For crosscutting long boards and making miter cuts, this shopmade saw guide is accurate, portable, easy to use and economical to build.

The guide is simply an angle-iron and plywood track sized to fit the base of a portable circular saw. The guide is perched atop legs at each end. Each leg is made from a pair of 3-1/2-in. pipe flanges connected by a 3/4-in. by 1-1/2-in. pipe nipple. The legs provide clearance for the work and allow the track to pivot for making angle cuts.

To use, clamp the guide at the proper angle in relation to the fence on the plywood base. Before cutting, secure the saw’s blade guard up out of the way with a screw threaded through a hole in the blade housing. Make sure you remove the screw before the saw is used in the conventional manner.

Another note of caution: The direction of blade rotation tends to lift the work from the table, so make sure the work is tight against the fence and can’t shift. Otherwise, the work might pinch the sawblade and cause the saw to lift out of the guide rails. On my 7-1/4-in. saw, the depth of cut is limited to 1-3/4 in., but this covers most of the crosscutting work I do.

Jack Fisher, Dayton, Ohio

Fine Woodworking Magazine, June 1984 No. 46

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Festool DF 500 Q-Set Domino Joiner

This joinery machine revolutionized woodworking for so many. There is no easier way to get mortise and tenon joints—but it comes at a cost.

Buy at Amazon

MicroJig Matchfit dovetail clamps

These unique clamps have angled tips that hold templates and fences in place without getting in the way.

Buy at Amazon

Bessey EKH Trigger Clamps

Bessey EKH series quick-release trigger-style clamps are simple to use and maintain consistent pressure. Trigger clamps that perform the way you've always wished they would!

Buy at Amazon