How to make a guide bar for a circular saw with your own hands

Any craftsman who works with a circular saw knows that it is extremely difficult to make an even cut without a guide bar. The average person solves cutting problems using simple methods - he fixes two plywood strips on the cutting surface with clamps and starts cutting, while the master will make a special guide for himself.

This article will present specific types of guides that you can make with your own hands, as well as provide detailed instructions. With a minimum of carpentry and plumbing skills, tools and simple blanks made of wood or aluminum profiles, you can effectively and cost-effectively make a guide bar for a circular saw on wood.

What is it, types and main functions

The guide bar is a rail with longitudinal perforation into which the saw blade is placed. The rail prevents the saw from deviating left and right, and the longitudinal perforation allows the saw to move smoothly back and forth.

Important! If the tire is assembled correctly, it also helps reduce the amount of chipped wood when the saw touches its surface.

Various designs are available for homemade guides, and they are made from the following materials:

• Plywood.
• Metal corner.
• Aluminum profile.

By design, the tire can be made in the form of:

• Miter box structures.
• Constructions from building regulations.
• External movable carriage on bearings.

Guides must provide the following functions:

1. High accuracy and quality of cuts.
2. Performing cuts of various geometric configurations.
3. Longitudinal and transverse cuts were made.
4. Adjusting the depth of cutting with a saw.
5. Chamfering and trimming wooden fragments.
6. Safety of cutting production.

Review of the most popular devices

There are a lot of models of machines for turning circular saws, so it makes sense to consider the most popular models.

JMY8-70

Designed for woodworking companies, where parts and blanks are cut with circular saws. Thanks to this machine, you can maintain the saw blade in perfect condition, which will increase the productivity and quality of wood processing.

Main characteristics:

• supply voltage – 220 V;
• electric motor power – 250 W;
• grinding wheel rotation speed – 2850 rpm;
• electric motor type – asynchronous;
• grinding wheel diameter – 125 mm;
• diameter of sharpened saw blades – 80-700 mm;
• rotation angle of the grinding disc (right-left) – 45/30°;
• weight – 30 kg.

Advantages:

• the use of a diamond disc allows you to operate the machine for a long time without maintenance;
• a fairly durable cast base allows for high sharpening accuracy;
• due to rubber inserts under the base, vibration and noise are effectively dampened;
• easy to adjust.

Flaws:

• manual setting;
• there is no cooling system.

KRATON SBS-600

Suitable for woodworking enterprises, as it allows you to sharpen saw blades with a diameter of 160-600 mm. Equipped with a convenient rotating mechanism and a special scale.

Main characteristics:

• voltage – 220 V;
• power consumption – 370 W;
• abrasive wheel rotation speed – 2800 rpm;
• electric motor type – asynchronous;
• abrasive wheel diameter – 100 mm;
• diameters of sharpened discs – 160 – 600 mm;
• disk mounting diameter – 20 mm;
• front sharpening angle – 0-30°;
• back sharpening angle – 0-30°;
• dimensions without packaging – 480x900x205 mm;
• weight – 45 kg.

Advantages:

• Belting. Thanks to it, it is possible to protect the electric motor from overloads and reduce the noise of the machine;
• rigid and durable design;
• adjustment for the required sharpening angles is provided;
• has protection against injury;
• small sizes. Thanks to its compact size, the machine is easy to install and maintain during operation.

Flaws:

heavy weight.

Caliber EZS-65MF 11512

This multifunctional sharpening machine is designed for household use, as it is designed for sharpening the blades of knives, saws and drills.

The high rotation speed of the working body allows you to quickly and efficiently sharpen any cutting tool.

Main characteristics:

• voltage – 220 V;
• power consumption – 65 W;
• abrasive wheel rotation speed – 6000 rpm;
• abrasive wheel diameter – 49.3 mm;
• saw blade mounting diameter – 7.5 mm;
• packaged dimensions (LxWxH) – 218x200x172 mm;
• weight – 1.6 kg.

Advantages:

• a transparent screen is provided to protect the worker from dust, sparks, metal and abrasive chips;
• the machine bed has holes for reliable mounting of the engine and other components;
• no service maintenance required;
• small price.

Flaws:

There is no adjustment of the sharpening angle.

CALIBER EZS - 110Dm

A professional electric sharpening machine that allows you to quickly and efficiently sharpen the teeth of saw blades with a diameter of 90 - 400 mm. The electric motor of the machine is covered with a casing, which protects it from dust, dirt and mechanical damage.

Main characteristics:

• power consumption – 110 W;
• grinding disc rotation speed – 5300 rpm;
• grinding wheel dimensions – diamond: 100x2.5x20mm; ceramic: 100x6.0x10 mm;
• permissible saw blade diameter – 90-400 mm;
• rotation angle of the sharpening unit (left/right) – 25/25°;
• mains voltage – 220 V;
• electric motor type – single-phase commutator;
• packaged dimensions (LxWxH) – 365x275x295 mm;
• weight – 2.4 kg.

Advantages:

• low price;
• easy to set up;
• has simple controls;
• does not require maintenance;
• long service life.

