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Machine Best portable tool for short orthogonal slices?

Machine
slow-poke

slow-poke

Ultra Member
Not for metal cutting.

I need to make about 20, 4" wide cutouts for the posts in the outside border boards. The material is 5.5" wide composite (Trex) deck boards. The cutouts range from as little as 1/4" up to 4".

A mill would do a wonderful job, but I can't fit 20' long pieces of Trex in my mill so I need a portable tool.

My jigsaw (perhaps I just need a better one?), does a hack job, because the blade bends instead of making clean vertical cuts. I then need to re-saw after flipping the board over. My jig saw also leaves marks in the composite at the edges of the skid plate because of all the vibration.

A router might work but setting up guides for every slot is not practical.

I have a 4" mini skill saw, but it's a bit too big, so too easy to overshoot the desired 4" on one side unless started in the exact perfect location and then I still need the jig saw to square up the cut.

Perhaps a really small circular saw like this:

WerkWeit Mini Circular Saw Set Professional Multifunctional Circular Saw Machine Set 400W High Powered Compact Circular Saw with Tool Box, 6 Carbide Tipped Blades for Cutting Wood,Plastic,Tile,Metal : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

WerkWeit Mini Circular Saw Set Professional Multifunctional Circular Saw Machine Set 400W High Powered Compact Circular Saw with Tool Box, 6 Carbide Tipped Blades for Cutting Wood,Plastic,Tile,Metal : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement
www.amazon.ca

Quality seems questionable, and looks like 15mm depth of cut would not be deep enough for Trex

Any ideas?
 
One website mentions that you need a "fine tooth finish blade" when using a jigsaw for cutting composite. Maybe your blade is too coarse?

Is it a variable speed jigsaw? Maybe adjust the speed to get less vibration/smoother cut?

To avoid marring surfaces with cutting tools I will cover the underside of the plate/base with painter's tape. The backside of the tape slides over surfaces fairly easy so it doesn't impede the tool.
 
Milwaukee portable bandsaw.

Never used it on composite but I think it would cut very well. Several straight cuts inwards, angle cuts to remove the material, then the jigsaw to even up the back?
 
In the past when I was doing plastic siding for the house I created a special jig with plywood and 1x2 and 1x4 guides so that I could use the skilsaw to just follow the guides and cut the siding. Sometimes a simple jig is the best solution.
 
You are over thinking. Rough cut with a jig saw and clean up with a router. Make yourself a plywood jig and use a pattern bit with a rub bearing. Make the pattern to your deepest cutout and then you can keep moving it shallower. Or make a couple jigs, one for deeper notches and one for shallower. Make it big enough so you have room on either side to clamp it and not interfere with the router.
The only thing with a router, it will leave radiused corners. This is what you want. Always leave a radius on a cutout. Prevents cracking in cold weather or if it flexes. This applies to plastic laminate as well. Many times I have seen guys jig saw out a grommet for AV and internet and leave a square corner. A month later the counter or desk to has a crack running from the corner
 
What @Martin w says.

Years ago I made a wooden picket fence. The board tops had a curved peak instead of straight edges. Impossible to cut freehand.

I made a jig out of 3/4" plywood with the right form shape and then stuffed the fence boards into the jig and used a router to cut the boards. The roller bearing on the router bit followed the jig board and made perfect fence boards one at a time.

Some other suggestions:

Use a sawzall instead of a jig saw. The blades are much less flexible.

Use a hand saw. Lotta work but does a better job.

Use a guide board to stop the marks and make perfect angles.

Use a portable band saw.

Get a pet Tyrannosaurus Rex with the right bite pattern and chomp the whole deck out in one bite.
 
jcdammeyer said:
In the past when I was doing plastic siding for the house I created a special jig with plywood and 1x2 and 1x4 guides so that I could use the skilsaw to just follow the guides and cut the siding. Sometimes a simple jig is the best solution.
Click to expand...

Works well.
Allows me to make cleanup passes that remove the wedge created by the blade deflection. Thanks for the suggestion.🙂

jorogi said:
Sounds like a perfect opportunity to buy several new tools. Report back your findings.
Click to expand...

Checking in, new Bosch jig saw, working better than the Mastercraft I was using.
 
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