We get spoiled being able to make perfect straight rip cuts in the shop using a table saw, vertical or horizontal panel saw or even a CNC router. But what do you do when you’re stuck on the job site and need to rip a big panel down to size? Most portable job site table saws are a dangerous juggling act to handle a big panel and not everyone has one of those expensive track saws.

Bora has an economical solution in its NGX twin-rail rip guide, a simple precision accessory that puts your portable circular saw at the center of a sturdy edge guide that will do guided rips up to 24 inches wide.

Easy assembly
The guide comes unassembled but takes only a few minutes to assemble the aluminum rails to the polymer handle guide and movable saw platform. Most any circular saw should mount to the platform with a cam clamping system that requires no tools. The only tricky parts of the setup are sliding the saw plate on the rails to engage the rack and pinion adjustment wheel and lining up your saw’s blade to the cutline on the guide’s saw plate so that the cut measurement gauge is accurate.

Trying it out
Using the rip guide is straightforward. The rack and pinion system for adjustment offers a fairly precise way to set the width of your rip cut. If you lined up your saw blade with the cut line correctly, you should be able to set cuts quickly based on the metric and Imperial measurements on the rails.

The biggest advantage of a tool like this is that it surrounds and supports the saw in a stable fashion while guiding for a straight cut. With your workpiece securely supported on saw horses, a worktable, or other job site platform, you can concentrate on the cut instead of wrestling the panel. The actual guide part of the tool that runs along the edge of your workpiece has a comfortable handle so you can ensure it is riding tight along the edge.

Sure, I’d rather do panel ripping in the shop on precision stationary machines, but the Bora NGX twin-rail rip guide does offer a reasonable alternative in a pinch. It goes for less than $80 at most online outlets, so it won’t put too much of a dent in your wallet either. Learn more at boratool.com.