Edge cuts

[orchidius]

Hi there,

I've got a question that's probably general knowledge to many of you... How do you make angled edges on "bigger" pieces of plywood/mdf/... (any kind of wooden panel/board)? Kind of like in the following windows paint drawing I quicklyquickly made --> http://img535.imageshack.us/i/zijaanzicht.jpg/

I know a router with a 45° angle bit will do fine in most cases as that angle is most used, but is there any other way to make other angle cuts? I can't imagine there's a router bit for all possible angles...

Thanks a bunch!!

[Rick]

I don't (presently) own a router, so I'm going to do my best with my table saw and hand saw. I'll be doing a lot of after-cutting pre-painting prep work, so 'close' should work fine for me.

Not to bogart your thread, but maybe someone can give me options of edge cutting MDF using a table saw and fence. Is there any special saw blade I should be using, or 'super-secret' method which is best?

[EvilNuff]

If its a small piece of wood then a miter saw.  If a larger piece of wood then a table saw at the proper angle.

[orchidius]

I use a mitre saw for certain things, but a board of wood is a bit inconvenient on a mitre saw . Those angled tablesaws, I've seen them before, but mine is fixed...

[TheMonk]

Hope this helps:

[Breaker]

I would second Monk's idea.

With a little care (and possibly a straight-edge to guide you) you can cut an accurate angle using a circular saw.
In order to make a consistent angle cut on a large piece (6-8 feet) you really need a good table saw - not one of the tabletop versions
because they are not designed to cut piece much longer that 2-3 feet (at most).

If it doesn't have to be dead-on the circular saw is the way to go.

Breaker.

[KuddlKat]

I don't have a table saw, but I mounted one to the underside of a small workbench.  I bought a 4ft angle iron from HD for <$10 and clamp it to the table as the saw fence.  It takes a lot of patience and measuring, but it worked pretty good for cutting 5-10 degree angles.

That vid is a very good example of the angle feature for circular saws.

[eds1275]

Get a nice blade on your circular saw, set the angle, clamp the straightedge and cut. I begin with the angled edges, then cut the straight side afterward because I find it easier to bring down to the proper size that way. But if you have angles on both sides, just be careful 

I personally prefer a circ saw to a table saw. Might be that my table saw is a POS though.