How YOU Should Be Cutting Plywood

In this video I show you the process that I go through to break down plywood and achieving perfectly square cuts every time.
Cutlist Optimizer
cutlistoptimizer.com
The TSO Products Items I was using in this video can be found:
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#cabinets #plywood #sheetgoods
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[@KenCharlesTheGreat]

I'm glad I kept watching, I figured it was a Festool centric video, great info on work flow. I learned something about panel cutting workflow I can use with my unistrut / track clamp bare bones panel cutting system ! Great video as always, thanks !

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@Markdoubts]

Yeah - glad I watch. Thought it was just going to about track saw.

[@jim99ful]

Me too, thought it was going to be Festool 'R' us, then why cut off the factory edge and replace it??

[@RichardBoisclair-hw6nb]

Good video. Too bad you don’t like using Festool brand…

[@KenCharlesTheGreat]

I got a Makita track saw since that comment and just recently drank the green kool-aid an got a CT-25 dust extractor, very nice!@@RichardBoisclair-hw6nb

[@kennethvogt9379]

I know it’s a small thing, but I really appreciated the tip to leave material on both sides of the blade to improve dust collection.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful 👍

[@beniaeschbach2626]

Hi Jason, thanx for your videos, been watching a couple. I would like to ad something for people who 'struggle' to get a straigt edge. You are working with top notch cabinet grade ply, which will stay true when cut. But if someone uses cheaper stuff, say construction grade ply, following might be helpful: Material (ply, solid timber or even a chunk of steel for the engineer) is allways under tension. Tip: release that tension first! If, for say, you cut a sheet of ply in half then make this rip cut first. 610, then trim 5 each side to your final 600. Like this you will shave off any bending that occured when tension was released when cutting the sheet in half. If confronted with a 'reference' edge that is suddenly not straight anymore, people often try to find the fault in the gear (track, saw) but it can be the sneaky material that plays up. Hope I explained in a way easy to understand.

[@paulbuffington9709]

I use a piece of painters tape to mark each of my reference edges as they are made. This way I can easily label the parts for the joinery process. ie side bottom, bottom front, etc etc.

[@bentswoodworking]

I like that as well when dealing with a lot of parts for sure 👍

[@rickwilson478]

Yeah, I do the same thing with Post-its ... they are easy to peel off and to write on. They don't adhere as well as painters tape but will stay put mid stack and usually they are just placed on the top panel of each stack of .. "base sides".."base tops, bottoms, rail splits, shelves".. etc. I place them in the 90* reference corner for the good length and end cuts. I usually add a pencil slash mark in that same corner.

[@dividend_investing_is_grea9523]

Good idea! I will be doing that in the future thanks.

[@whomadethatsaltysoup]

Thank you for sharing! You are a born pedagogue. An extremely clear explanation of how to achieve accurate cuts on sheet material. With the current cost of material, it's more important than ever to minimize error and avoid unnecessary waste. Not fretting about getting the whole sheet square, and just concentrating on the initial reference edge is much easier than wresting an 8 by 4 through the 5 cut method in a small workshop.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@g.wes.3906]

That tip about cutlist optimizater is a so genius. Sometimes it's just the little things that make so much difference to the end product.

[@jsmxwll]

When I learned with basic handtools in woodshop, keeping track of reference and show sides was drilled into us. Somewhere along the line I stopped paying as much attention to it. Machining wood can give me a false sense of confidence sometimes, and it's so fast that I can move through without thinking carefully about how I'm doing things. Great video. Its a good reminder.

[@lwcd2833]

This is spot on. I always make my cuts 1/4" over and then final on the table saw using the reference cut against the fence. I love checking cabs or drawers for square and they are spot on dead square. great video. thank you.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@danblanchette5201]

I watched your demo on installing Blum undermount drawer slides. Now I watched this demo on cutting sheet plywood with perfectly square corners. You are really, really good at explaining--in easy to follow directions--how to do stuff in a wood shop. You should've been my shop teacher long ago. So I'm bookmarking each and every demo you do here on KZbin. All will help in my future furniture projects. P.S.: I like your occasional references to certain specs on things like drill bits and handy tools I hadn't already heard of.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad it was helpful

[@michaelgrova225]

One thing I always love to see is when the craftsman and makers I enjoy watching are supporting other makers in the community.

