How to cut
2x4
Every Way to Cut Cheap Wood (39 Methods)
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hey everybody this is Louis weisz maker and youtuber and this is almost every
way to cut a 2x4 despite the name 2x4 a 2x4 is actually one and a half inches by
three and a half inches we're gonna take these two by fours and cut them across
the grain in as many ways as possible so you can see the process and the end
results to start off let's do one that requires no tools at all the caveman
method definitely the brawn over brains solution this actually worked better
than some of the other stuff we tried no fine woodworking Awards but technically
effective and truthfully a lot of fun hey there we go the okay okay so maybe
the caveman's not for you a person and a curb are actually all you need to cut a
2x4 set up your wood and hop on top to give it a snap easy peasy
lumber squeezy the car that's right today we find out if your whip is
secretly the 2x4 cutting machine you've always dreamt of the answer may be it
would be with a bigger curb but in these conditions no way miter saw yeah it's
time for a proper tool miter saws are frequently used for cutting long
relatively thin stock so using it to cut a 2x4 is a match made in heaven
this one in particular has a nice long bed making it easy to support the wood
while cutting looking at the cut we can see it's nice and straight with very
little splintering and a pretty smooth finish the miter saw is an easy reliable
way to cut a 2x4 table saw the table saw is one of the most versatile tools in
any woodshop but it can also be one of the most dangerous even using a saw stop
like this one it's important to use a guide or a jig when cross cutting like
this with proper usage though we get this really nice clean cut very straight
very little splintering and a nice smooth finish panel saw it's a big-ass
saw for cutting big-ass wood it's uniquely suited for plywood sheets but
it also cuts two by fours like butter a great choice
band saw one of my favorite tools in the shop band saws are a good way to make
simple cuts in a variety of materials for a basic crosscut though it's not
necessarily the best choice since with a band saw you trade off speed for
maneuverability meaning you could cut a curve if necessary it's not a perfect
way to cut a 2x4 but the results are really good clean cut no splinters
definitely a reliable choice scroll saw I would sooner lick the shop floor than
use one of these saws it's not that they're bad they do serve a purpose to
cut fine curves in wood I just find them unpleasant because they're slow and
jittery unlike a bandsaw which is fast and cuts curves just fine for me with
the thick enough blade you can cut a 2x4 but like at that point just go use a
bandsaw drill press drills remove material saws remove material maybe a
drill is a way to cut a 2x4 it's a little easier to use a drill press
versus a hand drill but basically just toss in a fifth pin line up your wood
and start drilling holes in a line it's a little tricky but definitely doable
still not a great idea obviously you get these big semicircular divots and I
still wound up with splinters on mine overall not a great way to cut a
two-by-four lathe this is a lathe the lathe is a magnificent tool used to turn
glorious objects out of wood using it to cut a two-by-four is a process that the
French would refer to as debil which roughly translates to stupid shout-out
to my dad for cutting this one turning something so oblong is not easy stuff
next let's try a jigsaw I did a terrible job of showing it so here's a picture
the jigsaw is a great way to cut material if you need maneuverability
like a bandsaw but with the advantage of being portable not quite as easy to use
but definitely a fair trade-off the cut is clean and if I were more carefully to
be straight to overall not a bad way to cut a 2x4 circular saw basically just a
handheld miter saw the circular saw is beloved by construction workers and
handy dads it's quick it's simple and it does a
great job a classic way to cut a 2x4 sawzall
it's definitely got that name for a reason I had never used one before but
it is a thrill it's usually used for demolition and it's definitely the sort
of tool that had turned your hand into spaghetti if misused but it makes a
great cut nonetheless chainsaw it's a chainsaw mostly for cutting trees
it's not the cleanest cut but it totally works on lumber handsaw oh yeah
we're going old-school before young whippersnappers like me had these
newfangled electrically powered tools your grandpa was cutting wood with one
of these bad boys it's been a while since I've used one but it's definitely
not a bad option I remember learning on one of these as a kid well before my dad
let me touch the power tools it's nothing fancy but it's perfect for the
Amish and for when you run out of batteries coping saw do you enjoy
cutting jigsaw puzzles by hand if so allow me to introduce the coping saw
this immeasurably flimsy blade allows for tight turns and would but snaps at
the slightest twist jokes aside well not really intended for two-by-fours this
coping saw actually did a great job recommended dozous keep whole song
basically the same tool as a handsaw and just about as effective apparently these
cut on the pole stroke rather than when you push supposedly giving you a
straighter more accurate cut than a typical saw but honestly they look about
the same to me hacksaw hack saws have finer teeth and so they're generally
used for metal but like it's still a saw it cuts wood just fine wire saw possibly
the cheapest saw I've ever used at only 5 bucks from Amazon this thing actually
