Using plunge saw to cut plasterboard

[Mark A]

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

 

[MickCheese]

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

 

[Mark A]

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

 

[RogerS]

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?

 

[Mattty]

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.

 

[Jacob]

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!

 

[Anonymous]

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

 

[Jacob]

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.

 

[Mattty]

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.

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.

 

[Anonymous]

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.

 

[Jacob]

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.

 

[Anonymous]

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>

 

[Jacob]

... 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.

 

[Anonymous]

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

 

[jasonB]

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

 

[Jacob]

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

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.

 

[Anonymous]

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

 

[barkwindjammer]

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:

 

[Lons]

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.

 

[Mark A]

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