[@bentswoodworking]

👍👍👊🏼

[@rjtumble]

I like the tip about making that first cut a little deeper so there is wood on the right side of the blade. I've noticed how much more dust I get if I'm "saving" wood by cutting just the edge clean.

[@bentswoodworking]

Oh yeah, nothing to trap it when just skimming the edge.

[@mkelly6591]

Great lesson on breaking a sheet down and squaring it up in a way that those of us without expensive tools can repicate. Thanks!

[@tommanseau6277]

This video really clarified things I've observed and thought were my fault with plywood. It's not. I now realize that I'll have to treat plywood in a very similar manner as hand tool work with solid wood. The rest is mechanics once the consistent system is in place.

[@99trampis]

This is awesome. As a DIYer I've never looked at breaking down a sheet of ply like this. You've made it much more simple for me to understand. Thank you and I just subbed! Keep up the great work!

[@bentswoodworking]

So glad you found it helpful

[@brianfuller5157]

I've built a fair amount of plywood cabinetry etc. and just never stopped to think of this ever so simple technique. I will use it from now on. Thank you for the great video

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad to help

[@derekw40]

Thank you, I’ve always been fascinated with cabinet building. Ive built a few. But i keep running into accuracy. Now i have the info i need to improve what i aspire to do.

[@zachgoestoeuro]

This has been a huge help to me. Thanks for explaining and going through the details. I don’t have the fancy table so I opted for a four foot drywall square and handle my cuts that way for now. In my recent project, everything lined up perfectly and it was a pretty amazing experience!

[@bentswoodworking]

You don’t need all the fancy stuff. Glad you found it helpful

[@johnnycorn7225]

ABSOLUTELY in love w my new combo Tracksaw(wen w festool tracks) and dewalt palm router guideplate setup on other side of track. Saves time and space, Perfect cuts.

[@lindamarsden8024]

Thank you, this was extremely helpful. I also use a piece of 4x8 insulation board to protect my work top and I've even used on my concrete floor when I have heavy MDF. This works great for those of us that are not that tall or strong. I've book marked the cut optimizer and looking forward to trying it out.

[@bentswoodworking]

It is a really useful tool especially for being free

[@ScottJones5280]

I appreciate and greatly value the clarity of your teaching. I’ve learned a lot from your channel and my projects get a little more efficient and precise every time. Thank you!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad to hear that

[@rogerpoulin2068]

Thank you for this video..I've been having problems trying to get square panels. Now I know why. Thanks again.

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re very welcome!

[@deponzi]

That was probably the best explanation on breaking down a sheet of plywood I have ever seen. Thank You so Much

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dooleyfan]

Great advice,thanks! I’m about to tackle building a complicated shelving & drawer storage unit, and this was very helpful.

[@OriginalCatfish42]

What I love about these videos is the neat little tools I discover, like that little pocket ruler. I had to pause the video and order one right away!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad it was helpful!

[@antonyhibberd8824]

Great information. Thanks. I just really appreciated that you used millimetres in your video as a measure of accuracy.

[@rikmiles6531]

I am a home builder of 40 years and I thought I could cut plywood. This is a very nice video. Well done.

[@rosemcommm]

I do this on a leftover piece of 3/4" flooring plywood, cheap plastic saw horses and a Makita track saw all day in my driveway. With great results.

[@arievanharen1488]

Having just started my own business thanks for this video, excellent for helping me get best practice processes in place. thank you so much!

[@stuwaugh7672]

Thankyou - I now realise how using what I thought was a dead on factory edge, compounded to make the last few cuts of the sheet way out. I always thought I was ‘saving’ wood by using factory edges and making exact measurement cuts from the sheet. A few mm of ‘wasted’ wood will lead to square projects that I won’t be secretly disappointed in.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@grantdavies6081]

This is a really good video. The number of times I've cut plywood for cabinets or drawers and found it square on one corner but not another, I wasn't being methodical. This is really straightforward, and I love how methodical it is. I'll try this out today, thanks for creating the video!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad it was helpful

[@evans_workshop]

Thanks Jason! Great video. Simple easy to follow instructions. I appreciate what you share with us!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@zone4garlicfarm]

I don't like using foam as a backer under the plywood. Foam sawdust is microplastics that end up in the enviroment. I use wood scraps to keep the plywood up off the bench top. Wood and glue are the only things that go into my dust collector. When I empty the collector the contents get composted instead of going to a landfill.

[@CredibleHulk10]

#Facts

[@robertgenelli8685]

Thanks for the advice, never trust factory edges , I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I’m in agreement of making your own, cheers from Scotland.

