Ripping Edges with a Circular Saw

Edge Ripping Jig

2009.02.28

The belt sander seemed like my only way to clean up the wide faces of the boards.  For the narrow edges, I’d much prefer to rip them with a circular saw.  Of course I planned to use my EZ Smart guide rail to make sure I had straight cuts.  The problem was, how to get it lined up each time to make a narrow cut on each edge of each board?  I decided that I would put together a simple plywood jig that would hold the guide rail and the board to be cut.  This way I should be able to get reasonably consistent cuts from one board to the next.

So I started ripping down a piece of 3/4″ plywood into the pieces I needed for the jig.  To get up to the height I needed to roughly match the thickness of the 2x4’s, I also used some 1/4″ plywood.

Set up to cut plywood with EZ Smart guide system

I used these little corner clamps I’ve had for a long time to square up the edges of the pieces as I screwed them together.  I was too lazy to dig around for a bottle of glue so I’m just relying on lots of deck screws to hold this jig together.  I guess I could take it apart later and re-use the pieces for something else.

Clamping plywood pieces together with a square edge

With the jig assembled, it was time to make my first cut.

Edge ripping jig and EZ Smart guide ready to make first cut

2009.03.07

With more boards cleared of metal, it was time to continue ripping the edges.  I designed the jig so that the saw would take off about 1/8″.  Because the boards are not all exactly the same dimensions, and some are bowed or twisted, the actual thickness of the offcuts varied from about 1/4″ down to nothing; sometimes I was only shaving off the thickness of the blade.  I wouldn’t guarantee that my jig is absolutely 100% dead on plum and square either, though I tried to get as close as I could.

Thin edge ripped from 2x4

After the first edge is ripped, the board is too narrow to line up in the right place under the guide rail.  So I add in a 1/8″ MDF spacer between the board and the registered edge of the jig.

MDF spacer added between board and jig

Carpenter Ants

One of the boards appears to have some carpenter ant damage.  Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t actually eat the wood, but they remove it to build nests.  There are some pinhead-sized holes on one of the edges which are sometimes a sign of powderpost beetles, but these hollows in the board look like carpenter ant galleries to me.  This board does not show any obvious signs of water damage, which leads me to believe the carpenter ant galleries may date from when it was still a live tree.

Carpenter ant galleries in 2x4
Carpenter ant galleries in 2x4

Some Progress

Well, I now have about ten boards ready to go.

Boards sanded and edge ripped

Choosing Boards for the Top

2009.03.22

I’ve ripped the edges of most of the 2x4’s I bought.  I laid all the ripped boards out on the floor and started selecting boards for the top of the workbench.

Salvaged 2x4's with edges ripped
Salvaged 2x4's with edges ripped

I wasn’t entirely happy with all the boards I ended up with (and the remaining boards were too short or both edges were too gouged out, etc).  I decided I would have to make another trip to the Rebuilding Center and get a few more 2x4’s, plus more 2x6’s for the legs.