How To Square A Sheet Of Plywood

Cross cutting plywood sheets to desired length.

How to square a sheet of plywood.

I bought two sheets of 3 4 inch birch plywood and soon discovered they were not square. These thin layers also called plies are glued together in alternating perpendicular directions to create a cross graining pattern. A string or a chalkline makes a ready reference for checking the straightness of a sheet of plywood. Divide the roof s area by 32 32 is the total area of one sheet of plywood to find this figure.

Not all plywood is exactly 4 wide. This video is a introduction to a short series about testing my panel cutting method with the 5 cut method. The t square i got from the big box is worst than the sheet of plywood. Add an additional 10 for waste and mistakes.

Place the framing square with the short leg flush with the sheet s edge and the long leg against the mark. I use the festool multi routing template to set the festool track saw square. Item 12190 model 154783154783. For example if your roof is 3 000 square feet divide 3 000 by 32.

Divide by the total square footage by the square footage of a sheet of plywood to find the number of sheets required to cover the space. For example if the area to be covered in plywood is 800 ft 2 then 25 sheets of plywood will be needed to cover it. Now that s how to easily rip cut a plywood sheet but what about cross cuts. Again you could swap step 3 and 4 but i usually rip first then cross cut second.

This comes out to about 94 sheets of 4 x 8 plywood. A 4 8 sheet of plywood is 32 ft 2. 800 32 25 sheets. 15 32 cat ps1 09 square structural douglas fir sheathing application as 4 x 8.

Plywood is a popular choice for residential and light duty construction and is made from thin sheets of veneer that have been peeled from debarked wood. When cutting down i can get two sides parallel with no problem but have difficulty getting two adjacent sides square. This pattern results in added strength and stability that resists shrinkage and expansion.