Tip needed for sawing marine ply

[Guest]

Can anyone tell me how to hand saw marine ply without the bottom layer of the ply tending to splinter, specially when sawing across the grain? There must be a knack. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Guest]

cut/mark the underside with a 'stanley' knife first or use a tennon saw at a much lower 'angle' to the surface

 

[coliholic]

Fine toothed tenon saw and don't force it. Let the saw do the work,

 

[LadyInBed]

G clamp another bit of old wood under the marine ply.

 

[kingfisher]

As in Blue Peter

Sticky tape. Tape some sturdy tape along the cut. Doesn't have to be on both sides, just on the side where you cut cros the grain.

Obi-Wan

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Scoring on lower face with Stanley knife certainly works but might not always be possible. Tape is easier and almost quite as good.
IMHO the most important thing is to use a reputable saw that has teeth which are well sharpened and set. I use a Spear & Jackson but I'm sure that there are others just as good.
The idea is that the teeth actually CUT the fibres rather than TEAR them out - which is what causes splintering.

Wally

 

[roger]

I use a jigsaw for large amounts of sawing. the blade selection is critical. Buy a nice new shiny fine toothed blade and dont force the cut.

 

[oldharry]

Marine (and other) plys tend to have a very low moisture content and the veneers shatter very easily even with a decently sharp saw. The only sure way to get a clean cut is to clamp it to a piece of softwood along the line of the cut, which supports the surface of the ply and prevents splinters from being lifted out..

 

[srp]

If you're using hand tools then there isn't a way of guaranteeing a splinter free cut, unless you fix a backing board to your sheet (and even then you get splintering because the chances are you won't be able to clamp it securely along the whole length of the cut). A knife cut on the underside seldom works because you can't see it while you cut.
The only way I know is to use a decent tracksaw (Festool or Mafell) for straight cuts, and for curved cuts a decent jigsaw with a sacrificial blade insert. Or a router with a combination upcut/downcut spiral carbide bit.

 

[Poignard]

G clamp another bit of old wood under the marine ply.

+1 or preferably use a router.

 

[rhumlady]

Tape doesn't always work as the ply can come away when you remove it I use a Fatmax jetcut saw at a shallow angle or score the underside the cut a couple of mm away from the line and clean up with a router which is my preferred way.

 

[Just_sayin']

Holy Thread Revival :encouragement:

 

[nigelmercier]

Holy Thread Revival :encouragement:

Is this a record? Twelve years! And not by a noob either.

 

[rhumlady]

Missed the date completely:sleeping:

 

[sailorman]

Missed the date completely:sleeping:

At the time of the OP a 10 TPI Philadelphia Diston would have done

 

[srp]

Is this a record? Twelve years! And not by a noob either.

Guilty. I never thought to look at the date, but I am completely baffled as to why it should appear on the first page - I always view the forum pages in the default, latest-post-first mode. Oh well....