Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
is not giving
good results. Would it be asking too much of any blade not to chip the
surface
out on the bottom? Otherwise you have to make sure all the pieces you
cut are
done with the same surface facing down or one side will be quasi chip
free and
the other all chipped out.
Thanks for all the replies. I've been trying to do some speedy
production work,
so although the methods requiring scoring and tape and sacrificial
boards are probably
effective, the special blade will probably be the way to go. The
Forrest blade seemed
a little pricey (if the customers had a bigger budget I wouldn't be
using melamine)
so I'm going to try Amana and maybe some others.
>Out of curiosity, what are you making?
One of my customers is a company that needs enclosures for air
purifier units, and the other is a real estate management company
that wanted some radiator covers for apartments. Improving the
quality is a must. Cutting smoothly on both sides is desirable
because it eliminates the potential for mistakes, if nothing else.
But the blade I've been using even chips a little on the good side,
so anything would be an improvement.
[email protected] wrote:
> Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
> is not giving good results.
One other thing to try is to set the blade so it *only just*
makes it through - by less than a mm. That way the tips of
the teeth are running along the surface (from the underneath)
instead of up through it.
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for all the replies. I've been trying to do some speedy
> production work,
> so although the methods requiring scoring and tape and sacrificial
> boards are probably
> effective, the special blade will probably be the way to go. The
> Forrest blade seemed
> a little pricey (if the customers had a bigger budget I wouldn't be
> using melamine)
> so I'm going to try Amana and maybe some others.
Out of curiosity, what are you making? Do you need two good sides to the
cut? For example, if you are making boxes for kitchen cabinets that have
face frames you really only need one good side...
What got me thinking about your situation is a discussion I had recently
with a relative (by marriage) who owns a cabinet shop. Almost all his work
is commercial and much of it with laminates (e.g., hundreds of bathrooms in
hotel rooms). I was talking to him about his Altendorf computerized sliding
table saw's scoring blade and he told me that he pretty much stopped using
it. He stopped using it to save time and the maintenance expenses related to
using it... he only needs one good side. Food for thought for sure!
John
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
> is not giving
> good results. Would it be asking too much of any blade not to chip the
> surface
> out on the bottom? Otherwise you have to make sure all the pieces you
> cut are
> done with the same surface facing down or one side will be quasi chip
> free and
> the other all chipped out.
>
Get a blade designed for cutting melamine.
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >Out of curiosity, what are you making?
>
> One of my customers is a company that needs enclosures for air
> purifier units, and the other is a real estate management company
> that wanted some radiator covers for apartments. Improving the
> quality is a must. Cutting smoothly on both sides is desirable
> because it eliminates the potential for mistakes, if nothing else.
> But the blade I've been using even chips a little on the good side,
> so anything would be an improvement.
>
If you are going to do a lot of this kind of work the scoring blade unit for
a cabinet saw is probably worth buying... My relative told me he was sorry
he didn't buy the Altendorf computerized sliding saw (about $25k) and the
big edge banding machine (don't recall what brand it is) sooner. Having them
lets him take on big laminate jobs profitably and when he needs two good
sides on the melamine he has the scoring blade available at the push of a
button (after initial alignment with the main blade of course!).
In the short run the special laminate blades offered by companies like Freud
and Forrest should suffice nicely... That's the way I'd go for any laminate
projects I did (like shop cabinets). I do so little with laminates that
having the scoring blade would be tough to justify at retail. Though, I did
try to get the Jet cabinet saw unit that was on the shelf at the local
Woodworker's Warehouse when they went out of business... someone beat me to
it. The clearance prices were so low that I upgraded to a Jet cabinet saw,
bigger dust collector, lots of shaper cutters, etc. I knew I'd get the stuff
sooner or later so I just bought it. ;~)
John
In article <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
>is not giving
>good results. Would it be asking too much of any blade not to chip the
>surface
>out on the bottom? Otherwise you have to make sure all the pieces you
>cut are
>done with the same surface facing down or one side will be quasi chip
>free and
>the other all chipped out.
Freud makes a blade specifically for cutting melamine. That, plus a
zero-clearance insert, is all you need to make perfect cuts.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 01:07:58 GMT, Lobby Dosser
<[email protected]> wrote:
>> Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
>> is not giving
>> good results.
>
>Get a blade designed for cutting melamine.
My reaction too.
There are special blades for melamine, but one of the MOST important
things you can do to minimize/eliminate chipset out is to use a zero
clearnance insert. You can also score the cutline with a utility
knife to reduce any futher chipout, and a strip of masking tape over
the cutline can also help
John
On 13 Jan 2006 15:45:11 -0800, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
>is not giving
>good results. Would it be asking too much of any blade not to chip the
>surface
>out on the bottom? Otherwise you have to make sure all the pieces you
>cut are
>done with the same surface facing down or one side will be quasi chip
>free and
>the other all chipped out.
There is a special module for cutting melamine:
http://www.general.ca/pagemach/acces_g/saw.html
S.B.
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]...
> Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
> is not giving
> good results. Would it be asking too much of any blade not to chip the
> surface
> out on the bottom? Otherwise you have to make sure all the pieces you
> cut are
> done with the same surface facing down or one side will be quasi chip
> free and
> the other all chipped out.
>
On 13 Jan 2006 15:45:11 -0800, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Cutting melamine with a standard 60-tooth carbide blade in a tablesaw
>is not giving
>good results. Would it be asking too much of any blade not to chip the
>surface
>out on the bottom? Otherwise you have to make sure all the pieces you
>cut are
>done with the same surface facing down or one side will be quasi chip
>free and
>the other all chipped out.
You can either score it with a scoring pass or use a sacrificial board
underneath of it when you pass it through the saw.
Both will work.
The second one works better.
Make sure that you figure out a way to keep the boards tight.
I like hand pressure.
Tom Watson - WoodDorker
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:47:05 -0500, Tom Watson <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>You can either score it with a scoring pass or use a sacrificial board
>underneath of it when you pass it through the saw.
The sacrificial board is an idea I haven't heard before. It sounds
like a real gem. The concept makes so much sense, I'm surprised I
haven't heard it before.
Will el' cheapo MDF do the trick?
Thanks,
Barry
Some things to try:
Pre-cut with the blade just high enough to score the bottom surface.
Put masking tape along the bottom surface to support the melamine.
Pre-score with a marking knife.
Cut 1/8 over size and use a router with a straight bit and
straightedge to do the final trim.
Also a "standard" blade isn't the right blade. Get a blade designed
for laminates, like a 80 or 100 tooth with a negative rake triple
chip.