Ruler for power saws. DIY circular saw guide

The use of a guide bar when working with a circular saw makes it convenient and fast. This product can be bought in a specialized store or do it yourself.

The so-called "flexi" are very popular. Elastic steel rails, equipped with a rubber edge and special protrusions, make working with a circular saw comfortable. These products are lightweight and do not take up much space.

A circular saw with smooth adjustment of the vertical immersion of the blade, cutting at an angle and fixing the depth of the cut can become a multifunctional tool for professional work.

Materials and tools for the manufacture of fixtures for a circular saw

For the manufacture of guide rails and other devices for working with a circular saw, you will need:

scraps of plywood or hardwood, at least 10 mm thick;
screws, self-tapping screws.

From the tools you need:

electric jigsaw or hand circular saw for cutting blanks;
joiner's square for marking blanks;
drill for drilling holes for fasteners;
screwdriver or screwdriver with a set of bits;
clamps.

The manufacture of various devices can be divided into several stages:

sketch development and product detailing;
selection of materials;
marking and cutting of material;
assembly of products and their adjustment.

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Guide bar for circular saw - guide fence

The simplest option for a guide bar for a circular saw is a ruler.

For its manufacture, plywood with smooth edges is suitable.

Cut off a strip of plywood. Its width should be equal to the maximum width of the saw blade in plan, plus another 20 cm.
On the cut piece of plywood sheet, step back from the factory edge 5-7 cm and cut off the strip. This detail is a ruler, based on which and along which the frame of the circular saw will move. The rest of the plywood will be the base to which you need to attach the ruler. The height of the ruler should not be less than the thickness of the saw bed, but not exceed the distance to its engine.
Attach the ruler to the base with screws. They should be fixed at a distance of no more than 10 cm from the edge, while it should be sufficient to use clamps. Please note that the factory face must be directed in the direction in which you want to cut. The guide rail is attached to the base with wood glue and then with screws.
Remove the excess part of the base of the guide using a circular saw, for which this guide is made. The edge on the base will turn out to be as even as the factory edge of the ruler along the entire length.

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Cross cutting stop

This device is an analogue of the guide ruler described above and is widely used when working with a circular saw. The stop provides the ability to quickly and accurately cut long workpieces at angles of 45° and 90°.

Manufacturing:

The support base is made of textolite 3-5 mm thick or plywood 10 mm thick.
The supports are bars with a section of 20x20. They can be made from oak or beech.
The bars are attached to the base with countersunk screws. In this case, it is imperative to accurately measure the angles of 45 ° and 90 ° between the support bars. If necessary, the guides can be fixed at any other angle.

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Guide rail for circular saw - metal rail

Working with a guide ruler requires some experience and skill, because when working on the saw body, you need to apply multidirectional forces: press the saw against the template and push it forward.

It is also important that the edge of the saw sole is parallel to the blade, which is not always the case, especially if it is a simple, inexpensive tool.

In this case, another version of the guide bar is offered. The movement of the saw will take place along the metal rail, and not rest against the ruler. This will allow you to apply little effort just to move the tool forward to cut. A metal template, unlike a wooden template, allows for a more accurate cut and will last longer.

Figure 1. Diagram of a rail for a circular saw.

To make a guide rail you will need:

2 aluminum U-shaped profiles: one smaller, the other larger;
sheets of plywood or MDF with a thickness of 3 and 10 mm;
screws and self-tapping screws.

Guide rail manufacturing steps:

Screw a large aluminum profile to 3 mm plywood using screws and self-tapping screws. The heads of the screws and self-tapping screws must be flat in order to screw them into the recess.
Fasten plywood 10 mm thick with self-tapping screws close to the profile.
Now it remains only to saw off the excess and make the ends even.

Preparing a circular saw for work with a guide rail:

As seen in fig. 1, the smaller profile protrudes from the larger one by 1 mm. Screw the profile to the end of the table and use a jigsaw to saw off the excess.
To the base of the circular saw, parallel to the blade, attach the smaller profile using M4 screws. Focus on the plane of the disc, and not on the platform of the tool. To fix the profile exactly parallel to the disk, lift the protective cover and press a wooden block against the disk, and press the aluminum profile against the block. Fix the entire structure with clamps, drill holes in the profile and tighten with screws.
Remove the clamps and remove the block. The saw is ready for work.

Figure 2. Scheme of fastening the guide bar for a circular saw.

Work process:

Mount the saw blade on the guide rail, aligning the aluminum profiles.
Start the saw and saw off the excess from the guide bar by gently sliding it forward along the rail. Next time it will be enough to align the cut edge of the guide bar with the line on the workpiece, secure the guide with clamps and start cutting.

