Cut Stringer

Question

I'm pretty good with tools, but I'm concerned with getting straight cuts on the stair stringers with my circular saw. Are there any tricks or helpful hints on making straight cuts with a circular saw?

Answer

The one thing I do when cutting with a circular saw is look at the blade where it cuts the line. I don't line up the notch at the front of the saw plate with the line on the board. You'll notice that it is easier to see the line on the board when the blade is cutting to the left of the line. This isn't always possible, especially cutting out stringers. Just cut slowly through the stringer. If you see the blade wandering off the line, pull the saw back a bit and correct it.

When you come to where the lines on the stringer intersect at a 90 degree angle, stop cutting. Don't cut past the line. After cutting all the lines with your >circular saw, go back and finish the cuts (straight down) with a hand saw, jig saw or reciprocating saw. On a stringer you want to leave as much wood under the treads as possible so don't cut any strands of grain that don't have to be cut.

Dave