On 3/27/2010 5:44 PM, Nonny wrote:

"Lee Michaels" wrote in message
...

I've posted about this before, but one of the handiest and most accurate
cutting guides is made from scrap. In my case, I used 1/2" plywood for a
couple of the long guides and 1/4" scrap for the shorter ones. As I
recall, they were 8', 7', 4' and 2' long. In all instances, I sized them
for BOTH of my circular saws.

To make a guide, rip a piece of plywood to the required length and make
the piece about 12" or so wide. Don't worry about the cuts being too
straight. Then, get a piece of hardwood that is as long as the plywood
and around 3/4" or so thick. Approximation is fine. First, run it
through a joiner to get one edge as square and true as possible. Then,
rip along the trued edge about 3/8" in, making a straight strip the
thickness of the board by 3/8" by the length of the board.

On the plywood, snap a chalk line or use the straightest thing you have
in the shop to make a line down the middle. Apply glue to one of the
3/4" sides of the hardwood strip, then place it along the line. Sight
along it and use brads to make sure it doesn't move when drying. The
strip should be as straight as you can make it and extend the length of
the plywood.

Then, put your favorite rip/combo blade in the circular saw, place its
base on the straight strip and rip off the excess plywood from the side.
Magic Marker an ID for which saw/blade you are using. Then, if you want
to use a second saw, do the same thing with it on the other side of the
strip. If you will only use one saw, just do that other side with the
same saw, or with a different blade. For instance, one side could be
with a combo blade and the other with a pure rip or crosscut, depending
on what you normally use.

Since a circular saw cuts upward, the edge of the shooting board will
act as a break-off for splinters as you rip or crosscut. To use it,
clamp the edge on the marks you make for where the cut is to go and just
grab your saw. There's no guess work, the cut will be clean and your
accuracy will be improved.

You worked too hard at it. Whole thing is made of one sheet of plywood
and a few screws.

Mark the factory edges so that you don't lose track of them later. Cut
a strip off one edge of the plywood about a foot wide. Now clamp the
strip so that you can use its factory edge as a guide to clean up the
edge you just cut (like cut a quarter inch or so off of it. Now move it
and cut off a strip two or so inches wide. Now lay that strip on the
plywood flush with the edge (unless you want a double-sided guide, in
which case set it back however far you need). Glue and screw the narrow
strip down, pressing it tightly against the clamped strip so that the
factory edge keeps it straight. When the glue dries, cut the the
completed guide off the plywood using the narrow strip to guide the saw.
If you're making a double sided guide, trim the other side, and you're
done.