In practice, such a guide rail has proven itself perfectly, the circular saw moves smoothly, the cut is even.

On fig. 2 and 3 you can see the finished design.

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Other types of guides for a circular saw

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Blank Template

If there is a need to manufacture several identical parts, then the first such part can serve as a guide template. To do this, cut off the workpiece of the desired length and fix the stop rail at one end. It must match in width with the working distance. It is necessary to ensure a snug fit of the thrust rail to the end of the part to be made. So you get the required number of identical products, while not wasting time marking them.

Masters of the construction and repair business know how difficult it is to get an even cut when working with a circular saw. No matter how hard you try to hold the tool straight, it strives to jump off the given trajectory.

To facilitate the work of users, a guide rail was invented. The design of the device is extremely simple, but manufacturers set such a cost on it that trying to do without a device seems justified.

The price of a guide rail for a circular saw varies from 2 to 10 thousand rubles. They are divided into universal (more expensive) and narrow focus (cheaper). The desire to save money on a simple thing forced users to look for replacement options, and solutions were found. The most popular of them are presented in this review.

Advantages of a homemade guide bar

The main task of the auxiliary tool is to help in obtaining a straight cut. No matter how many times it needs to be done, the cost of guides in stores is more intimidating than it seems attractive. A long time ago, a solution was found - to fix a wooden panel or rail with clamps and make a cut through it. The method is not always convenient, especially when working with hand saws (the clamps are touched by the user's hand or the device's engine). Therefore, the need to make a guide with your own hands has become even more significant.

There are several arguments in favor of the device:

One thing is obvious - when working with a circular saw, a guide rail is necessary if the accuracy of the work and the geometry of the product are important to the user. The following briefly discusses the methods of how to make an auxiliary device with your own hands.

Guide bar yourself: known methods

A do-it-yourself guide rail for a circular saw can be designed in several ways at once. We will talk about them later. By the way, the easiest way to get it is to buy it at a hardware store. Advantages - quality assurance, perfect evenness of the cutting edge. The disadvantage is the high cost with the possibility of overpayment.

A smart craftsman will never invest in something that he can easily do himself at a lower price. Below are the methods for making a guide for a circular saw with your own hands and a brief overview of the methods.

Guide from the rule, clamps and a piece of polypropylene

A tool is bought that is used to level the walls (it costs an average of 500 rubles). Two factory handles (which can be moved) are removed, clamps costing 100-150 rubles each are put in their place. Adapters are machined from a piece of polypropylene (no more than 50 rubles) with any available tool, placed in the grooves of the rule. Next, holes are drilled in them for fasteners with a clamp.

The finished design securely fixes the workpiece, evenly and without distortion, and also does not interfere with the movement of the circular saw.

Laminate guide

Two pieces of equal length are cut out of the material for the floor (for example, half a meter), milled along the edge. Then they are attached to the base, also made of laminate. The groove width is selected using a paper sheet (0.1 mm thick), then paper is inserted into the device, and it is screwed.

The guide bar is attached to the saw sole through the side drill attachment. It is permissible to make a hole in the case, if you do not feel sorry for the equipment. When working, the nose of the sole goes slightly beyond the guide, and it itself extends as much as possible in front of the saw. The device will slightly "eat" the depth of cut (no more than 2 cm), but it does not hold the ease of use and ease of manufacture.

rail miter box

You will need:

identical metal corners;
a sheet of plywood or chipboard from 1.5 cm thick under the base;
4 pairs of "nut + bolt".

The corners are fixed in the same plane at a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the workpiece. The workpiece should move freely under the rails, and the circle should not be too high from the template. Bolts serve as studs. To reduce friction, it is permissible to equip the device with wheels or glue strips of plastic material.

The method is suitable for speeding up the sawing process with a circular saw, as well as, if necessary, cutting a large number of identical workpieces.

Another way to make a guide for a circular saw is discussed in more detail.

Aluminum profile guide rail

Also known as simply "rail". An aluminum profile (U-shaped) is used as it, with two segments of different sizes. The smaller one is placed inside the larger one so that it moves freely, but has no gap. You will also need sheets of plywood of different thicknesses.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

In the middle of a thin plywood, a profile of a larger section is attached by means of a screw connection. The screw heads must not protrude so as to interfere with the free movement of the smaller profile.
On both sides of the profile, thick sheets of plywood are attached (chipboard is allowed), already on self-tapping screws.
Excess pieces of sheets are cut off in width; rail is ready to use.

However, now it is necessary to prepare the circular saw for work.

