Learn How to cut paneling with a circular saw(& Be the master of Panel-cutting Art)

Wall paneling, indeed, has a great impact on the decoration of the wall.

Admit it!!!

You hopefully see a handful of paintings that make the wood planking nice.

But here is behind the scenes…….

To ensure the right cutting technique, you need to use the right tool. In this case, a circular saw could be a useful one. You can easily do straight-line cuts using the circular saw.

So, how to cut paneling with a circular saw? A circular saw typically comes with paneling blades to make the paneling cutting easier. Also, the regular fine-tooth wood blade works well if you have no paneling blades. If you want to keep the paneling’s finished surface splintering-free, then start cutting from the backside.

What is the best tool to cut paneling?

A sabre saw with a fine-tooth blade is considered the best tool to ensure precision cutting. You can efficiently cut paneling using that tool. Plus, that tool lets you cut the paneling easily and quickly. But, one downside is you can’t easily cut the straight line in freehand.

Can you use a table saw to cut paneling?

Yes, you can, but before that, you need to ensure the following tips.

• Firstly, you need to install a laminate blade or a panel-cutting blade on your table saw.
• Then, uplift the blade position by 1 inch from the tip to the highest tooth.

Quick question: What’s the best way to cut wall paneling?

To make a lengthwise cut or rip in wall paneling, you can choose a table saw with a fine-tooth wood blade.

A Detailed guide- How to cut Paneling using a Circular Saw?

If your project demands continuous cutting, you can easily go for the circular saw. Why?

It”s sturdy features make it useful to use commonly in in-home workshops or worksites.

The cutting technique of this saw is upward tooth motion. That technique seems the opposite of table saw. You need to cut the backside to keep aside splintering from the paneling’s finished surface. Also, you may need to remove the circular saw’s blade and ensure the downward position in some cases.

If you follow that process, you need to face down the panel before cutting.

For cutting the paneling in a suitable way, the circular saw offers paneling blades. If your saw has no such blade, you can use the regular fine-tooth wood blade. Here you need to ensure that you are applying the right technique.

Another suitable area for using a circular saw is in making straight-line cuts. One downside of the circular saw is you can’t efficiently cut the curved edges using a circular saw.

How to prevent splintering on both sides of Paneling?

Using a portable circular saw will be considered a powerful tool to give the right size paneling cutting.

The only problem?

You may experience splintering-related issues.

The splintering won’t cause any issue while cutting floor joists or framing studs. But, if it occurs in the expensive paneling’s face, it won’t be unacceptable. Let’s see the tip in the following.

Tip

The upward position is the cutting position of using a portable circular saw. In this technique, the cutting starts from the paneling’s underside and finishes on the top side.

The splintering will occur mostly on the exit side. So to prevent damage to the paneling’s face, you need to ensure support like a sawhorse. Also, you need to ensure the face-side down position. Therefore, the backside’s splintering won’t be visible after being installed properly.

However, to ensure the backside free from splintering, you can take a utility knife and score along the cut line before applying the circular saw. Hopefully, that technique will keep both sides splinter-free.

Some Helpful Hacks to ensure the perfect cut

1. Ensuring the proper technique

When you go to cut wood paneling, you should ensure the right technique.

The right technique will determine whether the cut is bad or good. However, let’s see some techniques which will ensure the perfect wood paneling cutting.

• While cutting wood paneling with a circular saw, you should ensure the place-down position of the paneling face. Therefore, you can avoid splintering. The inside hack is because the cut will occur in an upward direction or motion; hence the paneling face will be neat and clean.
• In cutting the grain, you won’t face any issue in most cases. But, the splintering will occur when you cut across the grain. To prevent such an issue, you need to position the saw during cutting along the grain.
• You have better locate the cutting area and use masking tape on the length of that area. Some didn’t show a positive response with that technique. But, it would be fruitful if you combined other techniques with this.
• While cutting, make sure the blade has a fine tooth. You can use a 20 tooth blade to cut the wood paneling quickly, but the aftermath isn’t blissful. The 60 tooth blade will give you a better result.
• Some areas need to be cut using a razor or knife. So, when you wish to cut those areas, you have a better score along the line of the place in that area. You can use nothing while scoring in that desired area. So, take a ruler and hold the area firmly and then score deeply on where you wish to cut. You can easily cut the fiber in the wood using a scoring technique.
• You hopefully want to prevent splintering on both sides of paneling while cutting using a circular saw or table saw. In this case, you can follow the following tips.

Firstly, you need to ensure a shallow cut using the saw. That cut will be made through the fiber’s top layer that’s why the changes of splintering become minimum during the second cut.

Hopefully, ensuring one or multiple techniques while cutting will give you a nice and clear cut.

2. Tool’s sharpness

You can ensure a neater cut if you have a sharp knife. The sharp blade or tooth is important when you need precision cutting in paneling.

On the other hand, the blunt knife may weaken the wood fiber’s compactness when you cut. While using blunt tools, the firm core that helps to retain integrity becomes lax. Hopefully, you can get the importance of using razor-sharp tools in cutting wood paneling. So choose the best circular saw blade for cutting paneling for better results.

How do you cut paneling without chipping?

You need to ensure a fine-tool blade for this purpose. Then take a blade. You can choose a 20 tooth blade to cut quickly, but you won’t get a clean and fine cut. In this case, a 60 tooth blade works fine. However, ensure scoring along the line of your desired place before cutting the wood paneling using a saw.

How do you cut faux wood paneling?

You can use any wood cutting tool for this purpose. But, a circular saw will ensure an even and straight cut. If you want to take shortcuts in light switches or electrical outlets, you can use a hand saw. Handsaw will help you to cut on the downstroke. Note: While cutting, you need to ensure slow but firm movement.

Final thought

Hopefully, I made the process behind “how to cut paneling with a circular saw”.

By now, you can give a smooth and nice finish on your wall paneling if you obey our instructions.

However, if anything seems vague, you can comment below.