Circular Saw-Rip Fence

[chiangrai]

I got a circular saw last year and went on Youtube and found some

videos on it.

I made these rip fences with plywood that they recommend.

They were great for months but now they have shrunk.

 

I want to make new ones but don't know what to use.

Is there a material that won't shrink that would suit this job.

Why didn't the guys on Youtube mention this,they were good carpenters.

[cooked]

There are different qualities of plywood of course, and likely enough the guys on YouTube hadn't encountered an extremely humid climate like Thailand has.

You could try using something like Conwood or even a good tropical solid wood. 

 

[chiangrai]

I've never used conwood but I've used  another cement board.

That was kind of cheap and crumbly and might not last,is conwood crumbly.

 

If not then it sounds good

[JAS21]

3 hours ago, chiangrai said:

I've never used conwood but I've used  another cement board.

That was kind of cheap and crumbly and might not last,is conwood crumbly.

 

If not then it sounds good

No it is not crumbly ... we have quite a few areas done in conwood ... didn't know that it was called that until just now ... it is quite hard and you need a grinder to cut ... www.conwood.co.th   you can select english

 

Many styles but this is popular in our village...

[canopy]

Plywood shrinks and expands much less than other wood panels due to the glue and crisscrossing layers of wood. Absolutely avoid the finger jointed rubber panels, finger jointed pine panels, and MDF. They are much worse.

 

The cement board type products are your best bet. Things like smart board, conwood, viva board. They are however much more difficult to cut and join. They also have a very low tensile strength and need lots of bracing or they will easily break.

 

[Crossy]

Mine is made from 40mm x 5mm steel angle, it doesn't bend or warp.

 

Nor does it blow away, it's heavy!!

[kamalabob2]

Maybe the OP can post of photo of his fence. Conwood, Diamond Building Products, SCG, Shera Wood all offer different products which sometimes people confuse the use. All those brands will have a booth at the Architect Expo in May in Bangkok where you can see all manner of modern building materials. 

[chiangrai]

I wish I could send a photo but I don't know how.

 

It's the kind where you make it and leave the base too big,

Then trim it off with the circular saw you will be using it with.

So it is set perfectly for that blade on that saw.

 

 

 

Don't know how this would work with metal or anything that couldn't be cut with a wood blade..

Suppose you would just have to measure it.

 

Is there a plastic that could be used.

I need an 8ft,5ft and a3ft.I will have to buy a sheet of something

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

If you watch the video you posted starting at about 30 seconds you have your answers!!!

 

FWIW it isn't really a rip fence as it works perfectly well cross cutting.

 

There are 2440 x 1440 plastic sheets in a variety of thickness that you can get in wood street in Bangkok, I don't know if they are readily available in other areas.

[chiangrai]

"MDF and OSB also works great."

Is that what you mean at about 30 seconds.

 

Do you mean that MDF or OSB won't shrink.

What do these and the plastics cost.

Thanks for your help.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, chiangrai said:

"MDF and OSB also works great."

Is that what you mean at about 30 seconds.

 

Do you mean that MDF or OSB won't shrink.

What do these and the plastics cost.

Thanks for your help.

Yes that's it

 

Certainly all wood or wood products change dimensions to some degree. The more moisture in the products when you get them the more they will shrink as they dry out.

 

However wood shrinks and expands most latterly very little  longitudinally.

 

OSB will be more liable to movement than MDF because it has larger pieces of wood in its construction. MDF has virtually no dimension change but if it gets wet at all it will swell and become useless. OSB is difficult to find, is cheaper than plywood moves less than plywood, is stronger than MDF and more resistant to damage from getting wet.

 

I don't remember the cost of the plastic board as I only bought one with quite a few other boards, including OSB and some beautiful Thai plywood, a few years ago.

 

One point, with plywood you almost always get what you pay for, you almost never get a bargain. I can get full sheets of 20mm plywood for 600 Baht, I can also pay over 4000 Baht per sheet.