How to Cut Plywood Without a Saw

[@scootermom1791]

This is extremely helpful for those of us who don't have the "fancy" professional tools but need to use wood for various projects. Thank you for posting! 🙂

[@sharksys]

This is one of the biggest reasons I love watching this channel. I would have never thought of even attempting this. I can actually see this as very practical on 1/4" pieces that have close tolerances. Thanks so much!

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you Michael

[@AngleIron426]

I never would have thought this was possible, I really like that it's low tech and produces no saw dust. Thank you for sharing.

[@floobertuber]

Well, a LITTLE saw (sanding) dust... but you're right, it's far less than a table saw would spew forth.

[@dennicepacheco3944]

Awesome advice. I'm a married single mom. I literally have to do everything by myself. Was waiting for my husband to cut this plywood for 3 days. Looked up how to cut without a saw and when i saw this video i went running for my box cutter. Project finished! Thank you!❤❤❤

[@gotchufam2964]

I have a 2mm thick piece of wood and I was wondering if an exacto knife would do the trick, but my mom said it wouldn’t. I’m glad I found this video because not only do I know that it would definitely cut through this tiny piece of wood I have, but it would also cut through my thicker pieces. This was very informative and helpful👍🏻

[@orange-peeler]

Thank you! Great idea for those of us living in apartments where we can't use circular saws. For the harder cuts, it would be nice to mark the lines this way, then finish the cut with a hand saw!

[@canisamator7937]

That wast SUPER helpful! I wanted more shelves for a bathroom cabinet that Im actually using for craft paints storage. Purchased 1/4 inch plywood & figured I'd have a handyman cut them for me until he told me he couldn't cut 1/4 inch & it needed to be thicker. I have no idea why he said that, but after watching your video, I cut 3 additional shelves myself that came out perfectly!

[@evepaludan7713]

Thank you so much for this video! I think I'm going to do my project with the quarter inch plywood. I'm so excited because I need to fix a floor and I can't afford to buy a saw or hire someone.

[@lincolndickerson1293]

Effectively a 0 kerf cut if one is required. This would be super effective for a waterfall edge. This is basically how drywall is cut. Thanks for sharing.

[@lindablake9540]

Thank you! I wanted to cut just a 2x 6 notch from the top of a sheet of 1 2” sheathing for my garage this afternoon - to accommodate a flat horizontal brace on my rafters that I hadn’t noticed was there. The other sheet went flat on with no cuts. Altogether, a new 8’ wide home gym. I have few tools, as I mostly don’t do any building. Just crafts. I have a miter saw, for the two vertical 2” cuts. And I do have a sharp box cutter like you show! And a drill, and some files. I didn’t know how I would cut the 6” horizontal part out, except maybe to drill a 6” line of holes, so thank you very much! Even if it’s not perfect it should be better than drilling a bunch of little holes and then connecting them out.

[@theundercoverguy]

Wish I could like this video more than once.

[@J0ermungand]

I'm used to exclusively cutting thinner plywood with knives all the way through. I mostly use it to build project boxes and the biggest thing I"ve built that way was a computer case.

[@SpecificLove7]

Very nice!

[@kakylong2]

Great video for people like us who do not own a saw.

[@floobertuber]

Fascinating video, Clinton! The trouble with MDF makes a lot of sense, considering its composition. Plywood, with its plies being merely face-glued, succumbs easily to a razor slicing those layered wood fibers. But MDF, so uniformly perfused with resin/glue/binder, is denser, plus the non-wood component resists that blade terribly. Also, the un-sliced portion of the MDF has no natural cleave planes, hence that "snap mark" is helter-skelter as all get-out.

[@dian3145]

This made my day. Thanks for the reason to smile. BTW, even 1/8” mdf sucks to cut with a knife…knife goes squirrely with each pass.

[@tropezando]

Mwahaha. My midnight insomnia apartment diy adventures just leveled up. Thanks for the tute, I'm off to buy a 50 pack of utility blades at the 24 hr store 😁

[@iankaart]

I understand the leverage part, why not flip it the other way then you would have had more to snap with? Thanks for the video!!

[@JG24AJ]

Never knew one could do this, first time seeing & hearing of it. Now I hope you've gotten some rest. As always Thanks For Sharing & God Bless All!!

