Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will have
bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so suggestions
about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
greatly appreciated.
Thanks:
Bob
Thanks Tom. What I'm talking about here is cutting pieces out of a full 4
by 8 piece of laminate, much too unwieldy for safe TS operation. I have
managed to get one piece cut and laminated to 11/32 ply. That results in a
piece that cuts like butter on the TS. No chipout, no nuthin'. The next
post by Mark shows a special tool to do exactly what I believe need. Didn't
know such a critter existed. Live and learn. Guess I'll be gettin' one of
those. Thanks Mark.
Bob
"Tom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob wrote:>Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought
I'd try
> for
> >some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
have
> >bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since
I
> >have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm
trying
> >to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> >There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
suggestions
> >about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> >appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> >greatly appreciated.
> >
> >Thanks:
> >
> >Bob
> >
> Won't your drawer sides hide most if not all of the chip-out? You could
try a
> scoring cut first, i.e. light pass on the tablesaw, then full depth. Tom
> Someday, it'll all be over....
Thanks to all who answered. What I wound up doing was turn the sheet good
face down on an old sacrificial sheet of ply, scribed the cut lines with
pencil on the back (up) side, and cut with a small circular saw with a
plywood blade set to about 1/16 beyond the thickness of the laminate. I
could have used a straightedge guide but was able to freehand with ample
accuracy for my need. This resulted in no chipout of the good (down) side
at all. When I laminate to the drawer bottom substrate, I place the
laminate just a fraction inside one good edge of the substrate leaving a
good edge for the TS fence to trim to size. Lots of good old G.I. ingenuity
in your responses. Thanks again.
Go get a tool like this one along with a good straight edge and score away!
http://www.amanatool.com/handtools/20003.html
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
have
> bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
> have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
suggestions
> about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks:
>
> Bob
>
>
Bob wrote:>Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try
for
>some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will have
>bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
>have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
>to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
>There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so suggestions
>about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
>appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
>greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks:
>
>Bob
>
Won't your drawer sides hide most if not all of the chip-out? You could try a
scoring cut first, i.e. light pass on the tablesaw, then full depth. Tom
Someday, it'll all be over....
On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 11:25:12 -0800, "Bob Jones"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
>some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will have
>bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
>have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
>to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
>There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so suggestions
>about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
>appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
>greatly appreciated.
I've got a laminate shear that works great. Don't remember where I
bought it but it looks something like this...
http://www.klenktools.com/Main/Products/LaminateShearsNew.asp
Bob-
I use a fiber-reinforced cut-off wheel on a pneumatic die grinder to cut
out the pieces from a full sheet. (Note: If you have a Dremel tool and
have some fiber-reinforced wheels, you can do the same but will take
longer). Anyway, I cut the pieces slightly over-sized. Precision isn't
crucial, so I make the cuts somewhat larger than the finished product. I
then bond the laminate to the panels, using a flush laminate bit to cut off
the excess.
BTW, Use a respirator. I don't know what's in this stuff but the dust
can't be good you--and I don't take any chances.
--
KayCee
North Alabama Woodchipper
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
have
> bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since
I
> have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm
trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
suggestions
> about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks:
>
> Bob
>
>
Judging from the other replies, I must be misunderstanding the end result
here. For drawer bottoms, why not cut a piece of ply large enough for all
the bottoms, laminate that piece, then cut the bottoms on the table saw ?
What am I missing ?
jim bailey
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
have
> bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
> have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
suggestions
> about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks:
>
> Bob
>
>
Kind of tool works great. Bend the two pieces toward the score, not away
from it. Doesn't seem natural, but it works better that way. I usually
score lightly the first pass so the cutter won't wander away from the
straightedge. Then, I score once again with a fair amount of pressure. It
doesn't take a deep score to work.
Preston
"Mark Hopkins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Go get a tool like this one along with a good straight edge and score
away!
>
> http://www.amanatool.com/handtools/20003.html
>
> "Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> > some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
> have
> > bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since
I
> > have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm
trying
> > to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> > There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
> suggestions
> > about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> > appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> > greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks:
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
>
>
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will have
> bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
> have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so suggestions
> about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks:
>
> Bob
>
>
>
I use cintride knives,dont cost much and ya dump em when they`re
blunt.looks like a linoleum knife but with a small tungsten tip.score it
twice and break.I worked in shopfitting for years and have glued metres
of laminate on site and always cut it with one of these chaps
check out this link its pretty much the same thing
http://store.yahoo.com/olfablades/5012.html
Russell
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
<snip>I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. <snip>
I find that after scoring the snap comes out better if you fold the laminate
towards the scored side of the sheet. It may seem more logical to snap away
from the score but this results in a more ragged snap.
Also, if your in the field a virutex hand slitter is a nice tool to have to
do edging, but is unecessary if you are near a tablesaw.
Aloha, Russell
Cut the laminate slightly over sized on you TX and use a flush trim bit in
your router to trim after glueing it down.
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
have
> bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
> have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
suggestions
> about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks:
>
> Bob
>
>
Just run it through the tablesaw. Cut the piece 1-2" oversize in both
dimensions, dont worry about chipping. Cement the piece in place, then
use a flush trim router bit or bullet bit to trim it flush. Wherever two pieces
of laminate share an edge, use a bevel bit set for really light cut to
lightly chamfer the edges so the user doesnt slice his/her fingers off on
the sharp laminate corners.
On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 11:25:12 -0800, Bob Jones wrote:
> Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought I'd try for
> some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will have
> bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate. Since I
> have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm trying
> to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so suggestions
> about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will be
> greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks:
>
> Bob
One option would be to cut manageable size pieces from the sheet, say 2'x4',
what ever works best for you. Use a tool like Mark's or a jigsaw to cut the
smaller pieces, then run those on the TS to the final size you want.
HTH,
Jeffo
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks Tom. What I'm talking about here is cutting pieces out of a full 4
> by 8 piece of laminate, much too unwieldy for safe TS operation. I have
> managed to get one piece cut and laminated to 11/32 ply. That results in
a
> piece that cuts like butter on the TS. No chipout, no nuthin'. The next
> post by Mark shows a special tool to do exactly what I believe need.
Didn't
> know such a critter existed. Live and learn. Guess I'll be gettin' one
of
> those. Thanks Mark.
>
> Bob
> "Tom" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Bob wrote:>Posted something similar over on alt.home.repair but thought
> I'd try
> > for
> > >some wisdom on this group. I'm building some cabinet drawers that will
> have
> > >bottoms made of ply laminated with butcher block design laminate.
Since
> I
> > >have several to make, I'll be cutting quite a bit of laminate. I'm
> trying
> > >to use razor knives and/or utility knives but it jest don't seem right.
> > >There must be a better way. My shop is equipped pretty well, so
> suggestions
> > >about using just about any kind of tool will more than likely be
> > >appropriate. Any tricks of the trade by someone with experience will
be
> > >greatly appreciated.
> > >
> > >Thanks:
> > >
> > >Bob
> > >
> > Won't your drawer sides hide most if not all of the chip-out? You could
> try a
> > scoring cut first, i.e. light pass on the tablesaw, then full depth. Tom
> > Someday, it'll all be over....
>
>
"Bob Jones" <[email protected]> writes:
> Thanks Tom. What I'm talking about here is cutting pieces out of a full 4
> by 8 piece of laminate, much too unwieldy for safe TS operation.
I've had good luck using a router with a 1/4 straight bit to pre-cut
large thin pieces of plywood, might work for laminate too. Put it on
some 2x4s on the floor, with one right on each side of the cut, and
clamp a straightedge to the top to guide the router.