I need to build a workbench and I don't have a miter saw. I've been able to cut a 2" x 4" square in the past, but it was after a lot of practice. With the price of lumber these days, I don't want to be wasting the stuff for no good reason. Do you guys have any tips? I've seen the pros cut a 2" x 4" perfectly square without even trying. They don't mark a line either. Amazing.
Cutting a 2" x 4" Square
- Thread starter Soft Cars
- Start date
Use a speed square as a fence?
I'm no Carpenter/Woodworker by any stretch, Are you left handed?
Use ANY square (machinist, speed, etc), draw a line, then make your cut using the line. It's only 4 inches. It won't be horrible.
clinebarger - No I'm right handed. I was going to buy a blade right saw, but they're noisy and I don't like the sound of them. The blade left saws give you a good view of the cut line, but I'm just out of practice. The saw lives inside the house where it can be in a climate controlled, dust free environment. I keep a plastic bag around it to keep the dust off.
i dont know much about pull saws, though for a suggestion ,look up spear&jackson b98x,(amazon),,its a 22 inch long 8pt hand saw,$31.32, decent korean made saw that will cut nicely,,there are other brands out on the market,the lower priced ones not as good,it is hard to fine a really good affordable hand saw,pax and crowns (english made),nice but$$ check on bahco 2700-24-xt7,,,on amazon,,real nice for your application
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- Joined
- Jul 18, 2022
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Could use a miter box and a hand saw
Speed square is good, but I have a square that is like 2’ on a side. But if you a sheet of plywood it will be square already, so you can measure in x inches, draw a mark, do that in several spots, then get a level or other straight edge with which you can draw a straight line to finish marking.
I wouldn’t mess with a hand saw any more. Just get a circular saw. I could not believe how fast I could cut wood poorly after getting my first one, before it took forever to do it wrong, now its just seconds.
Edit: just realized, I misread the dimensions… never mind.
I wouldn’t mess with a hand saw any more. Just get a circular saw. I could not believe how fast I could cut wood poorly after getting my first one, before it took forever to do it wrong, now its just seconds.
Edit: just realized, I misread the dimensions… never mind.
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JHZR2
Staff member
You just need a fence. Side of the blade shouldn’t matter unless your stock is too small to support the saw. Just set the fence in the opposing fashion after you’ve drawn your lines.
You definitely mean inches (not feet), correct?
Buy a $7 speed square - hold it tight on the board, put the shoe of your blade left/right saw tight against it, you'll get a square cut.
If you're thinking it can't be done because of the blade orientation, then you're not picturing this correctly.
Give this a watch:
If you're thinking it can't be done because of the blade orientation, then you're not picturing this correctly.
Give this a watch:
An old school mitre box should work fine with a hand saw. Most have 90deg and 45.
Red Green would insist mitre is French for 'not square'
Red Green would insist mitre is French for 'not square'
I have built lots of things with dimensional lumber - getting very square cuts with the method in the video.
It’s not fine woodworking, but it’s good carpentry. Good, square, cuts. Tight joints. Even ends.
For the OP workbench, it’s good enough.
The workbench I built 30+ years ago with simple tools: circular saw, speed square, power drill, measuring tape, is still in service.
It’s not fine woodworking, but it’s good carpentry. Good, square, cuts. Tight joints. Even ends.
For the OP workbench, it’s good enough.
The workbench I built 30+ years ago with simple tools: circular saw, speed square, power drill, measuring tape, is still in service.
Yes inches. Feet is written with single quote marks like this: 2' x 4'
Agreed, just confirming you hadn't made a typo. (Dumb question on my part as I think about it - 2' x 4' sheets of plywood are readily available.)
@Soft Cars - Oh, even more 'duh' on my part - I read your original as meaning you wanted to cut a small rectangle only 4" long and 2" high. That seemed way too small for any part of a work bench so I wondered if you had meant 2' by 4'.
Rereading your original post, I now realize you're wanting to cut a 2x4 accurately, with good 90° angles.
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