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you Anthony

[@DidNotFinish.]

this video is perfect for what i want to do! thank you so much

[@lloydlowery1513]

saw after running tape. quick and good enough for my projects. interesting video though

[@JAndrade52-jl7ce]

wasn’t the video i was tryna look for but i got too interested and watched the whole thing 😂

[@1TimothyFourTen]

Thank you. I came here bc i need a way to make drawer bottoms but i dont use power saws, and currently im making them out of cardboard wrapped in packimg tape and wrapped again in shelfliner for rigidity. Very sturdy but It takes a long time to wrap the cardboard and it doesnt look that good.

[@defuller1]

I've done this with thinner plywoods like 1/8" for drawer bottoms and it can be faster and cleaner than a saw, but with anything thicker I would just use a saw.

[@SpecificLove7]

I didn't even think about using it for drawer bottoms, that is a great idea thank you

[@1pcfred]

But what is a saw besides many knives? Really that's what a saw is. Though rip saws are more like chisels. Crosscuts saws work like knives.

[@TheLovelyMissBeans]

This is so crazy, but I really admire the "what the heck, let's see what happens!" spirt of it all!

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you MissBeans. It just felt right.

[@cybersubbu]

Great useful video 👌👌, would be good if you also could mention the exact names of the tools you have used in response to this comment. Sorry for my ignorance🙁🙏

[@purpleheart977]

Very informative!!🙏

[@jeli89]

God bless you! 😊 Thank you very much for help!

[@fuqui035]

I have to cut quarter inch I'm glad I tuned in

[@michealhand1001]

Hello SLC you can get a heavier duty Bladed Cutter heavy weighted😄 Brilliant idea.

[@alohaIslandersLuau]

Great Video & advice!

[@PAOLINAG]

Life saver🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💕

[@inneybaby2506]

I don't think I would've used the 3/4" plywood if simply using a box cutter & snapping it would've worked ! It would've been just a little to "flimsy" for me. But for thinner stuff it's a good idea, especially if you don't feel like dragging out the circular saw.

[@kevinohara8671]

iv been doing this for years I'm building my house I cut all the bricks like that and the rsj beams I'm on my 10th year and iv done 3 bricks and one door and frame its fantastic lol

[@alohaIslandersLuau]

Very cool !

[@djjoeykmusic]

Great video Thank you so much

[@VagabondTE]

Whenever I'm cutting something thick with a utility blade, what I like to do is make my score lines, and then when I'm bending, lightly keep running the blade through. You don't even need to press hard to bend the board or run the blade. As you're applying pressure the blade cuts a lot more material because its under stress. You want to be careful if you're doing this by yourself. That's why I use light preasure. So I don't accidentally slip and cut myself. But the more you bend the more you cut every time. You can work your way through some very thick material.

[@SpecificLove7]

Thank you for the tips

[@powertoggled6775]

bro has quad digit IQ

[@PDXDrumr]

Great tip.

[@howler5000]

I've used a similar idea to get a clean cut with a dull blade.

[@AncoraImparoPiper]

The problem is , what if I cannot snap it? In my project, I need to retrospectively cut a square into 1/4 inch ply wood. The piece is inside a door frame, so how can I cut into that plywood and still reduce the tear out?

[@GreenEagleVR]

Trying to DIY while the kids are asleep:

[@stevec2513]

And the answer to the riddle is "because he can."

[@SpecificLove7]

LOL

[@JuanPerez-yw7mw]

tremendous.. thank you so much for this. prior to this video i accidentally snappped it😅

[@AB-C1]

Nice job, I was wondering about this just a couple of weeks ago never tried it but wondered if it would work when I was ordering some new blades.. now I know! 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

[@michealhand1001]

Hello there is a Rectangular blade available for industrial use comes with its own knife blade holder UK/Irl

[@ajsiemers]

The inconvenience of having to make everything 12” or more so it’ll be easy to snap, is just óne argument to keep my saws

[@davidm5963]

Really helpful video! I've been making end cuts on some veneered plywood but have been running into issues with tearout using a circular saw. In this video it looks like you were going along the grain with your cuts, do you think it would work going against the grain too?

[@SpecificLove7]

Some of these can help going across the grain but that type of cut is difficult with almost any type of Saw.

[@Adliscience]

How about cutting circles in a plywood with that technique? woyld it work?

