need to plow a perfectly straight
board strips form cleats on the sides. guide, the rear cleat is removable. cut down the length of a board.
The fence starts out as a strip of
Edge Guide > 1/ " plywood. A couple of dadoes in
2
Plow perfectly straight the top of the fence hold a pair of
rip cuts with this hardboard keys. They fit into the
adjustable edge grooves in the base which keeps the
guide. Notice the fence parallel to the saw blade as you
block underneath move it back and forth.
that prevents the After gluing in the keys, I glued a
blade from cutting hardboard guide strip to the edge of
into the sawhorse. the fence. It provides a wider (taller)
surface to ride against the work-
piece than the fence by itself.
Attach Fence – At this point, all
that’s left is to attach the fence. It’s
held in place by tightening a thread-
ed knob that passes through the
adjustment slot into a T-nut.
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 J I G S & A C C E S S O R I E S

4. Story Stick ————————————————————————————————— < Story Stick.

To cut a number of
Need to cut a number of boards to boards to the same
identical length? A story stick like length, hook a story
the one shown at right provides a stick over the end of
fast, accurate way to cut multiple each piece. Then run
pieces to length — without having to the saw against the
measure and mark. end of the story stick
A story stick is a scrap piece of to cut a board that’s
lumber (I use a 2x4) that matches the identical in length.
desired length of the pieces you plan
to cut. As you can see in the drawing
below, there’s a block screwed to one of this block. The idea is to cut it to
end of the story stick. In use, this match the offset of the saw blade (the
block hooks over the workpiece, and distance from the blade to the edge
the saw rides against the end of the of the metal saw base). This way,
story stick as you make a cut. every cut produces a board that’s
The important thing is the length identical in length to the story stick.

SCREW
#/4"-THICK WASTE
SCRAP BLOCK WORKPIECE
TO END OF
STORY STICK
STORY
SIZE SCRAP STICK OFFSET EQUALS
BLOCK TO MATCH DISTANCE FROM BLADE
OFFSET OF BLADE TO EDGE OF SAW BASE

5. Panel-Cutter ———————————————————————————————— < Panel-Cutter.

Here’s a handy jig to use when cut-
ting a large panel (like a sheet of ply-
wood) down to size. When used with
a special plywood-cutting blade, this
panel-cutter produces a smooth, fin-
ished cut with dead-on accuracy.
The panel-cutter consists of two
parts: a hardboard base that serves
as a platform for the saw and a
wood fence that guides the saw.
(See drawing below.)
Here again, a reference edge that
indicates the path of the saw blade is
used to align the jig. After position-
ing this edge on the layout line, the
panel-cutter is clamped to the work-
piece. Then, with the saw riding
against the fence, the blade cuts pre-
cisely along the reference edge, as
shown in the detail below.
Note: You may want to make two
panel-cutters: a 48"-long jig for cross-
cutting full sheets of material and a
Quick setups and
accurate cuts.
That’s what you get
with this simple
panel-cutting jig.
96"-long version to use when ripping.
Either way, start by gluing the
fence to an extra-wide base. Then
with the base of the saw riding
against the fence, trim off the waste
to create the reference edge.

CLAMPING
SURFACE
BASE
(14" rgh. x 48"-
!/4" HARDBOARD)

FENCE
(2" x 48"-
#/4"-THICK FENCE
STOCK) WASTE

TRIM WASTE
TO CREATE
REFERENCE
EDGE NOTE: ALIGN REFERENCE
EDGE OF JIG WITH
LAYOUT LINE ON WORKPIECE

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