[@stakwalderbak5331]

Another great instructional video. I like the process of using parallel guides, MFT, and tablesaw. Fortunately I have all 3. Justifies the expense. The MFT was my last purchase and I wished I had bought it ages ago. All the plethora of shop built tables are fair enough but the MFT still rules I think.

[@SAMUELPEREZ-yc8uq]

Great tutorial. You have answered many of my RFIs in an easy to follow format. Thank you. Semper fidelis.

[@bentswoodworking]

I knew you were military as soon as I saw RFI 🤣

[@Wyman642]

Excellent practical advice. I appreciate the wisdom of cutting the pieces larger on the track saw for later precise final cutting on the table saw. And, of course, keeping track of the reference edges as they are created. Lesson learned. Thanks very much!

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@vincentzhang2160]

@@bentswoodworking may I ask why not do the precise final cut with the track saw? Is it a necessity to do it at the table saw? Personally I feel like track saw gives me cleaner cuts. Are you worried about the lack of a fence for track saw systems not producing perfectly square cuts?

[@buildingthecrowders]

This has been the best video I have found for breaking down plywood correctly!! Thank you!!

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome!!

[@ttttenney]

I learned something today, which is that factory sides are not always square as I always thought they were, so thank you for the info.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@dans4900]

Just check the edge. Factory edges are actually really good just by how plywood is made in the factory

[@philrabadi6757]

Great video Jason. I’ve really been enjoying these quick lessons you’ve been doing! Very helpful. Thanks so much

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@ZombieHaunter408]

I'm surprised your channel doesn't have more followers. I've been binging your videos and you do an excellent job explaining everything. Well done!

[@johnvodopija]

As a new track saw owner I found this video very helpful. Thank you 👍😎🇦🇺

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@perpetualmaker764]

Great video Jason. I use a similar technique and if feel it's much safer than putting a large sheet on my table saw. Also, having a workflow around the assembly table always made more sense to me!

[@bentswoodworking]

Thank you!

[@marymartindale996]

Thank you for your video. I am a complete beginner and appreciate you explaining it in a way that I can understand.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad it was helpful!

[@christianpetersen1782]

I’m a bit late on the scene here having just found you. I found your methods and presentation style very interesting and engaging. I learned a lot here to tweak my accuracy. I don’t have or want a table saw but I take your main point that it’s about the process so I can still use this to get more accurate results. Any more videos using track saws will be welcome here. Thank you so much and subbed! Greetings from 🇬🇧.

[@justinlee3139]

Hi, I'm at beginning stage and your lesson was greatly helpful. Many thanks.

[@ChalupaBatman9000]

Great advices for me as a beginner in woodworking. Keep it up!

[@gregoryjohnson3627]

Using the fence to measure and having the track flip up like that is something I look forward to building in to my workbench

[@Trishlicious]

At first I thought it was going to be all about the tools but those techniques I learned when I was in woodshop back in the 80s.

[@suearmstrong3404]

Nice job/explanation! I wasn't sure why you wouldn't just use the track saw but you explained perfectly why it would be important! Thank you!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@SuperCC112]

Omg! I had this exact problem. I thought the factory edge was square af, but it wasn't. Thank you for this video. It solved my problem. I need more plywood now.

[@patrickwhelan5703]

Oops, I have a confession too! Well, prove me wrong as I thought the factory edge was straight. This feels like the confessional page of woodworkers.

[@brianmcintyre5867]

Excellent workmanship. Thanks for the attention to details.

[@bentswoodworking]

Thank you

[@patheffernan3418]

This seems simply analogous to how we cut milled wood… you start with a reference edge, cut the other rip, establish a clean 90 degree crosscut face and measure and cut for length. The real secret, with whatever tools you use, is to ensure your setup is creating perfect parallel or perpendicular cuts! Nice video.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@garrett2635]

@@bentswoodworking Came here to say this. I usually rip a factory edge and then take a framing square and then rip a second edge so you know you one corner of the sheet is perfectly 90. I find this easier and I think it reduces your total number of crosscuts as opposed to having to make a 90deg cut on every crosscut. If you know a reference corner is 90deg then you can reference the whole corner vs having to mark out a perfectly perpendicular line every time.

[@marianam8643]

Really love your channel. I learn so much. Thanks very much for doing this!!!