Flaws:

large gaps in mating joints.

In general, sharpening circular saws is not difficult, you just need to know how to do it correctly and with what equipment. For sharpening at home, you can make a small machine from a grinder or a sharpening machine, this will save your family budget. For small businesses, it makes sense to buy the popular models discussed in the article.

The cost of ready-made devices, how much will it cost to make them yourself and what are the benefits?

The guides, which are offered through tool retailers, cost as much as the circular saw itself. There are models of guides for 7 tr ., and there are also for 12 tr. When purchasing, you need to focus on this price range.

If you make the guide yourself, you can save a lot. Independent production will cost an amount barely exceeding 2 tr.

In addition, self-production allows you to make your own engineering modifications and improvements to the design.

Advantages and disadvantages of a homemade circular saw carriage

When creating a carriage for a circular saw, you can:

• Achieve optimal sizes.
• Change the standard appearance, for example, make a radius carriage for curved shapes.
• Choose suitable materials: aluminum, wood, profiles, etc.
• Save money - use the tools you have on hand.

However, if you make the guide yourself, a number of difficulties will arise. In particular, it is necessary to have appropriate knowledge about the process and acquire specific tools for the job, which a non-professional carpenter may not have.

Carriages are divided into manual and stationary, amateur and professional

Making your own guide from plywood is the most popular option.

For a craftsman who constantly performs work on sawing wood, for example, for a furniture maker, the constant use of a tire is strictly necessary. The quality and speed of production depends on this. Experienced users and craftsmen rarely use factory-made products for cutting; more often they make them themselves.

The prerequisites for making a tire yourself are:

• Desire to save money.
• The need to introduce additions to the design that allow more efficient and multifunctional wood processing.

Necessary materials

To produce a tire from wood you will need the following materials:

• Plywood blanks with a thickness of at least 10 millimeters, the length is chosen arbitrarily according to the length of the future cut, the recommended length is 1.2 meters;
• Wooden blocks 30 x 30 mm.
• Metal strips 3-4 mm high, 8-12 mm wide, the length should be equal to the length of the sole on the circular - 2 pcs.
• Fastening elements – hardware, self-tapping screws.
• Fraser.
• Jigsaw.
• Drill with a drill bit with a diameter of 10 mm.
• Screwdriver with a bit for self-tapping screws.
• Clamps.

Step-by-step instructions for making a plywood guide

It is very important to be careful in manufacturing and adhere to dimensions, since any inaccuracy or violation of the straightness of the structure will lead to a serious deterioration in the final result, and consequently to a deterioration in the quality of the cut.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. We transfer the size of the saw to the plywood and mark it.

2. In order for everything to turn out smooth and beautiful, you need to use something hard and smooth; a piece of profile pipe, a square, or a guide for gypsum boards is suitable for this purpose. We fasten it with clamps at the received mark.

3. We retreat 5 cm and make a cut with a router. The height and width of the cut should be the same as those of previously prepared metal plates.

4. We retreat another 5 cm, mark and make another cut with a router. To obtain a straight line, we also set the metal profile as a stop.

5. We attach the metal guides to the circular saw. The main thing is to do it very smoothly. The protruding parts, beyond the edges of the sole, should be sawed off. It is recommended to grind and polish the working surface, this will make it slide better. And lubricate the grooves in the plywood with wax, this will also give better glide.

6. We attach wooden blocks along the edges with glue, and then also tighten them with self-tapping screws.

7. For better gliding, cover the working surface of the tire with metal tape. It is very resistant to abrasion.

8. That's all, the parallel stop is ready for work.

Another popular material with which you can quickly and easily make a guide for a circular saw is laminate. To do this, we suggest watching a video, the author of which tells and shows in a few minutes how to make a parallel stop from 2 laminate boards in detail, it is very interesting and useful. We recommend.

Adjusting a homemade device

Before starting work, it is necessary to make an adjustment, which consists of selecting the cutting location, as well as the depth of the cut and its length.

There are several useful tips during the adjustment process:

• The device must be positioned evenly in relation to the edges of the material. Distortions are not allowed. To check the straightness of the disk, it is lowered into the cut of the guide.
• After adjusting the tire and disk for straightness, the entire structure is secured with clamps. In some cases, it can be secured to hardware, for which special holes are made in the corners of the tire.

The tire allows you to make cuts at 45 degrees and chamfer edges, but to do this you need to adjust the angle of the circular saw blade.

Work and safety precautions

Since the circular saw itself is considered a very dangerous tool, the improper use of which can lead to serious injury, it is necessary to follow the following safety recommendations:

• When working, you must use PPE - goggles and gloves. It is also prohibited to start working with hanging items of clothing, for example, with unbuttoned sleeves.
• The circular saw starts only after the blade is placed in the guide, but without touching the surface to be processed.
• The tire must be firmly fixed with clamps, since otherwise the kinetic energy of rotation of the saw blade will be transferred to the tire, and it will “fly out”.
• All cuts must be done away from you, and the master himself must stand somewhat to the side, and not in front of the saw.

