: . . .
: A new issue has risen, I tried to cut a stright 14ft strip of pine
: 1.5" wide with my skillsaw..... well parts of it are
: 1.5" wide, some not so much, should have figured this with
: how bad some of my 2x4 cuts were. Any pointers on how I might be
: able to setup a guide to keep my cuts stright? can I clamp a
: long piece of strapping down on top of my board to hold the saw
: against or am I asking for trouble in doing that?
: . . .

To rip lumber cleanly and straight with a skillsaw you need two things: a zero-clearance base plate to prevent splinters, and a long guide which must be absolutely straight and long enough to ensure the cut starts and ends parallel with the plank edge. Of course for this to work the edge of the plank must be reasonably straight. This page of my blog shows these and several other ideas I have found useful.