cuts really well they're made for wilderness survival and it definitely
has a bit of a Bear Grylls vibe which like not my bag but hey you do you it's
a crappy cut but it's definitely effective also in the survival category
we have the leather man saw it's just like a big saw but tiny so cute cuteness
aside it's surprisingly functional for camping or for when you're too lazy
to get out a real saw steak knife I mean it kinda looks like a saw surely with
enough dedication we can cut a two-by-four with a steak knife right
well not exactly great initial progress is soon thwarted by the knife's blade
being thicker than its teeth causing it to get stuck if we can't move it we
can't keep cutting so unfortunately this one's a bust
Olfa cutter I'm sure these have a generic name but alphas are the best
great for cardboard balsa or other thin materials can this razor cut a 2x4
unfortunately no for the same reason as the steak knife it gets stuck as soon as
you make progress major bummer bolt cutters can they cut a 2x4 another case
of better than I expected but ultimately no next hammer obviously we're gonna
have to use the pointy end here not the best method but strangely cathartic you
know what if you really want to do it this way be my guest
hatchet great for splitting wood I thought using one of these was a cleaver
idea I was surprised to find that it actually does a terrible job hatchets
don't remove material like a saw so cross cutting with one is quite a chore
while it technically works I really wouldn't recommend it the file usually
used for finishing work a file is basically like reusable sandpaper I used
some that we're flat and some that were round but all were a terrible choice it
took me nearly an hour and a half to file through this so while yes you can
do it why would you okay sir form rasp basically just a
variation on the file this takes about half as long and it's about twice as fun
not recommended laser forget CAD designs instead use this cutting-edge machine to
do the task of a handsaw normally used for cutting intricate patterns in thin
wood by drawing a super boring 4-inch line and your vector software and
repeatedly blasting away you too can cut wood like a five-year-old Jedi with a
laser sword chop saw hardly a saw this thing is pretty much
just one big abrasive wheel it cuts metal like butter and apparently it also
works on wood it's not really meant for wood though so definitely use something
else if you have the option angle grinder usually used for grinding angles
toss a cut-off disc in this mean machine and it becomes a mini chop saw again
cutting wood really isn't what it's for but it works just fine in a pinch dremel
tool rarely the best option but always a good one the dremel tool is an essential
part of the hip young maker starter pack I thought for sure with the carbide
blade I'd be able to cut through but it just didn't the blades just aren't big
enough to cut all the way through shockingly not a way to cut it two by
four multi-tool this is a multi-tool it sounds like a barber razor and it cuts
like it too this blade is called a plunge blade and it's used to cut things
flush to the ground when remodeling homes not the best choice but not bad
turbo plane turbo being the key word here it looks like an angle grinder but
it's for wood and this thing is a beast the disc is solid metal so you can
really feel the gyroscopic forces whenever you turn it great for shaping
wood but terrible for cutting it is a horrible way to cut a 2x4 but who cares
this thing is a blast belt sander using a belt sander to cut wood is like trying
to eat soup with a fork sure you can maybe do it but why would you also rip
my lungs even with a mask on dust manages to
available anyway dumb as it may be it does indeed work it's just the worst
fire burning removes material right so maybe if I burn in a specific spot I can
just cut wood that way I really expected this to work way better than it did the
problem is that as you burn wood carbon builds up on the surface and protects
the wood beneath it I did scrape it away as it built up but it still took almost
30 minutes in the end I think it's fair to say that I was the one who got burned
resistance burning here we're trying to burn through wood using high-voltage
electricity this baking soda and water mixture helps make the wood conductive
usually this is just used to make cool patterns in the surface of the wood but
here we're trying to use it to burn all the way through in theory it should work
in practice it just takes way too long to be
realistic I really wanted this one to work and it technically does it's just
too slow to be practical beavers we've all seen beavers chew
through trees before of course they can chew through a 2x4 to try this one at
home pretty much just find a good Beaver spot once you do just toss your lumber
out there and now it's a waiting game I think I actually waited too long because
when I came back it was gone looks like the beavers were extra hungry
a few ideas I couldn't try myself but I found a couple of them online this first
guy managed to cut through a 2x4 with a couple mags of 9mm rounds
and this other guy used a high-strength industrial pressure washer I linked
their full videos down below if you've got ideas for ways that we didn't think
of go ahead and leave those down below. If you like this one, why not get
subscribed? Share it with your friends, and let me know what else you'd like to
see in future videos. Special thanks to anyone who lent me tools or helped me
out with this video -- thanks for watching and I'll see you guys next time! Peace.
