# Using plunge saw to cut plasterboard



## Mark A (23 Apr 2011)

The Festool website says that the TS55 can be used to process plasterboard so I had a go recently cut up some with my Makita plunge saw and it was great - the cuts were as clean as they are in plywood. Much better than hacking at it with a stanley knife!
But are there any side effects of me doing this in the future, like the dust clogging up intakes and damaging bearings etc (although I attached it to an old vacuum cleaner)? I'm not too bothered about the blade because I could always buy another one and reserve the old blade for plasterboard. 

Thanks

Mark


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## MickCheese (23 Apr 2011)

On a first read I thought that may be a sledge hammer to crack a not but on thinking more I can see when I may do this. Trying to cut an 8 foot board has sometimes resulted in tearing of the uncut side as it slides from my grasp before I have had an oportunity to run a knife along the other side.

I don't think it would do any damage.

I would need to try it before committing as a knife still seems easier, quicker to set up and just as accurate.

Mick


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## Mark A (23 Apr 2011)

I suppose gypsum dust isn't any worse (or better!) than MDF dust so I think it'll be alright.

The cut is perfect in every way and is soooo fast - you literally run it through the board, job done!

I won't be cutting up any plasterboard for the time being - just when our house sells and we buy our next project!!

Thanks

Mark


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## RogerS (23 Apr 2011)

I dunno....seems a bit like sacrilege to me....bit like using the blade from your Lie-Neilsen smoother to open a tin of paint.

Not sure I'd be that fussed about grotty edges on plasterboard...it's going to be covered in plaster anyway, isn't it?


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## Mattty (23 Apr 2011)

Madness. Why would you want to use a saw to do what a stanley knife does in the same time? I am confident that most people could cut plaster board faster and safer with a knife than with a saw, and certainly cheaper.


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## Jacob (23 Apr 2011)

Agree.
If you were "hacking at it" you were doing it wrong.
Sharp knife and straight edge. Quick, easy, dust free. 
If you put a hook on the end of a lath for a straightedge, you can hold it tight with one hand whilst you cut with the other. Like having three hands!


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## Anonymous (23 Apr 2011)

using a straight edge is just as bad as using a circ saw, use your tape and do it proper!


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## Jacob (23 Apr 2011)

mike71":2di0ihzw said:


> using a straight edge is just as bad as using a circ saw, use your tape and do it proper!


Er, what? You can't cut along a tape. 
Nope - straightedge (any old lath) and Stanley knife is the tried and tested way.


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## Mattty (23 Apr 2011)

Jacob":i35arwoq said:


> mike71":i35arwoq said:
> 
> 
> > using a straight edge is just as bad as using a circ saw, use your tape and do it proper!
> ...


I suspect he's refering to the method at the start of this video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJAbOopDhd8

The above is certainly the quickest way i know, but only good for parallell cuts, it also takes a bit of getting used too.
I like your idea too Jacob, and is certainly the method that i would suggest.


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## Anonymous (23 Apr 2011)

the problem with using any old lath for a straightedge is that the knife will cut at a slight angle, unless you use a reaiy thin straightedge, the tape method is the neatest and the quickest.


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## Jacob (23 Apr 2011)

mike71":3abl94ai said:


> the problem with using any old lath for a straightedge is that the knife will cut at a slight angle, unless you use a reaiy thin straightedge, the tape method is the neatest and the quickest.


Angle doesn't matter - it's only a scoring cut before you snap the board, and anyway a Stanley knife will do a perpendicular cut against a 1/2" lath
Watched the video. Looks really difficult. Lath straightedge much quicker and easier and will cut lines other than parallel. I usually have 2 - one for length, other for width, both with a little hook at the end.


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## Anonymous (23 Apr 2011)

ok jacob i bow down to your superior skills in plasterboard cutting. as for awkward cuts you do them freehand. it takes practice a bit like hand sharpening and rounded bevels =D>


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## Jacob (23 Apr 2011)

mike71":zjvndynl said:


> ... it takes practice a bit like hand sharpening and rounded bevels =D>


No not really. Any fool can do it. No skill involved at all. Give a chimpanzee a lath (with a little hook) and a stanley knife, and he would be off!
Whereas freehand sharpening requires a bit of skill and intelligence. Not a lot, just a bit.

PS I say "hook" but a nail or a screw would do, just to locate one end of your lath whilst you hold the other and pull it tight to the line.


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## Anonymous (23 Apr 2011)

[/quote]No not really. Anybody can do it. No skill involved at all.[/quote]
same as cutting plasterboard without a straightedge,


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## jasonB (23 Apr 2011)

The other disadvantage of using a circ saw is that you need to lay the boards horizontally which is not always possible of a crouded site or when working in a small room.

