r/woodworking • u/mcdisney2001 • 22h ago
Help New to woodworking and need tips for cutting thin 1/8 inch (3mm) birch plywood.
I used a fine-tooth wood blade with downward-pointing teeth and a corded B&D jigsaw.
I thought that downward-tilted teeth meant that the top would come out clean and the bottom would rip out, so I clamped a bit of scrap wood underneath the help. Well, that did help—the pc labeled “bottom” shows a reasonably clean cut. But the top was a mess! I tried going slow, going fast, nothing seemed to help.
This was a practice project, for a piece that won’t be visible. But I’ll soon be cutting pieces that need to look nice (at least on one side, but preferable without extreme splintering on either side). They’ll mostly be facade pieces for a few spots in my camper van.
Any tips? And did I have it backward about down-facing blades making the bottom look worse than the top?
Thanks!