Cutting off the tops of cedar fence boards

Stan in Oly, WA

Well-known Member
I built a short fence at a rental house using cedar 1X6's. I installed the fencing with the bottom of the boards even, intending to strike a line along the tops and cut them off. I did this along the driveway today, and it didn't work very well. I made my cut with a circular saw with a reasonably good thin kerf blade. I cut from the back side of the fence, where appearance was less important. I ended up with a lot of chipping on the back, and more than a few chipped corners.

What is a better way to do this? I considered buying a plywood blade, but I know them to overheat quickly and warp if the saw tips away from 90 degrees while cutting---a condition that the awkward position makes almost inevitable to some extent. Would a fine toothed blade for a jig saw give me a cleaner cut? I finished a cut on the board against the house with a fine toothed hand saw. It made a clean cut, but it would definitely be my last choice for cutting the 150 or so boards I have left.

Stan
 
Try setting your saw depth so the blade just comes through the thickness of the board.
 
I think the standard blade is what is called a 27 tooth blade and a plywood blade is 72 teeth. Then there are mid tooth blades of about 40 teeth that would probably be good for what you are doing. More for finnish work rather than the rough cut blade you are probably ysing now. Usually cost more as not as popular.
 
Stan
You might try this, on one of the scrap cut off ends. Take a sharp block plane and put a 45 degree bevel around the end, should not take long at all and gives it that professional finished look .. LOL.
 
not sure if this is true or not - but I was taught to always set the blade depth so that the lowest part of the cut out between the teeth matches the thickness of what's being cut. On circular saws and table saws.

Never asked why, but seems to work for me (I almost always do it, so I can't really say if it makes any kind of difference) - hoping maybe somebody else will explain.
 
Wouldn't it have been just as easy to install the TOP of the boards the way you wanted them?
Who cares if the bottom ends are not perfect?
 
pburg,

The posts are set in a concrete curb the length of the fence. Random lengths at the bottom would appear against a reference line and be obvious. The curb rises and falls slightly as it follows the contour of the land, but I want the top of the fence to be a straight line. You'll have to trust that I know what I'm doing except, apparently, for cutting off the tops in a straight line without beating them up.

Stan
 
Dave,

I thought of doing that, and now wish I had. I did set the depth of cut at about an inch (I'd never heard of setting the depth to the bottom of the cutout between teeth, but I can try that---unless I use a plywood blade.) It seems funny now that what I thought might be the most visible problem would be the remnants of the blue chalk line on the wood.

Stan
 
How about clamping scrap board to the backside and cut into that? I do that when drilling soft, flexible materials....makes a smoother hole when it bores through.
 
Leroy's suggestion is good; also, a cabinetmaker's trick is to back the cut with tape to reduce splintering. Duct tape might work.
 
Finer blade would be better and set the saw just a bit deeper than the board, but the other thing is not to push the saw along too quick. A sharp blade should walk through that stuff like it's butter. Just take some 60 grit sandpaper and run it along the edge and over any heavy chip outs. Doubt anyone will ever notice it. Surely the boards are not perfect either. What we've always done and never had a customer complain or probably even notice yet in 30 years. MK
 
I was told to set the blade so it just comes through the wood, maybe 1/8" or less. The theory behind that is that more of the teeth are cutting the wood instead of just flapping in the breeze. I have found this to be most important when cutting maple, ash, oak, hickory etc because the saw is having to work harder. If I leave the blade up too far I have to move the board more slowly. In softwoods it seems to matter much less since they are less dense.
Zach
 
Hey Stan, I'm a retired builder who has sided many, many houses with cedar. Your problem, as I see it,is perhaps your blade is not very sharp. I'd get a new, quality blade. As someone else said, a good idea is to tack a straight 1x4 as a guide on the fence, (an inch and a half below the cut line for my saw) and hold the guard up with your left hand while you run the saw down the line, not too fast. It's hard to get a good clean cut on a vertical surface if your not used to cutting this way. The straightedge will helpkeep the saw from wobbling as you cut. Let us know how you come out.
 
Stan,
I have a 10 inch table saw. I can install a wood piece on saw and run the blade up through the wood piece, so when cutting the board is resting on the wood piece, producing very few splinters.

I also found dewalt makes an old school 10 inch 26 tooth blade. It doesn't have carbide teeth, old school. I can shapen it with a HF blade sharpner. The blade is very thin, rips cedar with ease. Because it's thin, it produces very little stress when cutting red oak.
 
jimdril,

I thought the suggestions I got on this question were excellent. My plan was to combine as many of the best ones as I was conveniently able, but when I got to the house yesterday I realized that there was a significant portion of the uncut part of the fence where there was limited access because of plantings along the inside. To make a long story short, I spend most of my time scoring a line into the accessible side, then cut off the tops using a jigsaw with a fine toothed blade. The splintering this caused was minimal---well within acceptable limits. After I stained the cut tops, the fence looked as good as it needs to. I'm still upset about the corners I split off along the first run I cut, but staining the bare wood reduced the visibility quite a bit. It's probably one of those things I'll always notice, and other people will wonder what I'm worried about.

Thanks,

Stan
 
Saw depth needs to be set so it just goes through the wood. Must have a sharp blade, the more teeth, the better for this type of cutting. Probly a real awkward position you are going to be holding the saw in. You may need to clamp a board on to the fence as I guide. I really don't know what you think you are saving by sawing after fence is done. If you are going to have to saw the boards anyways, next time saw them before you put them on the fence. Your not saving yourself any work. Might as well saw each board to the length you want before you put it up. If it needs to be a different length than the last one, just make it as long as you want it.
 
redforlife,

Two sections of the fence were on sloping ground. I wanted the top to follow the slope, not be stepped. I'm sure there was a way I could have calculated the slope and cut each board to that angle, but putting up each individual board with spacers at the bottom and side was sufficiently tedious that having to walk the fifty feet or so to the place where I could do the cutting each time would have driven me crazy. I didn't think that making a running cut along the top would be particularly easy, but I expected to be able to do it at one time, at least. This kind of problem is why I prefer to do things the second time when possible. Then I get to avoid a lot of the mistakes of the first time.

Stan
 
I see, didn't know you were cutting the top to the same contour of the ground. Thought you were just cutting the extra off the top and making it level and even. If you would of took time to figure the angle, it might have worked out to cut the same angle on every board for the top, and then cut it how ever you wanted for the bottom when cutting the length. Coarse that would of depended on the slope which is kinda hard to imagine. I ussually try to do things the easiest way. Your way sounded easy enough, but sounds like its messing up some of the boards which is what nobody wants on a project. Hope some of the ideas here will help you get it cut off.
 

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