A profile of a smaller section is placed in the rail.
The height of his legs is estimated so that he fits flush.
The profile is attached to the saw sole parallel to the saw blade by means of M4 wing screws.
The circular saw is placed on the guide, the excess part is sawn off in width.
For an even cut, the edge of the tire is superimposed on the markings, fixed with clamps.

The advantages of using such a device are the smooth movement of the circular saw, the accuracy of sawing, and the ease of feeding. The tool, made according to this scheme, is a little more complicated than the previously mentioned ones, but its efficiency is higher.

Useful video

Obviously, there are several ways to make a guide bar for a circular saw with your own hands, all of which require less investment in materials, and are as efficient as their counterparts from stores. It is permissible to use it not only with a circular saw, but also with an electric jigsaw, manual milling cutter. The restrictions that arise during operation are related only to the length of the rule used, which the user has the right to choose at his own discretion. It does not have to be too long or short - everything is dictated by the workpieces that are processed by the tool. The homemade guide bar recommendations above will help users save money when sawing wood and get the best result.

Before you start making a circular saw with your own hands using a hand-held circular saw, you need to know the basic rules for working safely on it.

Scheme of the drawing of sharpening and wiring of the saw - 1) Saw blade. 2) Sharpened tooth. 4) Device for sharpening. 5) desktop for saw sharpening. 6-7-8) Directions of the file, relation to the working table and saw teeth to be sharpened. 9) - The line of bending of the teeth during divorce.

The work associated with sawing timber with this tool requires maximum attention. When fixing a powerful hand-held circular saw permanently on the table, you must remember this and install all the required protective equipment on the frames. The saw blade must necessarily have a protective cover, on the table - a parallel stop.

Applications of circulating hand saws

The manual circular electric saw belongs to the category of hand tools.

The initial characteristic of a circular saw is the cutting depth, which for different models can vary from 30 to 130 mm.

The required power and diameters of the saw blades depend on this parameter. According to the depth of cut, the tool is usually divided into categories:

Up to 45 mm - power from 0.8-1.2 kW, disc diameter 130-160 mm;
Up to 60 mm - power about 1.8 kW, disk diameter up to 200 mm;
More than 60 mm - power more than 2 kW, disc diameter up to 350 mm.

When purchasing a saw, it is advisable to ask about its capabilities. For example, is it possible to move the disk in a vertical plane, which allows you to start cutting the material without necessarily from the edge. It is good if there is an adjustment of the rotation speed and a quick braking of the disk after the tool is turned off. Important for the home electrical network is the smooth start-up, which significantly reduces the inrush current in the network.

Figure 1. Electric saw - this type of saw is well suited for woodworking.

A powerful hand-held circular saw can be attached to the bottom of the table and used as a stationary sawmill with a limited cutting depth. Stationary sawmills necessarily have a guide with which you can cut, for example, boards, so that its longitudinal edges are parallel and the angles in cross section are straight.

It is inconvenient to cut large sheets even on a stationary sawmill alone. Such a problem arises in the independent manufacture of furniture, when it is necessary to cut plywood or other material in the form of large sheets. When using a manual circular saw in the usual version, it is impossible to cut the sheet evenly along the entire length and with perpendicular edges.

Therefore, when buying a manual circular saw, the master also acquires a special device for it, which is a guide rail (guide ruler), which allows you to cut the sheet evenly along the entire length. Image 1 shows one of the ruler options.

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The influence of the design features of the saw

The guide bar for the saw is produced by the same manufacturer, so it is not universal, that is, it is suitable only for a specific tool, while having a high cost. It will be much cheaper to make the same device on your own. However, with the apparent simplicity of the guide rail, it is not easy to make such a part for a saw with your own hands.

The design of such a device depends on the profile of the base of the power tool. Image 1 shows a guide bar for a circular saw, which is made of a non-standard profile, so it is only suitable for a specific brand of product.

Figure 2. Circular saw - this saw has the name circular saw.

Completing the saw with a guide suitable only for it, the manufacturer provides a special place in the profile for clamps, with which it can be fixed on the sheet material being cut so that it does not interfere with sawing at the beginning and at the end.

It is the fastening unit that causes certain difficulties in the independent manufacture of the guide. Therefore, it is very important to determine in advance the type of clamp suitable for securing the workpiece.

Image 2 shows a circular saw that has a small distance from the bottom of the platform to the engine when the saw blade is at zero position. This significantly limits the size of a self-made guide ruler in height. With such a height of the ruler, there will be problems with ensuring rigidity when it is fixed. With an increase in the rigidity of the guide line, the depth of cut of the workpiece decreases, since you will have to work with a non-zero position of the saw blade.

