: The anti-splinter plate on the top of the wood won't prevent splinters
: underneath.

True, but unless you're using a downcut blade, most of the splintering will occur on the top side. I've never had any significant splintering on the bottom side.

: All of the suggestions offered will help.... Large utility (box) cutter to
: score ( or cut up to 1/4 inch plywood with multiple passes of the blade),
: a wood cutting blade ( I hammer the teeth on each side of the blade before
: using - as the set of the teeth will cause tear-out, but the most
: important one I would recommend is to go slowly and let blade cut. Pushing
: and trying to make saw cut faster increases the pressure of the blade
: against the uncut wood. The blade is designed to cut only on one stroke -
: usually upwards. This means that if it is splintering in the opposite
: direction, the blade has friction and can't move down without trying to
: take wood with it. Also keep the good (face side) down (for upcutting
: blades) so if there is tear-out the larger splinters will be on the side
: of the panel that will be the inside of the boat.

: There are some rather inexpensive saws that I would put up against the
: expensive ones any day. My upper end Skill saw has an oscillating blade
: feature where the blade moves forward on the cutting stroke and rotates
: back slightly on the return stroke to assure the blade isn't binding
: against uncut wood.