Chip-Free Plywood Crosscuts
Stacking blade depth, a scored line, and burnished painter's tape to crosscut plywood without veneer tearout.
Hook a Speed Square on the Far Edge for Straighter Circular-Saw Cuts
Technique: Speed Square as a Saw Guide
The Problem
A speed square makes a fast, no-measure cutting guide for a circular saw — but only if you hold it right. Most people set it flat on the board and hook the lip over the near edge, which leaves only the short side of the triangle for the saw to follow. There isn't enough fence there, the saw drifts, and the cut wanders off the line.
The Technique
- Set the speed square on the board and hook its lip over the far edge of the board, not the edge nearest you.
- Held this way, one point of the triangle ends up pointing back at you, and the long edge of the square sits along your cut line — giving the saw's baseplate a much longer straight edge to ride against.
- Press the square down firmly, set the saw's shoe against that long edge, and push the saw through the cut while keeping the shoe tight to the square.
The result is a noticeably straighter cut than you get hooking the square on the near edge.
Pro tip: Hooking the lip on the far edge also means the force of the saw pushes the square back into the lip rather than away from it, so the square stays planted instead of creeping as you cut.
Safety note: This setup puts your guide hand close to the cut line. Keep your fingers well back on the square and clear of the blade path, and let the saw's shoe — not your hand — do the job of riding against the square.
More home-improvement tips from Leah Bolden at See Jane Drill.
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