: Hi Everyone,

: I helped a mate rip strips for his build, and I found using a
: hand-held circular saw per Chris Cunningham's SOF book worked
: really well for me. He suggests bolting the saw down to a piece
: of ply with a slot in it to clear the blade (I used a piece of
: 1/2" around 18" x 18") so you have a nice flat
: base, then clamp 2 fences to it. One fence is set to cut at
: strip width, the other is adjustable so it can be fitted up
: against the off-side edge of the board being cut.

: The wider, flat base helps keep the saw at 90°, and the 2 fences
: allow you to maintain the correct cut width easily. Other
: benefits are:

: 1).. The board being cut can be clamped and supported on stands
: 'coz it doesn't need to move... you only move the lighter, more
: easily managed saw.
: 2).. You only need enough workshop space for the length of board
: being cut, rather than 2x length.

: The downside is that it is a little slower process 'coz you need to
: adjust the off-side fence after every cut, but once you get
: going it really doesn't take that long.

: Regards,

: Phil.

I prefer to use a single guide but I have to ensure the leading edge stays in contact with the wood: I would worry that using 2 guides could result in a jam.

Some additional notes: When ripping narrow strips the guide should be outboard of the blade - a metal guide works well. A wider tee-shaped ply guide on the inboard side can be used for wider pieces. When ripping the last few strips from a plank that is getting very narrow, the plank can be attached to another plank with double-sided tape or even glued - waste not, want not ...