Damn it man!!!

May I assume you are trying to cut a straight line with a hand saw? If so … loosen your grip and slow down. All to often we try to force the saw to cut. If you have to force the saw … it’s not sharp. Let the saw do the work! Like Roy Underhill says … saw like a butterfly!

-- Ron in Lilburn, Georgia.  Knowing how to use a tool is more important than the tool in and of itself.

as a beginner – do you think you will gain more attention and help by cursing in your headline ?
in my world, that doesn’t work.

-- Graduated Valedictorian from the University of HardKnocks --

Chris Tribe ; U-tube “How to Saw Straight.”

-- Randy in Crestview Florida, Wood Rocks!

as a beginner – do you think you will gain more attention and help by cursing in your headline ?
in my world, that doesn t work. Sorry didnt mean to offend nor do I consider damn to be much of a curse but more of a frustration, however noted and will not do it again my apoligies. No even a circular saw with a guide, its just really really hard..

- John Smith

You will get more useful advice if you provide some details. What material are you trying to cut? What saw/blade combination are you using? What is the methodology that you’re employing with your “guide”?

-- "You know, I'm such a great driver, it's incomprehensible that they took my license away." --Vince Ricardo

May I assume you are trying to cut a straight line with a hand saw? If so … loosen your grip and slow down. All to often we try to force the saw to cut. If you have to force the saw … it s not sharp. Let the saw do the work! Like Roy Underhill says … saw like a butterfly!

- Ron Aylor

-- Tony Reinholds,Pa. REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE FUN

practice practice practice on scrap material with all your tools will get you the best results.
whether it is with hand or power tools, it takes time to develop the technique that
works best for you, your tools and the material that you cut.
pay attention to your stance: your feet and body well balanced to the project.
don’t force the cutting edge into the line – guide the tool through the cutting path.
woodworking is supposed to be relaxing, comfortable and rewarding.
if it becomes a dreaded chore – then it will become difficult to maintain accuracy.
sharp and clean tools will provide the best results.
the list can go on and on and on of how to “Cut a Straight Line” as we all have different
techniques that work for us – but might not work for someone else.
did I mention PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE ????

.

-- Graduated Valedictorian from the University of HardKnocks --

I can relate to the OP’s frustration. Especially as a beginner and seeing some of the awesome work that people here post. John hit it on the head, you have to practice, practice, practice. In the beginning, I’m sure most woodworkers here ended up with a lot of expensive firewood.

You have to really take the time to get your equipment set up perfectly. Once you eliminate one variable, then you can start to focus on the other variables that are giving you trouble. technique, stance, etc

What a coincidence, just got this email from Popular Woodworking:

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from The Art and Craft of Cabinet-Making. This book provides an incredible look into traditional woodworking instruction. Though the English sounds peculiar to the modern ear, the commentary is evergreen. Pick up a copy and connect with a bygone era of craftsmanship.
—
“The tools being ready, it may fairly be supposed that the novice is anxious to use them, and to enable him to do so general directions will be given. It must, however, be premised that the following remarks are not to be taken as if the work mentioned were so many exercises which must be worked out or practiced before anything further can be done. It will, no doubt, be a means of acquiring experience if the novice does actually follow out the instructions as they are recorded, but they are intended to be of wider application than this. They are the points to be put in force when actual work is being done, and any trials which may be made with loose timber, that is, pieces which are not intended to be formed into anything, will be more by way of experiment than anything else.

The novice must not think that he will be able even by following the clearest directions in the most careful manner to use the tools properly at first. He must practice before he can gain facility, although there are some who seem to think that if they are told or shown how to do a thing they ought to be able to manage equally well. The things look so very easy when done by skillful hands that beginners sometimes apparently forget that it has taken time for even the cleverest worker to learn. The young practical mechanic, of course, learns almost insensibly how to hold and use his tools, for if he goes wrong he is checked at once by those over him. The amateur, however, must rely more on himself, and it is principally to aid him that this chapter is written.” (Pages 131-132)

Practice is good advice. Tear out can be addressed with masking tape. Something few mention during a post, how much time did this project take to complete start to finish.
EXAMPLE:

TIME on task? From design to installation and fill with stuff 5 1/2 months of evening work. Take in mind this is not even top tier cabinetry, just fancier shop cabinets than normal.

Rome was not built in a day, take your time….
BTW I have this saying in a picture frame in my shop. Because I sometimes need a reminder.

LOL

-- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way.

also – photos of your work area, your equipment and material being cut, etc.
could shed a lot of light on your issues.

I remember a similar post on another forum:
the guy had a 4×8 sheet of 1/2” plywood suspended between one saw horse
and a stack of cardboard boxes, one lightbulb in the ceiling and about
200 feet of extension cord. the plywood had about a 10 inch sag in the middle.
plus – junk all over the floor that he had to step over.
of the 50+ replies, the general consensus was the obvious:
a sound foundation for the material being cut, adequate lighting to see the pencil lines,
clutter-free floor area, enough amperage to power the tools, yada yada yada.

so – some photos may help us help you with your issues if you care to share.

-- Graduated Valedictorian from the University of HardKnocks --

John Smith has a Doctorate in teaching common sense to folks. Listen and learn.

-- Still trying to master kindling making

I had a reply on practicing that came to mind, pulled it…..John makes good points.

This kind of reminds me of the time I had to build a gift for my ex-mother-in-law, because my ex-wife never could figure out what to buy them, and put it on me to come up with something really nice, unique, etc. They knew what I could do, so I had to stretch every Christmas.

I came up with this bread basket, extremely hard, inlaid scripture in the handle, some sort of scrolled rings layered up for the body, (can’t remember), the handle held on with dovetails that curved, for me at the time, a real brain breaker.

I presented it to my ex-mother-in-law at the annual Christmas Dinner, and my ex-brother-in-law choose that time to say to his wife, “See, darling, if I could buy wood tools I could do that for you right away!”

I could only sit there and seethe, and think to myself, “No, you could not…”

I find that it is not only practice, it is also patience as woodbutcher suggests. Patience, a trait that I have little of, unfortunately. But as I get older, I am getting a little better.

-- Tsunami Guitars and Custom Woodworking, Cleveland, TN

John Smith has a Doctorate in teaching common sense to folks. Listen and learn.

- mudflap4869

I agree, I often see advice he posts for others that is something I should pay attention to as well.

-- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way.

Thanks fellas,, I am making it through my projects fairly well. I am using a lot of plywood. I am rebuilding some cabinet’s for my boat, My wife wife just bought a Russian Tortoise that she asked me to build a 2ftx4ft habitat for. The floor of the habitat is a 3/4 plywood floor with poplar sides, I use my 45* lock miter on the poplar sides and couldn’t be happier. The floor is a basic plywood sanded one side HDepot plywood, I have a solid Bosch circular which I have bought a new blade for and havent put on yet but I beleive that will happen today. My boat cabinet is a 1/2 inch birch marine ply with once again poplar doors. Unfortunatly I have to use a Radial Arm for now and after some tuning I have really gotten it to perform quite well, however it also needs a new blade, half way through a rip last night it stopped and started burning the cut. I prefer to use the best blades locally available which for me happens to be the Diablo stuff.