Utility knives are the most basic and usually most effective tools for cutting drywall.
Drywall professionals never cut drywall with a table saw and, although someone might claim that they have done so successfully, it's not a good idea. Cutting drywall in this manner creates plumes of drywall dust that destroy saw blades, jam saw motor components and risks respiratory damage to saw operators. Additionally, drywall is unwieldy when hoisted on a horizontal plane; the sheets are likely to break or force saw operators into risky positions. Fortunately, standard methods of cutting drywall are safer, easier and faster than using a table saw. To ensure a successful drywall project, learn about the proper tools for cutting drywall.
Utility Knife: The Essential Drywall Cutting Tool
A standard utility knife can complete the majority of cuts required for a drywall installation. A novice builder might assume that a highly accurate tool, such as a table saw, is more desirable than the manually operated utility knife. However, drywall professionals use layout tools, such as drywall T-squares, as guides when slicing through drywall. T-squares and straightedges keep the knife on a straight course. Notably, the knife's blade does not literally cut through the drywall sheet, but simply creates a score through the sheet's outer layer of paper. Drywall installers score the sheet on only one side and snap the sheet along the score with a forceful push. Scoring and snapping results in a clean-edged break along the predetermined line.
Drywall Hand Saw
The drywall hand saw creates small cuts or unusually shaped holes through drywall. This saw consists of a long, roughly triangular blade attached to a palm-sized, straight handle. A jagged set of triangular cutting teeth line the drywall saw's cutting edge. The sharp point of the tool's blade pierces through drywall to begin the hole, and the tool's extremely sharp and jagged teeth slice through drywall with remarkable ease. Alternatively, drywall installers use a broad-bladed, pistol-grip version of the drywall hand saw to create longer cuts.
Drywall Circle Cutter
The drywall circle cutter tool scores perfect circles through a drywall sheet's surface, particularly for recessed light fixture openings. Whereas it's difficult to create a perfect circle with the drywall hand saw and impossible for a table saw, the circle cutter succeeds every time. The circle cutter consists of a cutting disc attached to an adjustable rail. The rail connects the cutting disc to a sharp, nail-like pin that serves as a center pivot point. Drywall installers set the circle cutter's rail to the desired radius, plunge the pin into the sheet at the circle's center point, and rotate the disc around the pin to score a circle onto the sheet's surface.
Acceptable Power Tools for Drywall
Jig saws and handheld rotary tools are acceptable power tools for cutting drywall. Jig saws are handheld, portable power tools that reciprocate straight, toothed blades from the bottom of a flat, metal base plate. Using a jig saw equipped with a blade that cuts on the down-stroke, called a "down-cutting blade," reduces dust release. Handheld rotary tools generally are palm-sized power tools that spin cylindrical, drill-like attachments or disc-shaped attachments. Because handheld rotary tools create precise cuts and little mess when cutting drywall, many handheld rotary tool manufacturers use drywall cutting as a prime selling point. Despite the suitability of these power tools for cutting drywall, a utility knife remains the easier tool to create long, straight cuts across entire sheets of drywall.
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