Thanks all for the the suggestions. I picked up a Freud Diablo 80
tooth blade...ripped through the boards, very straight and smooth. I
didn't use tape, but will remember that tip for later.

I was trying to figure out a way to do it with the router, but
couldn't see how best to run the straight line. The idea of clamping a
straight edge of some sort to the the board and running down that
seems obvious now, may have just been one of those weeks.

What is the advantage of a zero clearance insert? One person mentioned
it helps prevent tearout. And you mention using it for table and
circular saw. I googled it some, did get some ideas, but didn't see
how it was used with circular saw.

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:47:20 -0600, Prometheus
wrote:

On 21 Jan 2007 12:18:39 -0800, "
wrote:

I am building a desk from plywood, 1/2" and 3/4". I used a table saw
and circular saw to rough cut after I marked the layouts on the boards,
leaving about a 1/4" extra on each side.

I'm trying to get smooth straight edges, but have been failing so far.
Table saw seems not smooth enough. Circular saw not straight enough. I
plan on working on more furniture in the future, nothing fancy, and
probably most plywood or pine.

Would a band saw be a better option? Jigsaw, scroll saw...?

Nope, nope and nope. Morris's suggestion of a router is a good one,
as is making scoring cuts prior to cutting. A zero-clerance insert
will also help with both the table and circular saw.

My saw will do it no problem, but when I had a little benchtop, my
technique was to cut about 1/16" to 1/8" oversized, then clamp a
drywall square to the sheet and use it as a router guide. You don't
necessarily need anything fancy bit-wise; if your router has a round
base, you can just set the straightedge so that the baseplate rides
against it. Take light cuts in passes of about 1/16" to reduce
chipping if that's a problem.

You can also try sticking a piece of tape to the underside of the
plywood where you'll be cutting when using the table saw. It doesn't
always work, but it can help with chipout with some plywood.

And of course, use a plywood blade.