Replies

1. 
   tonyrays | Dec 04, 2009 10:01pm | #1

   Ir you are using a circular saw try making a zero clearance insert for it out of hardboard. I have even used tape to help with chip out.

   tony

1. 
   vkhiga | Dec 04, 2009 10:37pm | #2

   I use my Festool track saw and my table saw. On regular wood my tracksaw does excellent, but with the HP laminate not so good.

1. 
   ring | Dec 05, 2009 08:12am | #5

   A sharp blade made for cutting HPL will give you more or less acceptable results on both sides of the material with your Festool saw. The only way I know of to get consistently perfect results is to use a tablesaw with a scorer blade. That's why they were invented.
   David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1

1. 
   vkhiga | Dec 05, 2009 08:55am | #6

   I recently bought a brand new triple chip ground festool laminate blade to cut these boards, and still not up to my standards. Maybe I expected to much. But what more could you ask for than a perfectly clean cut edge. I guess a TS with a scoring blade is next on my "wish list". Thanks again.

2. 
   Taigert | Dec 05, 2009 09:21am | #7

   Why not set the Festool saw to act as a scoring blade first on one or both sides. Then reset the depth on the saw and make your actual cut. Ya it's more work but it would get the job done.

   Taigert

   Edited 12/5/2009 1:51 am ET by Taigert

1. 
   ring | Dec 05, 2009 06:46pm | #8

   The blade will still cause chipping on the top side because it's rotating into the work, and teeth are breaking up thru the HPL at the front of the cut. A scoring blade cuts as its teeth enter the material, not as they're leaving it. On the tablesaw, a scoring blade which cuts into the HPL from below is turning in the opposite direction as the main blade.David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1

2. 
   tonyrays | Dec 05, 2009 08:08pm | #9

   Try leaving 1/16 or so on the overall size of the workpiece and run a router with a straight bit. This will give you a perfect cut but again more work.

   tony

3. 
   ring | Dec 05, 2009 09:08pm | #10

   A lot more work. If I had to cut all the parts for a typical kitchen that way it would take me 2 days instead of 2 hours. Like many things in woodworking, there are several ways to get a good result, but if time is money then the options narrow. Cleaning up cuts with a router is not an option in a commercial environment.David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1

4. 
   Taigert | Dec 05, 2009 09:58pm | #11

   David,

   As soon as I start reading your words, I remembered about the opposite.

   Thanks for the reminder, see what aging causes,

   Taigert

   Edited 12/5/2009 2:04 pm ET by Taigert

2. 
   UnclePablo | Dec 05, 2009 12:33am | #3

   You shouldn't be getting any chipping on the laminate. Even with a 60t combo blade in a table saw, if the laminate side is facing up, it shouldn't be happening. Try a blade made for cutting melamine. Make sure that the saw is tuned up and everything is aligned. If the saw is heeling during a rip it may chip out.
   Again, and please excuse me if this is already obvious, the laminate needs to be facing the right direction in relation to the spinning blade. The saw teeth shouldn't be "pulling" the laminate off as it exits the material. If it is, turn the material over.

   -Paul

1. 
   vkhiga | Dec 05, 2009 04:30am | #4

   Both sides are laminated, so I always get some type of chip out on one side. I'll try the melamine blade for my TS.Thanks for the help.

3. 
   bones | Dec 06, 2009 06:07pm | #12

   If you are going to others locations to cut, I'd consider Festool.  The TS55 track saw and the appropriate  blade will produce perfect results.   The mft3 table would be a good mate.  Go over to http://www.festoolownersgroup.com register and ask the same question there. These guys will have an answer for you.  I've cut limited laminate and prior to having the festool setup I used a PC cs with a forrest wwII and had good luck but then It was laminate only on one side.   With the mft 3, you would have the support of the table below and above the rail.   I know they make blades to cut everything including aluminum.  Good luck. 

   TS55:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwRvBNZRIek&NR=1

   MFT3:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2R1Wiaw3P4

    

    

   ...Advice is a form of nostalgia.  Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off , painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it’s worth –  lyrics from the song wear sunscreen

4. 
   RickL | Dec 08, 2009 11:30pm | #13

   http://www.forrestblades.com/hiat.htm

   The Duraline Hi AT will cut double sided melamine and give a chip free cut.  We used it on kitchen cabinets...it does work exactly as it claims.  C4 carbide and a special grind on the tooth.

   Just for the heck of it we took out our zero clearance throat plate and still got perfect results.

1. 
   ring | Dec 09, 2009 09:07am | #14

   Coming from you, that's a high recommendation. Even so, HPL is more challenging than melamine and I see they don't list cutting HPL as one of the recommendations. Still, worth a try.David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?lang=e&id=1