Get More from Your Circular Saw: Cleaner, Straighter Cuts
There's a good chance you have a portable circular saw somewhere in your shop. But how often do you actually use it?
For many woodworkers, the circular saw is something you reach for when you're framing a wall or making a quick rough cut. When accuracy matters, the table saw usually gets the nod.
But a circular saw can be a surprisingly versatile woodworking tool. With the right setup, it can produce smooth, accurate cuts in hardwood and cabinet-grade plywood. It's especially useful for breaking down large sheets of plywood before bringing the smaller panels to the table saw for final sizing.
The trick is overcoming three common challenges: getting a clean cut, supporting the workpiece, and guiding the saw accurately.
1. Choose the Right Circular Saw Blade for Clean Cuts
If your circular saw still has the blade that came with it, upgrading the blade is one of the easiest ways to improve its performance.
Many saws come equipped with a relatively coarse blade designed for fast cuts in construction lumber. That's fine for framing, but it isn't necessarily the best choice for hardwood or veneered plywood.
For cleaner woodworking cuts, consider a 40-tooth general-purpose blade or a 60-tooth fine-finish carbide blade, depending on the saw and material.
A quality fine-tooth blade makes a noticeable difference in the finished edge, particularly when cutting plywood with thin face veneers.
As the comparison shows, the right blade can significantly reduce splintering and leave an edge that requires much less cleanup.
Put the Good Face Down
Blade selection isn't the only factor affecting the cut.
With a conventional handheld circular saw, the teeth move upward through the material at the front of the blade. This means the teeth exit through the top surface, where they're more likely to lift and splinter the wood fibers.
As a result, the bottom face of the workpiece generally has the cleaner edge.
When cutting cabinet-grade plywood or another material with a show face, position that face downward whenever possible.
WOODSMITH TIP: Make a Test Cut First. Before cutting an expensive plywood panel, try your blade and setup on a scrap of the same material. A quick test cut will show whether the blade is producing the edge quality you need.
2. Support the Entire Workpiece
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with a circular saw is trying to cut a large panel without enough support.
A pair of sawhorses can hold a sheet of plywood off the floor, but the narrow support points aren't always enough to keep the material stable.
As the cut progresses, the panel can shift, the kerf can close around the blade, or the cutoff can drop unexpectedly.
What you really need is a large, stable cutting surface that supports both sides of the cut.
Build a Knockdown Plywood Cutting Table
One of my favorite solutions is a lightweight cutting table made from interlocking strips of 3⁄4" plywood.
The strips are notched so they fit together to create an open grid. Set the assembled grid on a pair of sawhorses, and you have a large cutting surface that can support a full 4' × 8' sheet of plywood.
The open design offers several advantages:
- It supports the workpiece across a large area.
- The spaces between the slats provide clearance for the saw blade.
- The grid makes it easy to clamp the workpiece and cutting guides.
- The table can be knocked down for compact storage when it's not needed.
It's a practical setup for a small shop where a permanent sheet-goods cutting table would take up too much room.
Another Option: Rigid Foam Insulation
If you don't want to build a cutting table, a sheet of thick rigid foam insulation is another convenient option.
Lay the foam on a flat, stable surface and place the plywood on top. The foam supports the panel while providing a sacrificial surface beneath the cut.
Set the saw blade only slightly deeper than the thickness of the plywood so it cuts just into the foam.
This is a particularly handy method for breaking down full sheets into manageable pieces.
3. Use a Straightedge Guide for Accurate Circular Saw Cuts
Even with a sharp blade and solid support, following a pencil line freehand with a circular saw can be frustrating.
The blade may wander slightly, leaving a cut that isn't perfectly straight. And if you're cutting expensive plywood, that can mean extra waste or more work cleaning up the edge.
My solution is simple: Use a cutting guide rather than trying to steer the saw freehand.
A straightedge guide makes it easier to keep the saw on course and produce accurate, repeatable cuts.
Best of all, you can make one from a few pieces of plywood and hardboard.
Make a Shop-Made Circular Saw Cutting Guide
The cutting guide is built from two basic parts:
- A 1⁄4"-thick hardboard baseplate that supports the saw.
- A straight 1⁄2" plywood fence that guides the edge of the saw's shoe.
The key to this jig is creating a zero-clearance reference edge that shows exactly where the blade will cut.
Trim the Guide to Match Your Saw
Start by attaching the plywood fence to the hardboard baseplate, leaving some extra hardboard extending beyond the cutting side of the fence.
Then place your circular saw on the guide with the edge of its shoe riding against the plywood fence.
Run the saw along the fence to trim away the excess hardboard.
The freshly cut edge now corresponds exactly to the blade's cutting path for that saw and blade setup.
To make a cut, simply position the edge of the guide on your layout line and clamp it securely.
There's no need to measure the distance between the blade and the edge of the saw's shoe every time.
The hardboard also supports the workpiece next to the blade, helping reduce chipout along the cut.
Make Two Guides for Different Cuts
I like to keep two versions handy.
The first is a 60"-long guide that's ideal for crosscutting a full-width plywood sheet.
The second is a shorter guide designed for accurate right-angle cuts.
Adding a perpendicular cleat to the underside of the shorter guide creates a positive reference against the edge of the workpiece. This makes it easy to position the guide squarely for crosscuts.
The extra-wide baseplate also leaves room for clamps on the side opposite the blade path, keeping them out of the saw's way.
WOODSMITH TIP: Check Your Saw's Baseplate. Before building the guide, make sure the edge of your circular saw's shoe is straight and parallel to the blade. The accuracy of the guide depends on that reference edge.
