Cutting melamine without chipping???

[Ben6]

Hi all,

Just wanting to know is there anyway of cutting melamine without chipping it? I will be using a circular saw with a 40 tooth blade.

There will also be routing work involved... about 6mm wide by 3mm deep grooves (plunge router).


Look forward to the help.



Regards
Ben

[rustynail]

Your 40 tooth blade is going to chip for sure. The router will be fine. May be best to cut oversize with the saw and then, with the aid of a clamped straight edge, route back to the required size.

[Ekim]

Ben,

I have achieved very good results using a Bosch TCT Multi Material saw blade fitted to a Makita circular saw. There was little or no chip-out. See:

Bosch TCT Multi Material Saw Blades Ideal For Aluminium | Get Tools Direct (http://www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/bosch-tct-multi-material-saw-blades-ideal-for-aluminium.html)

Also, put wide masking tape directly under the cut line on the reverse side of the Melamine i.e. you will not see the masking tape when you use your circular saw.

HTH

Mike

[petersemple]

Also can help if the blade doesn't get too far out of the material on the reverse side, so adjust the depth so that the blade only gets a few mm out of the board.

[Dengue]

Try cutting a very shallow cut first on the top - that should cut a fine groove neatly; then do a 2nd pass at full depth, with the blade just coming through the underside by about 5 mm. The blade needs to be freshly sharpened or new.

The masking tape is a good idea too, on both sides of the panel. This will minimise any chipout, but be careful when pulling it off not to lift the melamine at the freshly cut edge. That is so easy to do - the melamine sticks to the tape and comes away.

Best thing is to get a better blade with as many teeth as possible.

good luck, it is not easy to get a clean cut with a circular saw.

Be sure to let us know how you go :)

[Ben6]

Thanks all for the help... I am building a snake rack so I'll put pics up after I finish, it will be my 1st build.

Just another quick question... is it normally the bottom that chips away? when the blade is cutting out? or both in (top cut) & out (bottom cut) cuts are just as susceptible as each other to chipping?


Ben

[nrb]

With all the previous advice using a zero tolerance insert on your table saw may help as well.

[Ben6]

With all the previous advice using a zero tolerance insert on your table saw may help as well.

only have a circular saw & router...

[Dengue]

Both sides tend to chip, but less on the underside which is why that is usually the good side when cutting with a circular saw.

Breakout will occur mainly on the top side where the teeth come out of the timber at the front of the cut. This doesn't happen on the underside where the blade cuts up into the timber at the front.

By doing a small very shallow groove first on the top surface, as suggested above, there is limited breakout on the top, and your chances of the melamine chipping is considerably reduced.

But it is best to get a blade with lots of teeth, and one that is very sharp.

suggest you try it out on the outer edge first to see how it goes. If that is not satisfactory, then do a rough cut with the saw, a few mm away from the required edge line, then trim it with a router bit against a straight edge - the router bit will cut it nicely in small passes

[nrb]

Sorry ben6,I missed that.

[Ekim]

Further to my previous post, the Bosch TCT Multi Material saw blade that I used was 184mm (60T). I recollect that I put the masking tape on the bottom but my memory being what it is I am now not 100% sure. Best if you experiment on scrap Melamine.

Mike

[Handyjack]

If you only have a circular saw fit a sacrificial sheet at the bottom and if possible the top of the cut. If you need more that one piece same length, cut them at the same time - again have a sacrificial sheet at the bottom (and top). Arrange for the unseen side of the finished piece to be on top if you can not have a sacrificial sheet on the top.
Try this on some scrap first if you can so you can see the results.

[Ben6]

thanks guys, I will try all your ideas to try and find something that works... & I will most definitely try it on scrap pieces 1st.

Thanks again ppls... much appreciated!!!

[MaxWheeler]

I use handsaws. You can saw slowly with a very fine saw and the cut will be clean. Your arm might ache by the end of it though. You also have to trust that you can get a dead square cut...

[Ball Peen]

Before scribe saws were common, board was cut oversize and the edge was shot on the jointer. If the fence stayed in the same spot the melamine would groove the knives.

[woodhog]

The factory panel saw uses a 20" blade with 80 carbide teeth. Router tear out 1/32" is typical.

[Dengue]

Hey Ben6, how about some feedback? How did it go? Any pics?

[Ben6]

Hey Ben6, how about some feedback? How did it go? Any pics? will update this weekend hopefully... just finished the sketch-up design, will buy the melamine this weekend (hopefully) and get started.


Ben

[Ben6]

Picked up the melamine tonight, so hopefully I will get started over the weekend... Weather pending.

[Dengue]

Good luck with it, it is not easy to cut without some chipping. Practice on a few scrap pieces first. I liked the idea of a sacrificial piece on top of the cut - a piece of MDF or something

[wtrueman]

Hi all: Up here in Canada, I've used a hand held . Good luck, Wayne.carbide tipped tile cutter. The kind I have has a yellow handle with green tip. I've cut probably a 100 feet of the mela. Mostly straight cuts but also curved ones. The trick, I found, was to score lightly then more and more. Usually 3 to 4 scorings are enough but I also practiced first on scrap

[GraemeCook]

Good Morning Ben

All good advice above, that minimises rather than eliminates breakout. My preferred methods are:

SMALL JOBS - Cut 2-3 mm oversize with either a circular saw, jig saw or hand saw - then using a strait edge trim to size with a router.

LARGE JOBS - Give a cutting list to a local joinery shop and get him to supply, cut and edge-band - he can buy melamine far cheaper than me and his total price is usually less than 10-20% above what I can buy the melamine sheets for. Cut more accurately, and no expensive mistakes! Also I do not have to breath chipboard or MDF dust and fumes - an important consideration, IMHO.

Fair Winds

Graeme

[Ben6]

I cut 3 of my shelves on sunday and to my surprise there was no chipping at all... i initially cut a 1/4 of the way through then 2nd passed with going through all the way, i then decided to just cut straight through to see if it would chip & it didnt! so i just cut up some shelves... i was pleased, still a bit more to do tho.

Thanks again all for the tips, i will keep you updated and show the finished product when i am done.



Ben

[Ekim]

What blade did you fit to your circular saw?

[Dengue]

This is an amazing result !! Well done :2tsup:

[Ben6]

What blade did you fit to your circular saw?

I just used the original 40 tooth blade that came with the saw (came with two 40 tooth blades)... "Dewalt tradesman circular saw, 185mm"

i'll do more this weekend, hopefully finish the 11 shelves then get onto the routing... i'll try to remember to take some pics.

[Ben6]

This is an amazing result !! Well done :2tsup:

Yes, I am very happy about the outcome, considering the factory edges are all chipped! everything went pretty smooth (which is always good for beginners), I through a straight guide together using 12mm MDF & the rest was history... hope the rest of the build goes as smooth (fingers crossed)

p.s, my edges will be used as the front edge, factory at the back where you cant see them :U

[Ben6]

does anyone know of a adhesive i could use to glue in a heat cord? there will be a heat cord routed into the back of the shelves & i would prefer to use glue instead of aluminium tape... so the glue would need to be heat resistant.

So any ideas??

[GraemeCook]

does anyone know of a adhesive i could use to glue in a heat cord? there will be a heat cord routed into the back of the shelves & i would prefer to use glue instead of aluminium tape... so the glue would need to be heat resistant.

So any ideas??



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