[@srinivasm1011]

Best idea

[@barryallen9137]

What are those grey mats on your work table and where did you buy them? Thanks

[@SpecificLove7]

They are made for fabric crafts, but work well in my shop. I have it listed on my AMAZON Influencer Page (paid link): www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-6a30516b

[@inneybaby2506]

Most craft stores or fabric stores have it. Like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Joann's Fabrics or even Walmart as long as it has a fabric or sewing/quilting section. Edit: Read the descriptions first ! Some mats are only made to withstand a rotary cutting tool for fabric or paper. Some are made a little stronger to withstand a utility knife, but probably with light pressure.

[@1pcfred]

It's called a self healing mat. It's a lot of little strands of rubber that stand up. When you cut on one a knife passes between the strands. Cutting stuff on them is very nice too.

[@WarrChan]

2 years later… I finally have the first carcass to the cabinets I was trying to make…

[@SpecificLove7]

Slow and steady wins the race 🙂

[@WarrChan]

@SpecificLove7 Just kidding. I'm looking to make trays for eyeglass frames with 1/8 ply or MDF and I think this method might save a lot of time and dust clean up.

[@devashishmandal33]

Use chesal for thick ply

[@markk3254]

I'll have to remember this next time the wife is on the warpath so I can spend the entire day out in the shop...

[@silversage03]

Where there's a will, there's a way!!

[@yaldaazami7562]

I need this vid to cut my boomerang

[@DeWitteWilson]

I watched this and thought - "I'll never need to know how to do that" and this morning I was working on a project and it's too early to run my big saw and my son must have hidden my scroll saw, so - Guess what I did?? Thank you!!!!!

[@SpecificLove7]

It is awesome to know it help you. Thank you for sharing.

[@cabman86]

I think I'll stick with my saw. Back in the day, the 70s, I cut plywood with a handsaw.

[@corvuschromatic_G-69]

🤔Hmm Soo... You ran out of SHOP KLEAT and PVC ideas, Didn't Ya🤷‍♂⁉⁉⁉

[@jasonb4350]

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!

[@ilia-ned]

Won't it split into layers?

[@zaimhazmin8851]

oooh this is new! measure once cut gazillion times. i have no idea why im watching this, maybe im hoping you use something my caveman ancestors would😑

[@1pcfred]

Without watching the video I'm going to guess karate chop. Now let me watch the video to see if I'm right.

[@SpecificLove7]

LOL

[@ipick4fun27]

I guess the conclusion is use some kind of saw when dealing with plywood. If you don't have table saw, at least use jig saw or circular saw with a saw guide (Straight edge). LOL.

[@SpecificLove7]

Very true

[@thepewplace1370]

A pair of clamps (optional), a straight board, and a cheap circ saw will get you a lot of mileage if money is the issue. I could see this method for thin/finish plywood needs though (as another commenter said, drawer bottoms), and I do basically this to cut my zero clearance inserts out of 1/4" birch.

[@dannymurphy1779]

I would use a pen knife type of marker not the Stanley, I think you were putting too much pressure on the blade and the knife could slip.

[@SpecificLove7]

Maybe, it was definitely a learning process

[@joemamma2647]

I mean this works if you got time to waste haha. Definitely dont this if your trying to make money. Just buy a saw. 😂

[@vincentlee2460]

Ok, im going to throw all my table saw and curcular saw away

[@jlr1487]

How to cut plywood without a saw ? Ask a friend/family/neighbour who own a saw to cut it for you...

[@Orla.b]

Anyone successfully try this on 5mm plywood?

[@David.M.]

Naw, I'll stick with a saw.

[@SpecificLove7]

Good idea

[@1pcfred]

I use a similar technique for cutting fiberglass boards. Because fiberglass absolutely destroys saws. There's a trick where you can lean the knife over at different angles on progressive passes that makes it spit up slivers. So you can get to a decent depth in the cut.

[@robertmcdonald3101]

Argument could be made that he still used a saw....a 1 tooth saw...or is that a knife??

[@SpecificLove7]

🙂

[@berthatton9410]

I use my wife's sewing scissors.........

[@floobertuber]

For that stylish "pinking shears" edge! I like it! Epilogue: Pan to wife, who shows visible confusion about her scissors' dullness.

[@markduggan3451]

I think I'd prefer using a saw.

[@roydawson9478]

Well, there's a solution looking for problem. Just sayin'.