Pro tip: using a speed square as a saw guide for long rip cuts

I was building fence panels in my backyard last month and kept fighting with chalk lines and clamps to get straight rip cuts on 8 foot boards. Tried clamping a speed square to the board as a fence for my circular saw and it actually tracked dead straight through the whole cut. Has anyone else found a weird tool hack like this that worked better than the normal way?

2 comments

2 Comments

zara_allen3d agoMost Upvoted

You mentioned speed squares aren't meant for long rip cuts, and you're right. But here's the thing nobody talks about. If you clamp the square backwards so the lip hangs off the board edge, it actually gives you a wider surface to ride the saw base against. I used a 7-inch square on some 10 foot plywood panels and it worked fine. The trick is keeping downward pressure on the square so it doesn't twist.

the_gray3d ago

Speed square as a saw guide" - those aren't really meant to clamp for long rip cuts, they're way too small to keep steady.