The tape method is quicker on parallel cuts, by the time you have measured and marked each end where to hold the lath you could have cut it with the tape/knife method

What you really want is a Bladerunner Note no lath required :wink: 

J


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## Jacob (23 Apr 2011)

jasonB":3qe59m1o said:


> The other disadvantage of using a circ saw is that you need to lay the boards horizontally which is not always possible of a crouded site or when working in a small room.
> 
> The tape method is quicker on parallel cuts, by the time you have measured and marked each end where to hold the lath you could have cut it with the tape/knife method
> 
> ...


Never see that before. How does it do both sides without cutting through i.e. he seems to have to snap the board off just the same?
Something tells me a stanley knife and straightedge would still win in a race - specially if non parallel cuts were involved.


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## Anonymous (23 Apr 2011)

when i return from france jacob, i will give a race? loser buys the beer 
regards mike clewlow


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## barkwindjammer (23 Apr 2011)

That 'bladrunner' looks interesting, it either uses magnetic force or witchcraft-I would hazard a guess at the former, how much does it cost Jason ?

ok, I've just googled it
Roger over and out :shock:


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## Lons (23 Apr 2011)

*EH ?*

Why create unnecessary dust and risk clogging up your saw when a stanley knife is quick, clean and dust free? :? 

Bob

ps - I cut a lot of plasterboards at times but £35 for a gizmo that cuts both sides seems a bit steep to me. bet the blades don't last long either and will be expensive.


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## Mark A (23 Apr 2011)

Sorry - I didn't mean to open a can of worms!!! :shock: 

I used my saw to scribe some polystyrene backed plasterboard to a wall which wasn't going to be plastered, so it had to be neat. I won't be cutting any plasterboard again until our house eventually sells and we buy our next project (I'm not a builder by the way!)

It just got me thinking about how I could cut plasterboard faster and neater but the walls would probably be plastered anyway so it doesn't matter. I've done the stanley knife/straightedge and tape measure approaches in the past which have worked alright, although I haven't tried the Bladerunner advertised in the ITS catalogue yet - might be a good idea?

Thanks
Mark


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## Lons (24 Apr 2011)

mark aspin":3ve51rdx said:


> Sorry - I didn't mean to open a can of worms!!! :shock:
> 
> I used my saw to scribe some polystyrene backed plasterboard to a wall which wasn't going to be plastered, so it had to be neat. I won't be cutting any plasterboard again until our house eventually sells and we buy our next project (I'm not a builder by the way!)
> 
> ...



Nothing wrong with opening a can of worms IMO Mark and absolutely nothing wrong in experimenting - how else can we find out what works (much better that you use your expensive saw than me if it knackers it :lol: :lol: )- as long as you post to stop anyone else trying it.

Bob


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## Mark A (24 Apr 2011)

mark aspin":130t39c4 said:


> much better that you use your expensive saw than me if it knackers it



So what your saying is that I should be the guinea pig!!!


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## Benchwayze (24 Apr 2011)

I think when I line out my new shed I'll just get some trestles, a sheet of MDF and cut the plasterboard using a Stanley Knife. Like I always did.
As someone said, the cut edges will be hidden anyway! 
(I found some nice old Lyncrusta wallpaper that will just do the job.) :wink: 

John


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## Alex (24 Apr 2011)

I use chalk line,s/knife and finish with surform rasp. Most cuts are not parallel with older builds.


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## highlander (24 Apr 2011)

Curved cuts with the bladerunner are ok but after about half an hr it was back to the stanley knife,rule/ tape,have used a ripsnorter to cut 19mm gyproc planking but the dust from it was pretty bad,also used a bench saw to rip glasroc sheets but again dust was crazy but was pretty quick as they're quite tough sheets


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## Lons (24 Apr 2011)

mark aspin":2hjzbdhy said:


> mark aspin":2hjzbdhy said:
> 
> 
> > much better that you use your expensive saw than me if it knackers it
> ...



:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## bosshogg (24 Apr 2011)

The traditional method of cutting plasterboard on site, is to set the boards horizontal on trestles, using the self edge of the boards and holding a folding 3' rule with your thumb and finger against this to the correct cut width, similar to a marking gauge with you hand, you hold the knife blade against the end of the rule with the point of the blade pushed into the plaster board just enough to cut the facing paper of the board. you then move the cut board out from the pile say 50mm to give clearance, then holding the middle of the edge of the board snap the cut down forming a right angle, you then feed the blade in to the underside of this and cut the back paper of the board. If your going for a corner or ceiling cut or anything similar, you then cut a back bevel so the face side, butts up hard to the other board. you can actually download the "Gypsum White Book" - the industry standard - here http://www.british-gypsum.com/liter...ach time (homer), life's to short...bosshogg


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