pageflightHow do you start your cut square? Bench hook worked well with no miter box.
With a miter/circular saw. I’m physically unable to cut straight with handtools. Even if I use a square to make guide lines around the entire piece.
ParagoneSee those yellow-plastic roofer’s squares? the triangular ones?
www.stanleytools.com/products/…/squares
Those things.
They line-up cuts beautifully.
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I do have one of those! It works great with my rip saw, but I didn’t see a way to use it with my back saw because of the back, whereas the bench hook fits under there more easily. Maybe I’m just overlooking the way to set it up.
I do this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7J6WpwQ5Rs
How to Crosscut Square with a Handsaw | Paul Sellers
Thanks! Tried that approach and it came out great. I was able to follow the line all the way down without wandering.
Not quite table-saw perfect, but for the 2nd try pretty good.
It makes geometric sense, but from the video I didn’t realize you can also kinda steer the heel of the saw as you angle down, in a way you can’t adjust your angle cutting straight across.
I 3D-printed myself a magnet-equipped guide based on some posting on Instructables that I can no longer find. It has a provision for swapping out fences so that it can be oriented reliably at angles other than 90⁰. On the downside, it has to be clamped to the wood and is too small to work well on sheet goods.