Here’s a quick and easy DIY circular saw guide to make straight cuts in plywood. Have you ever needed to cut a plywood sheet, but you either don’t have a guide or trying to do the math to figure out just how far to offset your guide from the line was too much of a hassle?
Making your own DIY circular saw guide is simple. It only requires two pieces of wood, some wood glue, and nails.
Materials Required
- A 12″ wide piece of plywood (1/4″ is fine, but you can also use 1/2″)
- Another board at least 3/4″ in thickness and at least 2″ wide with perfectly straight edges. For mine pictured below, I used a 1×6 which I squared on my table saw.
- Wood glue (such as Titebond)
- Nails
Tools Needed
- Circular saw
- Hammer or nail gun
Assembling this DIY circular saw guide is easy. Simply cover the face of your skinnier board (#2 above) with wood glue and place it on your plywood piece, offset about 1 1/2 – 2″ from one edge. Try to get it aligned as straight as possible with the plywood, but it does not have to be perfect at this stage. Use a few nails to hold it in place while the glue dries.
Once the glue has dried, it is time to customize this DIY circular saw guide to your saw. Starting first on the wide side of the guide, place the wide side of your circular saw baseplate up against the top board. When doing so, there should be a bit of plywood sticking out past your blade. Using the top board as a guide, you will need to run your circular saw all the way down the length of the plywood, keeping the baseplate pressed up against the top board.
Now repeat on the short side of the guide, aligning the skinny side of your circular saw baseplate to the guide board.
Now you have a DIY circular saw guide customized specifically to your circular saw. One side of the guide can be used with the wide side of the nameplate, and one side can be used with the narrow side.
To use your new DIY circular saw guide, align either side of the guide exactly to your cut line, clamp it down, and run the appropriate side of your circular saw down the length of the cut. A perfect cut every time!
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