Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Wood fence attached to a masonite bottom with glue & brads. Clamp it down & cut to the line. Protects the plywood, nice cut & easy-fast setup.

I am using 5x5 plywood on my camper build too. For the most part, we used a table saw to cut the sheets, but it took three people to control the cut on the little contractors saw.

Once the guy with the table saw left, I started using a straight edge (a cutoff from a 5x5 panel with a factory edge), and my circular saw. I know that my blade is 5" from the edge of the saw, so I would mark the line I wanted to cut, then mark a parallel line 5" away. Clamp down the straightedge down along the second line and make the cut, running the edge of the circular saw against the straightedge.

The same principal applies to routing the rabbets on my roof panels, seen here.

Note: i only used the chair to mark the lines! Never cut or route from a sitting position where the blade may pass over your body!

Good Luck! Work Safe!

If you trying to avoid the almost $275 on the EZ smart system, check out the Bora 543400 straight edge saw guide. It can do up to 8' sheets, and it's only about $130. Plus you can get a plate to run on it for your router to do dado's.

EDIT: Sorry, image was too big!
Bora cutting guide

brx017 wrote:"Tape and putty is a Carpenter's buddy."

"Putty and paint make it what it ain't."

Maybe it's the arrow and not the Indian, I didn't read what brand of saw but expecting everything to be exactly aligned on some is expecting a lot

KCStudly wrote:

brx017 wrote:"Tape and putty is a Carpenter's buddy."

"Putty and paint make it what it ain't."

That's what I said... Kinda...

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Greetings:
Sorry for the delay in following up, but I eventually did purchase and setup the EZtrack system. It works...sorta. I'm able to now successfully cut a 5x5 sheet with a reasonably (1/32 in variation) straight line, but I somehow managed to set up the system so that the cut is about 1/16 of an inch towards the waste side of the wood. In other words, all my cuts are 1/16 of an inch long . In addition, the cut is not square to the surface of the plywood. What I eventually ended up doing was making the initial cut with the track saw, then going back with a router and trim bit to trim it to exact length and square the cut.

Kind of a pain, but it at least works.

CUTTING PANELS usedtowaz a serious problem for this solo builder

i have adopted several tricks/hints from folks in the boatbuilding game that have made this process much easier AND more successful

i have 2 separate work stations

one is a 4'x16' flat, level & square table with a 2x2 lip all around that is knee high to me.



this table allows me to work more comfortably while standing and to work from a rolabout stool

the 2nd station is much more portable, being made of 2ea 8' horses that, again, are knee high

these horses are made of 4"x4" timbers and extremely stout

on these horses i can place a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood(frequently the stack of lumber intended for the project) on it and have a nice work surface



as you can see in this pic the stack of project material is covered with a 3/4' sheet of foam insulation which both protects the material and provides me with a sound work surface where i can reach to the center and/or climb on top of for making long cuts



this pic shows the stack of material w/ the foam topper and the end of an 8' cut where the tips of the blade teeth just barely cut the project sheet and did no damage to the rest of the materials(marine plywood)

as i peruse this thread i am being teased into wanting some kind of straight edge cutting guide(s) for use w/ both a full sized circular saw and the little Rockwell

as you can see i am very fortunate to have a large work space(a legacy from my grandfather) and i expect very few, reading this, will be able to have the large table butt most folks will have room to employ a coupla short legged work horses which can be stood on end when not in use AND most folks could benefit from employing a 4'x8' work surface w/ an el cheapo piece of foam on top of a piece of plywood

a set of 4 jack stands and a 4'x8' trailer frame could easily replicate my short legged work horses

i hope this post is not construed as a hi-jack butt in the positive manner intended

sw