Large Scale Central

EZ way to score plywood for siding

I now use my table saw and rip fence with an easily modified blade to score plywood for buildings and rr cars.

A normal saw blade, with the “set” on the teeth will make a cut about 1/8" wide, which is usually too wide to make scoring cuts to simulate vertical siding or floorboards.

Using an old 10" steel (not carbide tipped) 40 tooth saw blade, remove the “set” of the teeth by hammering them straight. Then grind each tooth to a point, from both faces, at the high edge of the tips with a bench grinder.

To fine tune the blade and insure no tip is out of alignment causing a wider cut, install the modified saw blade in the saw with the blade above a close clearance table insert, about 3/4". Then use the edge of a course sharpening stone and carefully angling the stone out at the leading edge of the blade and tipped about five degrees in at the top “sharpen” the edges of the blade to a point. Mark the blade with a permanent marker as the scoring blade to not inadvertently use it to try to make a cut. It will not be sharp enough and will burn the work piece.

To use the new scoring blade, set the desired depth of cut height above the table, about 1/16" height is sufficient. (The higher the blade the deeper AND wider the cut.) Place the plywood against the rip fence and pressing the piece down flat on the table, score each line moving the fence for each pass to the desired width, 1/4" spacing is easy. Slightly varying the width of each cut between the 1" marks on the saw’s ruler, can produce a more realistic, random width plank look. Use the miter gauge if it is a narrow piece for safety. The problem with kickback from using a rip fence and miter gauge together is not an issue since the blade is not cutting all the way through the piece.