Skilsaw… of Death!

I got a new pre-owned Skilsaw for my Birthday which, as luck would have it is almost completely identical to my current Skilsaw.   Rather than have two identical saws (who needs that?) I took it upon myself to make one of them better.

I use the Skilsaw when I have really large panels to be cut because it's sure a lot easier to zip through them with a Skilsaw then to trying and manhandle them on to the table saw.  Unfortunately, there are several problems with that:

1. I have a hard time making perfectly straight cuts.  I always cut against a straight edge but I often don't push into it hard enough and the saw will pull away slightly.  Sometimes I top the saw when cutting through the last bit and make a non 90 degree edge.  Both are bad when I'm trying to make something like cabinets from that piece of plywood.
2. Tear-out.  Cutting nice plywood with a when there is no support on either side of the blade means I get a lot of tear-out.  I don't like that.

My solution was to attach a new sub-base of 1/2" Baltic Birch and Arborite.  I then lowered the saw blade through that sub-base.  Now I essentially have a zero-clearance base for my Skilsaw, which is great in that it now supports both sides of the cut, but it's bad because now the guard is completely disabled.  Oh well!

I routed a 3/4" groove in the base parallel to the blade and created a guide that the saw can ride on with a 3/4" cleat.  Unlike using just the straight edge, where the saw can move away from the fence, the saw is can only move backwards and forwards but not side to side when cutting.  To make a cut I just clamp the guide to the work piece lining up the edge with where I want my cut and voila.

The end result is very easy and very accurate cutting with my Skilsaw while completely sacrificing safety.

You can see the cutting guide under the saw in this next picture.

Another little tidbit.  Long cords on many tools like Skilsaws are annoying.  They are a nuisance to store and always seem to have a knot in them.  Also, they are NEVER long enough which means that you use an extension cord and inevitably the plugs will snag on something when you are 3/4 of the way through your cut and you'll find yourself off balance with one leg up and the air trying to unhook the cord with your toe while the saw is still running.  Cutting it short and forcing the extension cord plug to be up by your hands makes things better.  Or at least I find it does.