[@TheVideoGameVault]

Great info. This really lays out the why and how. Getting my first track saw soon just for this purpose.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@gwapo247]

Very useful for me since I'm a beginner. Great technique!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@coreys63]

Good Stuff! As a rookie...I'm always making mistakes by not keeping track of my square edge. I'll be sure to start marking my edge(s) now 👍

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@workshopdojo]

I love your basic videos, so important, nicely explained.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@reedbrickell215]

Thanks for the idea of foam under the wood. Worked great.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad to hear

[@zawszeedek]

1000% agree! you just pointed out ALL what is necessary! great content… I wish to have such festool saw. it is amazing, and easy and gives repeatable cuts, is somebody here to sell used one?

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Just ordered a Festool cordless track saw and an additional 55" track. No more cutting larger sheet goods on the floor with a guide and circular saw on rigid foam. Using a Bora 4x8 Centipede for now, will build my own shop table with T-Tracks for the Festool and TSO parallel guide system. Thanks for your channel. You invest in Festool you invest in quality.

[@micschemelin663]

Great technique and you really spelled out in an easy to follow process. Thank you !

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@YT-User1013]

Great stuff, thanks!

[@ealdydar]

Cut List Optimizer is a must if you wood work. Ive been using it on my pc and mobile phone. Its not just for sheet goods. I build cabinets for a living and install for designers that order the exactly what you need. For example im using it to figure out if i have enough perfinished crown and furniture base. most of the time if you make one bad cut or out of order not cutting all your longs first generating smalls your short.

[@bentswoodworking]

It’s a great app!

[@dscritter614]

I'm a newbie. Learned a lot. Liked the work flow info. And yes, I am n awe of your setup.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad to hear that

[@cisco5400]

"Perfectly 90°" Brilliant, fantastic explanation! Very easy to understand. Tvx from Sweden

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@davidsaviano9012]

Sounds process, but the explanation and demonstration was even better! Thanks for sharing.

[@tedpuckett2779]

Really enjoyed this. Making all the reference sides was a great share. Will look into the freeware you mentioned as well. Thanks

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@joeladam742]

Great video. It was nice to see how a pro deals with the lack of square on factory edges. I like your festool setup. I have been trying to do the same sort of thing with my kreg aws

[@bentswoodworking]

Thanks, glad you found it helpful!

[@dougkelly8956]

One of the valuable things I've discovered from this channel is that the very nice TSO products now support the Kreg ACS track system (they didn't back when I first purchased the ACS).

[@Neoethical]

This was really helpful. I wrestled with this. Seems so obvious after seeing it. Thanks a ton!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@Nilsje]

Great video and a lot of useful tips! Love the fact you’re using metric. You’re a smart man 😃👌🏼

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@natureswrapture3922]

Very well explained. This has always been a problem for me using a regular circular saw. I've just invested in a track saw so hopefully true 90 degree cuts are in my future.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@samusnone2417]

Great educational video. Thank you

[@shane3584]

Very good tip's.i have been using the same methods for years except for the final table saw cut as I didn't have one suitable.i will have a new festool TKS 80 next week and will be fully using your method.thanks for a great tutorials.regards from Ireland.Shane 👍

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful!!

[@jessefurqueron5555]

Very similar to what we do for “precise” cuts. No MFTs, so use the TS75 tracksaw w TSO GRS16 PE to make two known reference edges w 3/4” foam backer (prefer the white urethane to pink stuff, just beware the “shiny” side in bright sunlight if outdoors)), 1” is not readily available in our part of the country. We usually establish those two known straight edges on the largest piece we can safely manage/move through the table saw (PM2000B w 50” fence). That manageable piece which is cut 1/4” to 1/2” oversized initially (if doing multiple yield pieces add/allow for tablesaw blade width cuts) may yield one final cut piece or perhaps dozens of smaller pieces from the initial two reference cuts. As always, just sharing my .02c, nothing more, nothing less.

[@bentswoodworking]

Thank you for sharing!!

[@timrowe5448]

Great, informative video! Thank You!

[@jaimegenovajr3257]

This will help me building a garage cabinet for my wife!.. thanks 🙏🏼

[@jaykepley5238]

Good instructional video, Jason. Thanks!

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@stephenoneil7743]

Thank you, GREAT video! Wish I watched it last week before building 3 cabinets and having to sand every edge to square.

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad it was helpful!