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Ruler guide for a circular saw, manufacturing

The simplest version of the guide for cutting large sheets is shown in image 3.

A sheet of plywood with factory edges that are even in length, which is prepared for self-manufacturing of a cabinet cabinet, can be used to make a guide rail. To do this, it is necessary to cut off a strip from it with a width equal to the maximum width of the circular saw in the plan, plus 20 cm. The length, L, of this sheet should be slightly larger than the maximum length of the material from which the furniture is planned to be made.

Figure 3. Guide rail for a circular saw - it can be made from improvised means by filing a flat sheet of chipboard or OSB.

Stepping back from the factory edge (we believe that it fits perfectly flat) on a cut piece of plywood 5-7 cm, cut off a strip. This will be the ruler along which the bed of the hand-held circular saw should move. The rest of the cut piece of plywood will serve as the base on which the ruler will be fixed. Along the ruler, leaning on it, move the saw during cutting.

It is very important that the height of the ruler be at least equal to the thickness of the saw bed, but not more than the distance to the engine.

Now you need to fix the ruler on the base. Fix at a distance of 10 cm from the edge or less, but sufficient for the use of clamps.

A very important point of fixing: the factory edge should be directed to the side where the cutting will be carried out. The guide is glued to the base and additionally fixed with screws.

The final stage of manufacturing is the removal of the excess part of the base. This is done using the same saw for which this entire structure was built. The removal process is shown in image 4. The resulting edge on the base will be the same even along the entire length as the factory edge of the plywood on the ruler.

Usually a manual circular saw is one of the first acquisitions of a home craftsman. This versatile tool is truly indispensable for both building a house and making furniture. But if you spend an extra half an hour making simple guides for a hand-held circular saw, then it will be easier and more convenient to work.

Stop for cross cuts

This is one of the simplest and most commonly used fixtures that allows you to quickly and accurately cut long workpieces at an angle of 90° or 45°. The base of the stop is made of textolite 3-5 mm thick or plywood 8-10 mm thick. Support bars with a section of 20x20 mm can be beech or oak. The bars are connected to the base with countersunk screws. It is important to accurately maintain the angles of 90° and 45° between the support bars. If necessary, similar stops can be made for other cutting angles.

"Saddle" for cutting beams

For cutting a large number of identical bars, it makes sense to make a special U-shaped device. It is pressed against the bar to be cut as a "saddle". "Emphasis-saddle" consists of three parts: a back and two sidewalls. The back is a piece of board with a thickness of 20-25 mm and a width equal to the cross section of the beam. Sidewalls are made of textolite (3-5 mm) or plywood (8-10 mm). The width of the sidewalls must be such as to support the edge of the saw table before the saw blade enters the timber of the cant.

Without removing the stop, you can accurately cut a thick beam in two passes - on one side and on the other.

Edge stop

To make this emphasis, it will take considerable time and accuracy. But due to the greater length of the supporting edge a homemade guide will provide a smoother cut than the guides that are equipped with saws. The base of the stop and the support bar are cut out of plywood 12-15 mm thick. At the base, grooves are selected for the guide keys, and a hole is made for the saw blade and a through groove for the clamping screw. Hardwood (beech, oak) is used for the manufacture of the edge of the support bar, dowels, saw mounting rails. The adhesive joints of the dowels (in the groove) and the edge with the support bar, as well as the saw mounting rails with the base, can be reinforced with small countersunk screws.

For the convenience of setting the cutting width, it is advisable to stick a piece of tape from an old tape measure along the through groove along the front surface of the stop base.

In order to avoid damage to the working surface of the workbench, a piece of board is placed under the workpiece to be processed.

Blank as a template

When cutting a large number of identical parts, the first cut part can be used as a template. To do this, it is necessary to screw a bar to its end as a stop, in width equal to the distance from the edge of the base plate of the saw to the saw blade. With such a device, you will cut off the required number of blanks - the same length, without wasting time marking each one.

Device for cutting sheet material

The simplest device with a guide rail-tire allows you to quickly and accurately cut sheet material.

This device will help with cutting wide sheet materials: plywood, chipboard, blockboard. Its basis is a strip of plywood 6-8 mm thick with a guide rail-tire. The length of the strip should be slightly greater than the width of the sheet to be cut. The rail can be glued to the base or attached with countersunk screws. The narrow edge of the base (to the left of the rail) is used for pressing with clamps, the wide edge (formed during the first cut) is used to align with the marking line on the workpiece.

The cost of a branded guide bar approaches the price of the circular saw itself. Is this accessory really necessary, what is it used for, is it possible to neglect the tire, replace it or do it yourself?

