Frame a Door Opening
Header, jacks, kings, and cripples — and the door-plus-two math that sizes the rough opening.
Cut Snug Blocking Without Measuring: The Saw Guard Is the Gauge
On most circular saws the distance from the edge of the guard to the blade is 1-1/2 inches — one lumber thickness. Flush your blocking stock against one truss, butt the saw's guard against the neighboring truss, and plunge cut: the block falls out cut to a snug fit, no tape involved.
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The Problem
Blocking between trusses or joists is the same short cut made over and over, each one traditionally measured in place — and each bay slightly different, so pre-cutting a stack to one length leaves half of them loose or proud.
The Technique
The trick is that the saw itself encodes a lumber thickness: from the edge of the blade guard to the blade is 1-1/2" on the creator's saw — exactly what the neighboring truss's thickness adds to the bay.
- Verify the offset on your own saw once: measure guard edge to blade. If it's not 1-1/2", this gauge doesn't transfer.
- Lay your blocking stock across the bay, flushed up against the far side of one truss.
- Butt the saw's guard edge against the face of the neighboring truss.
- Plunge cut straight down. The blade lands one truss-thickness past the guard — which is the far side of the bay — and the block drops out fitting snug.
- Where gusset plates thicken the truss face, hold a small gap off the plate so the block doesn't come up short-tight against steel.
Cutting against a wall (stock held vertically) beats cutting flat — the block can't fall when it releases; on flat work, a second person catches.
Safety note: This is a
plunge cut with the guard held retracted against a fixed edge — keep
both hands on the saw, start the blade before contact, and let the block
fall free rather than reaching for it. If your saw's guard geometry
doesn't give a clean 1-1/2" reference, use a marked cut instead of
forcing the trick.
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