Started cutting stair stringers with a template jig instead of a framing square, and my notches actually line up now

Joseph Grant · 2026-11-13T19:55:05.375556+00:00

For years I marked every stringer by hand with a framing square and a pencil, and about one in five came out a hair off, enough to feel a wobble on the last step. Three jobs ago I built a simple plywood jig for my circular saw with a 7 inch rise and 11 inch run locked in, and I cut all twelve stringers for a deck in Kalamazoo in under an hour. Used to spend most of a morning on that same set and still fight the treads. The jig cost me about $18 in scrap ply and a couple of clamps I already had. Now I check the first stringer against a level line and cut the rest without thinking. Biggest thing I got wrong at first was letting the saw hang off the jig edge, which chewed the template up after two jobs. Curious what rise and run you all build your jigs for, since mine only works for standard 7/11.

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Started cutting stair stringers with a template jig instead of a framing square, and my notches actually line up now | Contractor Talk - Rigidtalk