" Is their any way to cut luan without scoring it first?"

Nope.

Especially is you are cutting across the grain (cutting across the 4' diameter) you must always score with a utility knife or face the 'splinters'.

You CAN cut luan along the grain (cutting along the 8 foot length) without scoring, but is is always best to score it before cutting no matter which direction you cut.

There is one way to greatly help limit the splintering when cutting any wood veneer:
Place masking tape over the cut line first. Then mark and cut through the tape. You may get some minor splintering but it will be greatly reduced.

Glenn

[This message has been edited by GlennG (edited May 18, 2003).]