Laminated wood-based materials are widely used in various fields of construction, but can cause many problems in processing. The heterogeneous structure is easily deformed and lends itself to chips, if a low-quality tool is used during its cutting. In the household during the next repair, the question may well arise about how to cut plywood? The material is familiar, but even cutting is not so easy to obtain. Both household tools and special equipment can help in solving this problem - the choice is made depending on the amount of work and the characteristics of a particular plywood.
Features of working with a jigsaw
Perhaps this is the most affordable and practical tool for cutting plywood sheets. An ordinary manual jigsaw has a sickle-shaped frame construction and a nail file secured with screw clamps. To start the workflow, the user only needs to fix the workpiece in a vise and choose a saw blade of the desired format. How to choose a jigsaw nozzle for plywood? You can focus on metal sheets 11-13 cm long. If you plan a large amount of work with thick sheets, then you can use wide files with a large tooth. For curly cutting, narrow arched nozzles with a small sharp tooth are suitable, which will allow you to make accurate maneuvers during the cut. Now it’s worth considering a few tips on working with a jigsaw:
- Sawing is done by cutting the saw down. The jigsaw goes strictly vertically and with each movement down the operator makes a slight pressure on the file, moving it forward. Deviations from the vertical should be minimized, otherwise the risk of jamming and breakage of the metal sheet will increase.
- When creating shapes from a plywood sheet, it is advisable to adhere to the following sequence: first, the inner contour is processed, and then the outer one.
- Correction of the cutting angle is not done by turning the tool, but by changing the position of the workpiece in a vise.
- In the process of cutting, it is important to remember the temperature of the blade. Overheating the file also increases the risk of breakage. Therefore, during prolonged work sessions, you should take some breaks.
Alternative cutting methods
In domestic conditions, the choice of tools for high-quality processing of veneered wood is small. If the question arose of how to cut plywood without a jigsaw and its electrical modifications, then you can turn to a grinder (angle grinder) or a circular saw. In both cases, it is important to remember that this technique works rougher than a jigsaw, so it is often used for in-line sheet processing.
The quality of the cut itself will depend on the size of the tooth and its layout. The smaller the pitch, the better - especially in the case of a circular saw. But there are pluses to this equipment. In contrast to the jigsaw, the circular moves strictly in one direction, and the disk spins at high speed. Also, the angle of the applied effort is a plus: a slightly beveled immersion of the tooth provides a neat cut of the chip. The disadvantages of the circular saw include the complete exclusion of the possibilities of figured cutting - only direct cutting is performed.
How to work with a grinder?
Not the most successful tool for working with wood materials in principle, but if you need to process 2-3 sheets with a simple cut, and there is nothing for cutting in the farm, except for angle grinders, then you can try this method. But it is very important to adhere to the following recommendations:
- Sheet thickness should not exceed 4 cm.
- Use only special nozzles. How to cut plywood if a grinder is used? On the market, you can find wood saw blades with lateral teeth that increase the size of the cut.
- The work is performed at the lowest speeds that are available for a specific angle grinder model.
- Any distortions in the direction of the disc are excluded. You should also abandon the tool lock function - this button is required in case of a wedge.
Adhesive tape cutting
A very simple but effective way to prevent chipping of large fragments on the surface of plywood. It has nothing to do with the mechanics of cutting, but it is very useful as insurance for processed multilayer sheets. Masking tape is usually used for gluing edges, but it is only suitable when working with soft cutting. How to cut plywood at home to minimize the likelihood of a back chip when gluing the surface? A jigsaw in this sense is the safest, but if tight protection with tape is used, then a more powerful angle grinder or even a circular saw can be used.
Cut with zero clearance
Professional joiners are aware of the principle of finalizing the supporting platform of the cutting tool, which is to minimize the distance from the clamping base to the saw body. Reducing this gap also reduces the likelihood of breaking the upper layers of the workpiece. How to cut plywood on the principle of zero clearance?
All tools with a working sole will do - from a jigsaw to a circular saw. Technically, this task is realized with the help of a special pad, which is fixed on a support sole. Its presence reduces the size of the slot, so that the working body will choose smaller chips, keeping the surface of the workpiece intact.
What is the secret of perfect plywood cutting?
All of the above cutting methods to varying degrees help reduce possible damage from chips. For example, they exclude the possibility of a large fragment breaking, leaving a maximum of a small defect up to 0.5 mm in size. This is often an acceptable result, but it can be improved. How to cut plywood without chips and small irregularities of the trimmed edge?
To do this, use a fine-grained abrasive and wax. First, the work surface is polished along the line of the future cut, after which it is covered with a wax pencil. If the guide rails are additionally used in the cutting process, then the chances of getting even a small chip will be reduced to zero.
The use of a laser machine for cutting plywood
This is a professional equipment that is used in carpentry and woodworking workshops. The accuracy of laser cutting of plywood is higher than on the machines of most furniture factories. The operator of such an installation literally performs jewelry work with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. The principle of operation of a laser machine for cutting plywood is in light radiation, which is formed by a gas tube. A powerful luminous flux upon contact with the surface provides the effect of evaporation of wood particles without direct mechanical contact. The edges are obtained not just smooth, but almost polished. But such equipment is not cheap - in the initial segment about 50-70 thousand rubles.
Conclusion
The choice of tool has a significant impact on the quality of the cut, but not the only one. The formation of chips also depends on the characteristics of the material being processed - its density, coating quality, veneer thickness, etc. How to cut plywood to minimize the negative impact of its structure? To varying degrees, each of the tools considered can contribute to the desired cut. Before work, it is recommended to experiment with test sheets of plywood, the characteristics of which correspond to the target blank. In particular, it is worth trying processing with different parameters according to the degree of pressure, the magnitude of the feed force, etc.