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I have a solid wood door and I'm looking to shave anywhere from an 1/8" to 3/8" off the width of the door. This would involve a ripcut that would best be performed with a table saw.

Since I don't have a table saw, or have access to anyone who owns one, I'm considering using my circular saw in conjunction with a fence/guide. I've bought several pieces of lumber, and none of them are as straight as what I need to make a consistently-thick cut up the door, length-wise.

So I found the Kreg Ripcut which looks promising, but I'm worried it doesn't make cuts that small, and I can't find any docs or videos out there that confirm either way. So if anyone owns one or can find documentation that verifies I can use it to make teeny cuts like this, please let me know!

If its not a viable solution, then I'm all ears on anything I could use on a ~6 foot door for a super straight & reliable fence. Thanks in advance.

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    Just my opinion, but the Kreg would not be my choice for this task. How about a cheap 8' melamine shelf, clamped to the door to act as a guide for the circular saw? They're usually quite straight.
    – Aloysius Defenestrate
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 23:24
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    Also a cheap melamine shelf is much more likely to find another use in the future than a $50 one-time-only tool. If you're looking to use it more than a couple times, the shelf may hold up longer than the Kreg "plasticware".
    – gnicko
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 23:53
  • Is the door our of square? If not, can you rehang the door jamb? If the floor is sagging and causing the issue, that is what should be addressed.
    – UnhandledExcepSean
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 0:43
  • If you're willing to spend that much on a track saw guide, I'd suggest making one of your own. Do an internet search for "DIY track saw" and you'll find 100s of pages of instructions on how to build one out of a simple sheet of plywood. Very easy to make and incredible versatile to use. I own a table saw, yet I use my homemade track saw to break down sheet goods, then run the smaller pieces through the table saw to cut to the final dimensions. Much easier handling that way.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 12:29

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The site you linked to for the Kreg Rip-cut states in the 7th photo: "adjusts from 1"-24" for fast, repeatable cuts." So I would say that this product will not do what you want.

The simplest solution is to use a second door and clamp it to the first door with the correct offset for your saw to make your desired cut. You will need to remove the handle from the door you are cutting, and depending on the offset, you might have to remove the handle from the second door as well, but you woudn't need to buy anything.

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I don't want to get into the specific product recommendation trap so let's just say you said "straight metal guide plate with corresponding circular saw sled". :)

That said, I own the longer version of that exact product (the "Accu" one) and I have used it for that exact purpose several times. It is the only way I've been able to make straight cuts without a table saw.

Also works great on cabinetry and countertops when lugging a table saw to the site isn't worth the effort.

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You can buy 2-piece aluminum straight edges that are about 8' long when put together. They serve a variety of purposes, including guiding a long circular saw cut as you describe. My experience is they work well but are not absolutely perfect -- it's possible for the saw to wander a bit -- but if configured correctly you can at least force any wandering to be into the waste piece.

Here is just one example, not the one I have but I think there are many models.

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Most people cut the outer edge off the door as it is annoying to countersink the hinges. So you not only need to do a perfectly straight cut, but you also need to match the bevel angle, which should be roughly 2 degrees. Getting that angle right on a circular saw is quite hard.

I've seen people do this with a really good circular saw. But if you are only doing one of them, you could use

  • a router
  • a jointer
  • a large hand plane

I think that all of these are likely to be better, as you'll have tearout problems with a circular saw using a ripping blade.

Apart from that, you should scribe a line a constant distance away from the inner and outer edges and cut to that line

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  • I'm curious as to what kind of sled you'd use to get a 2° bevel with a router, and how much you spent on your floor-model jointer to be able to accurately joint a 78" long door. Sadly, my bench-top jointer struggles with any board much longer than about 25-30". :(
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 12:24
  • For the router, you scribe the amount you are trying to take off. Then you clamp or screw a piece of metal along that line, use a flexible mount to set the router at a 2 degree angle, set the collar at the height of your piece of metal, and keep on running it through until the collar hits the metal and you can't take any more material off. For the jointer, you set the back fence at whatever the angle is now, and you set up the rolling supports. Takes2 and possibly 3 people and some practice. Jointer was purchased in the 1960s :)
    – gbronner
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 15:05

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