How to Make a Panel Saw
- 1). Build a grid by ramming and screwing your 1-by-4-inch boards on edge with your screwdriver. Use your half-lap joints to connect the grid parts, while making sure the ends of it are screwed to your frame. The saw cuts must be placed at the front edges of your grid.
- 2). Use your lag screws to mount the 2-by-4-inch ledge at the bottom edge of your grid. Drill holes with your electric driller for the six rollers.
- 3). Build your folding A-frame legs by screwing and gluing your 1-by-4-inch boards to your 2-by-4-inch base. Make sure the legs support the grid around 80 degrees to the ground. Size its legs to make sure they do not overlap each other when you fold them flat. Extend the rollers' feet forward for maximum stability.
- 4). Attach a pair of your 2-by-4 cleats to your frame. Screw your filler block to the ledge in order to transfer the sheet’s weight to its legs without overbearing your grid. Use your door hinges to mount your A-frame legs to your cleats and their filler block.
- 5). Create a pair of cutting guides, one 5-footer and one 10-footer, to complete your project. Build the guides with a 1-by-4 board glued to a ¼-inch thick plywood. Cut your plywood using your circular saw to make it wider than necessary and to clean up its edge.
- 6). Mark both ends of your sheet cut line with your marker and clamp off your guide ends close to the line. Line the other end of the guide to the other mark, and go back to the first one to place the edge of the guide on it.
- 7). Secure your sheet to the grid below your cut line using a third clamp to keep it from moving while you cut. Add a clamp right above the cutline to avoid the upper piece of your plywood from pinch your blade as you cut.
- 8). Set your saw depth and make sure it goes no more beyond 1/4-inch more than the thickness of the sheet to create your cut.
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