A Circular Saw Can Be a Precision Woodworking Tool
Your circular saw doesn't have to be reserved for rough construction work.
With a sharp, fine-cutting blade, it can produce clean edges in hardwood and plywood. A stable cutting surface keeps large panels under control, while a simple straightedge guide takes the guesswork out of making straight cuts.
Together, these upgrades turn a basic portable saw into a much more useful woodworking tool.
And when you're working with full sheets of plywood, a circular saw can be the perfect partner to your table saw — handling the large, awkward cuts so the smaller panels are easier to manage for final sizing.
Get Better Results Cutting Plywood
Once you've broken down a full sheet with your circular saw, the table saw is a great choice for bringing smaller panels to their final dimensions. Learn how to choose the right blade, support large workpieces, and use simple guides for clean, accurate plywood cuts at the table saw.
GET CLEANER PLYWOOD CUTS → How to Cut Plywood Accurately: Layout, Cutting & Assembly Tips
Build a Better Set of Sawhorses
A good pair of sawhorses is one of the most useful additions to any workshop. Whether you're supporting a knockdown cutting table, breaking down plywood, or assembling a project, these Classic Sawhorses provide a sturdy, versatile foundation for the job.
__GET THE STEP-BY-STEP PLANS → Build a Set of Classic Sawhorses __
I would wager that you could find a portable circular saw in just about every woodworking shop. But it's usually tucked away in a corner gathering dust. A circular saw is the lonely Maytag repairman of shop tools - always waiting, but seldom called upon.
Most woodworkers think of a circular saw as a "construction" tool known more for its speed than its accuracy. And because it's hand-guided, a circular saw can be awkward to use and a challenge to control.
Well, it doesn't have to be this way. In a small shop, a circular saw can be very handy for a variety of tasks, from cutting stock to rough size to breaking down sheets of plywood to taking on light joinery tasks. But in order to use your circular saw more productively, you have to overcome three challenges.
The first is achieving a smooth, clean, chip-free cut. This can be important when you're working with valuable hardwood and cabinet-grade plywood. Second, when using a circular saw, you need a reliable way to support the workpiece - both the finished piece and the cutoff. The final element is a method of guiding the saw for a straight, accurate cut. The good news is that with a little advance preparation, you'll no longer dread the thought of getting out your circular saw.
Clean, Chip-Free Cuts
The blade that comes packaged with a circular saw is generally suitable for quickly tearing through dimensional lumber and not much else. So the number one thing you can do to improve the quality of your saw's cut is to upgrade the blade.
If you're accustomed to rough cuts from a cheap blade, you'll be amazed at the difference a 40 tooth general purpose or 60-tooth finish-cut carbide blade will make. I've found that a circular saw cut made with a high-quality blade can be every bit as good as a cut from the table saw. The sample cuts in chip-prone oak plywood show the difference a good blade can make.
GOOD SIDE DOWN The way you set up for a circular saw cut will also affect the end result. When a circular saw cuts, the leading edge of the blade spins upward into the material. This means that it exits the cut on the top side of the workpiece and the cleanest edge will be on the bottom side. So if your material has a good and a not-so-good side, put the "A" side face down.
Solid, Stable Support
Trying to make a circular saw cut without solid support for the entire workpiece can be a nightmare. And I've learned the hard way that sawhorses alone are not the best answer. As the cut is made, the workpiece can shift and bind on the blade. And too often one or both pieces end up on the floor.
Rather than the narrow support provided by a sawhorse, you need a large surface that will steady and support both of the pieces created by the cut. And the cutting surface needs to be sacrificial and nondamaging to the saw blade.
My solution is the lightweight, but very stable, knockdown cutting table shown in the photos. The table is made up of notched, interlocking slats of 3/4" plywood. It can be rapidly knocked together and then hoisted onto a pair of sawhorses at a comfortable height.
The large surface of the table will hold a full 4' x 8' sheet of plywood. The "open" design provides very solid support with virtually no resistance when cutting through a workpiece. Another big plus is that the table makes for easy clamping of both the workpiece and the cutting guides shown below.
Cutting Guides
When breaking down a sheet of plywood with a circular saw, following a layout line freehand is difficult at best. A wandering, rough cut is the norm. And this means allowing for more waste and extra work sizing the pieces later on.
So I don't rely on my fine motor skills. I always use a guide to position the cuts and steer the saw. It's easier, much more accurate, and you'll even get cleaner cuts.
I keep two guides handy - a 60"-long version for full width panel cuts and a similar, shorter guide for accurate right angle cuts, as shown in the photos. The basis of both guides is a 1/4" hardboard baseplate with a 1/2" plywood fence attached. The outside edge of the saw's base, or shoe, runs along the fence to give you a foolproof, right-on-the-line, and perfectly straight cut.
But the real key to the handy function of the guides lies with a simple trick. When making the guides, you position and attach the fence allowing a little extra waste along the guide edge. Then you use your saw to trim the baseplate. The resulting "zero-clearance" edge gives you a dead-on reference for easy positioning of the guide and also serves to back up the cut.
The extra-wide baseplate provides ample clamping space on the "off" side. And the addition of a perpendicular cleat to the underside of the right angle guide allows quick registration for accurate crosscuts (inset photo above).
Shop Tip: Foam Backer
__ Quick and Easy__ In a pinch, a thick piece of rigid foam insulation laid on the floor provides a solid, sacrificial surface for making cuts on sheet stock.