Purpose of the guide bar

Anyone who has worked with a circular saw knows how difficult it is to get it straight. With all the efforts to guide the tool clearly along the markup, it still strives to move to the side. The result is material damage and a waste of time.

Some craftsmen adapt as follows: they fasten the bar along the ruler with a pair of clamps. However, with a manual circular, this method is inconvenient - the clamps touch the tool. There are several other reasons for using a guide bar:

using the rule, it is necessary to correct its position all the time. It is installed with a small indent from the cutting line, only then the disk will accurately pass along the line. This method will do for single jobs. If it is necessary to make a lot of precise cuts, the process is dreary;
The branded circular saw guide is designed so that its edge is clearly aligned with the cutting line. The master only needs to combine these two bands and work;
high-quality tires are additionally glued with a soft tape that prevents chipping of material, for example, MDF or laminate;
simultaneously sawing and monitoring the location of the rule is inconvenient. Slightly passed or underpressed - and the material is damaged. When working with the tire, you only need to move the saw forward.

There are many types of guide rails on sale: universal or specialized for a specific model or manufacturer. The price of universal devices, as a rule, is higher than specialized ones. Therefore, many home craftsmen make tires with their own hands.

We make a tire with our own hands

The main task is to make a geometrically accurate product with your own hands, which is not easy. I want to make a convenient and reliable device, spending a minimum of time.

The following can be suitable as a basis: a channel, a corner, a rectangular pipe and even a laminate. Wooden and pressed guides have a serious drawback - they are sensitive to moisture.

Option 1

Guide rail made of laminate - the simplest and most affordable material.

We cut off two pieces of laminate of the same length along the ruler (for example, 50 cm each).
We cut along one edge.
We attach with screws to the base, also made of laminate.
The width of the groove is verified using a sheet of A4 paper, with a thickness of approximately 0.11 mm: the paper is inserted into the device and screwed.
To the sole of the circular saw, the guide is fixed with your own hands through the mount for the side stop. You can drill a special hole in the case, if you don’t mind and the warranty period has passed.
When working with the bar, it should be extended as far as possible in front of the hand saw. And the toe of the sole should protrude a few centimeters onto the guide. Now we take a disc for sawing laminate and saw off the edges of the guides on the spot so that they fit perfectly with the markings;

Such a device eats up a little depth of cut (approximately 1.5 cm), but it is very convenient and easy to do with your own hands.

Option 2

Now, as a basis for the tire, we take the building rule. A model with handles that move along the groove is suitable.

We remove the handles, instead of them we select soft-locking clamps with spring handles. There are models with a removable top - they just fit. Having removed it, the clamp is fixed on the rule with the help of an adapter.
Adapters will have to be made independently from polypropylene on a milling machine. As a result, you should get details that resemble the letter “T” in a section, they are tightly inserted into the groove for the handles.
We make holes in the “leg” of the adapters and fasten the clamps onto the screws.
The guide is laid on a sheet of material with a groove down and is securely pressed with clamps from below. From above there is not a single detail that slows down the work of the circular saw. There is only one limitation in the work - the length of the rule, so you need to take the longest one.

Option 3

To obtain an accurate cut with a circular saw, one important condition is necessary: the edge of the base of the tool, which is adjacent to the guide, must be perfectly even.

Professional aggregates with molded soles have this property by definition. What can not be said about inexpensive stamped bases. Therefore, we offer another version of the guide - the rail.

The tool will move along it without resting against the guide rail. At the same time, significantly reducing the effort required to push the hand saw.

An aluminum U-shaped profile is suitable for the rail. Two segments of different sections are needed. The smaller profile should be inserted into the larger one without a gap, but move freely.

Now you can assemble the guide rail with your own hands:

We take plywood No. 3 and attach a larger diameter guide with screws. We grind the heads of self-tapping screws and screws to hide them flush.
We tightly attach on both sides of the guide along the strip of plywood No. 10 and also fasten it to self-tapping screws. Instead of plywood, you can use chipboard.

We saw off the extra pieces in width and the rail is ready for use.

Now you should prepare a hand saw:

We insert a small profile into the rail and remove the height of the “legs” so that it fits flush.
We fix the cut profile to the sole of the saw parallel to the saw blade. To do this, use a pair of M4 wing screws. If the platform of the disk tool is of high quality and even, you can stick to its edge.
We place the hand saw on the guide, inserting the profile into the guide rail, turn on the saw and saw off the excess strip in width.
Now, for a perfect cut, you need to put the edge of the tire on the markup and attach the guide with clamps. The main feature of the design is the rail. When using such a tire, the saw moves smoothly, does not hang out, is fed easily and cuts very accurately.

Videos show factory and homemade guide rails: