Tools and equipment - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 155

Some good-quality saws can be bought with an optional guide rail that clamps down on the
wood, so the saw can be run along it for a straight cut every time. These are without doubt
handy, but they tend to be expensive, and a similar result can be achieved using an offcut
of ply (remembering to run the saw along the factory cut edge!), or even a chalk line and a
steady hand. Remember that we are usually only talking about the edges of shuttering here,
so straightness of the cut, while desirable, is not absolutely critical. Cutting sheet material
that is to remain in place (timber cladding, for example) is a completely different matter,
and this is where a good-quality table saw comes in handy.
When choosing tools for shuttering work, remember that you will be reusing shuttering
boards. These inevitably come away from the wall with some binder and pieces of hemp
on them, and, while bigger bits can be brushed off, there will always be some that set hard
on the board. While this is not a major problem, don't forget that you will then be cutting
these again with your circular saw. Also, while you should be removing all the screws that
were used to fix the shuttering in place before re-cutting the sheet, in practice some screws
will often get hidden in the timber strands of the OSB. A sensible choice, then, for those
who expect to be doing a lot of this work and are therefore looking to buy rather than hire,
is tools that are accurate but not excessively expensive to replace, as you will inevitably
be abusing them a little. A good mid-range professional circular saw is likely to be a more
sensible choice than the more expensive top-of-the-range versions.