[@abdulkhaliqalsaif8883]

Great tips, very useful to me, learned new professional way of doing work. Thank you very much

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@septimuspretorius250]

Nice Job, sir: Your presentation was outstanding! I’m glad that I watched the entire video. I “liked and subscribed” to your channel. Keep them coming!!

[@bentswoodworking]

Thank you, glad you found it helpful

[@rebelchief6590]

This video was excellent. Super simple and smart!

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@pmelchman]

Great video Jason. The biggest take away for me was the Cutlist optimizer. I used to try a use Sketchup but that is way more work

[@bentswoodworking]

Such a helpful program

[@HarlyGuy13]

All around great video. I just purchased a Makita track saw and what a game changer it is. Thanks for the tips.

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@JoseHernandez-mj6ne]

I didn’t know about opposing corners. Thank you

[@brentprosser7293]

I tried to get by just using the festool system for cutting. And it is accurate......mostly. I can make it work with minor adjustments. But, I have realized I'm going to have to go with the hybrid approach you just laid out. I came to that realization a few weeks ago and your video just reinforced it. I'm currently researching whether to go with the laguna or with the harvey table saw. I think I'll be going with the laguna, as of today, and then when I finish building my new house and shop, I'll keep the laguna just for one purpose and then add the Harvey down the road for others. Might set it up like Frank Howarth did with his double table saw set up. As always, thanks for the videos!

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome!!

[@nsanerydah]

Great information!!

[@quietwoodworking]

I love this. Thank you!

[@iratozer9622]

Thank you.

[@craig8727]

My gosh you did a fantastic job of explaining all of this, very good work! I'll will be using your techniques during my first cabinet builds, thanks!

[@bentswoodworking]

You’re welcome

[@glennirwin4710]

Nice video as always.

[@josephfisk466]

Good stuff! Explained well

[@deany5709]

Excellent video. I'm a recent subscriber and love your videos. A long time ago I used to cut full sheets of plywood on my little Makita contractor's table saw. I was very lucky that I never got injured. 30 years later and I'm still using that table saw, though with a Ridge Carbide blade, but I've since used a circular saw to break down the full sheets. Will definitely follow your instruction on squaring the pieces! To silence the doubters, maybe you should try using a contractor's table and a circular saw using a plain straight edge. Just a thought.

[@bentswoodworking]

Even then, I’m sure I would get naysayers 🤣🤣

[@johnisley4578]

Another great vid that really helps newbies such as me ! Good Stuff Brent. Cheers

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad you found it helpful

[@fabioc.pereira5184]

As a hobbyist woodworker I just own a Makita track saw. I like your setup and I was able build a simple table similar to MFT. Appreciate your tips to rip cut square. Just Don have a table saw so , need to improvise to get good square cross cuts. Greetings from Brazil!!

[@bentswoodworking]

Nothing wrong with that 👍

[@a-carpenter9229]

Some really good tips. I have parallel guides for my track saw and have always been trying to rip the pieces with those bit always had some discrepancy between panels and trying to calibrate the parallel guides. I'm going to ditch my old way and do it the easy way like this

[@bentswoodworking]

Glad to help

[@irondave103]

Love this system 👍😎

[@paulwhealy5243]

Since getting my festool track saw, with 1/2mm accuracy or 1/2 the pencil line accuracy, the best feature of all is never having to trim to size on the table saw. My cuts are even smoother than the table saw with a fine blade. The magic to always get an 8' reference edge to start ripping, then start each set of crosscuts with a 90° reference edge also. 😊

[@matthewmills6452]

Exactly. Over cutting is great if you were using a chalk line and a skilsaw in the driveway before going to the table saw. Modern track saws are replacing table saws for many cabinet makers.

[@PrettyGreenMonk]

Agree my track saw makes the right cut first time!

[@johnnycorn7225]

I got the $100 tracksaw from wen and the festool tracks w a router plate adapter on other side of track, cuts dead nuts 100 every time, and SO easy to square up and guide. Perfect instant easy squared routing on same panel you just cut. Absolutely DREAM space saving setup that pumps out QUALITY work in no time.

[@SuperSadom]

Works as advertised!

[@charliepace8051]

Good job

[@glennoverhoff6589]

I get it now. No guarantee that the factory edge is even straight. The track saw takes care of that and becomes ground zero for the reference. Square up the ends and trim off what ever is left at the very end. Brilliant, simple. Thank you!

[@bentswoodworking]

Exactly. Glad you found it helpful