Useful tips

To get good results when working with wood, you should follow safety rules. You need to make sure:

• The cutter is fixed in a collet.
• The accessory corresponds to the power of the power tool.
• When using an edge router, you must ensure that the bearing or guide ring is installed.
• The correct insertion depth is set (when using a submersible device, this can be seen on a special limiter).
• The workpiece must have support.
• To reduce the amount of dust when working, use a vacuum cleaner.

The use of attachments specially designed for the material being processed can significantly improve the result. And depending on the angle of their use, a different cut is obtained. Experienced craftsmen often make such attachments themselves. To do this, the cutting edge is sharpened at the required angle. But if you don’t want to waste time on homemade cutters, then you can easily buy them; the range in stores is quite wide.

It is quite easy to make accessories for a wood router with your own hands, and their benefits are great. This option is suitable for those who do not want to spend a lot when buying a tool or when the necessary equipment is not on sale. And the use of a router with furniture templates significantly reduces assembly time, and also improves the quality of work and prevents mistakes.

Originally posted 2018-07-04 08:29:39.

Step-by-step instructions for making an aluminum guide

The only difference from the plywood bus is that aluminum U-shaped profiles are used as slats in this design. They are fixed to the plywood frame-limiter with self-tapping screws and serve to guide the saw blade lengthwise.

Aluminum U-shaped profile

Important! When using an aluminum profile, two fluoroplastic plates can be used as a limiter. It is not necessary to make a backing in the form of plywood, since aluminum itself will strengthen the structure and make it stable.

PTFE limiters

Purpose

The main purpose of pushers for circular saws is to protect the craftsman’s hands from injury from the saw blade when cutting wood. When longitudinally cutting logs or plywood, cases often arise when the disc passes through the wood faster than expected, dragging the master’s hand along with the wood. This is extremely dangerous.

In order to move the disc away from the carpenter’s hands, there are special guides of various types.

Other options for making a homemade guide for a hand-held circular saw

The tire can be made from a miter box - a device that consists of two parallel metal corners. They are fixed to a wooden base, in which a groove is made for the circular saw blade.

Miter box

The miter box on the substrate is placed on the surface to be cut with the corners down, so that a gap appears between the tire and the surface.

The construction rule can be used as a tire, but the design is extremely inconvenient due to instability and the need for constant adjustment. To learn how to quickly make a guide using the rule, watch the video. The author shows and explains how to make and cut it in just a few minutes.

The guide for a circular saw blade with an external carriage on hinges is a complex engineering design, which can also be made independently.

Its difference from analogues is that it is additionally provided with a movable platform into which the circular saw is fixed. In this case, you do not need to hold the saw in your hands, and the cut is carried out by moving the carriage relative to the surface being processed.

The design of such a guide is shown in the figure below.

Making a guide bar for a circular saw with your own hands is quite possible and not difficult; moreover, this will make it possible to use a truly high-quality and functional product, the effectiveness of which is ensured by the skill of the person who made it.

What characteristics you need to pay attention to: power, speed

The main characteristic of an electric motor is power. The following power ranges are selected for circular saws:

• up to 800 W - low-power saws for cutting small wooden workpieces;
• from 800 W to 1200 W—saws with engines in this power range are mounted in small carpentry and furniture shops with continuous production;
• over 1200 W - very powerful circular saws that ensure uninterrupted production in large woodworking shops.

The rotation speed of the circular saw blade directly depends on the number of revolutions of the engine shaft. As a rule, electric motors are selected in the range from 3000 to 6000 rpm. In this case, the optimal value is considered to be 5000 rpm, which allows:

• Easily cuts through hardwood.
• produce a more even cut line when using discs of different thicknesses.
• Avoid jamming the saw blade in the wood.

It should be noted that the temperature of the working surface during prolonged contact with the saw also depends on the rotation speed. The higher the speed, the stronger the heating.

Makita RP2301FCX

Frame

The power unit of this router is enclosed in a vertical housing made of industrial plastic. The unit weighs 6.1 kg, which is not a hindrance for stationary installation and reduces vibration in mobile mode. Convenience of work is facilitated by a transparent protective shield, spot LED lighting and a flexible standard cable 4 meters long.

Engine

The tool's motor consumes 2.1 kW of electricity, which is sufficient for processing any hardwood, most plastics and a number of soft alloys based on copper or aluminum.

It is equipped with a brake and an electronic soft start system that maintains the selected speed regardless of the resistance of the material. When the brushes wear out, they can be replaced without resorting to service. The spindle is securely fixed while the cutter is installed.

Controls and support sole

This model is equipped with a wheel installed in the body for setting one of six speeds in the range from 9000 to 22000 rpm with final adjustment using a button on the control handle. The cutter stroke is 70 mm, and you can simultaneously set up to three points of the required immersion. The maximum deviations in milling accuracy do not exceed 0.1 mm, which satisfies the requirements of most carpentry work.

Pros of Makita RP2301FCX

1. High performance.
2. Milling precision.
3. Long lasting resource.
4. Reliable electronics.
5. Professional ergonomics.

Cons of Makita RP2301FCX

1. The parallel fence develops play over time.
2. It is inconvenient to use the adapter sleeve for an 8 mm shank.