How and with what to cut the laminate. Choice of tools and nuances of sawing laminated coatings
When laying laminate flooring, you cannot do without cutting some of the boards. And here is how to cut the laminate so that chipping and chips do not work. There are several ways, but not all of them will give the perfect cut.
How and with what to cut the laminate. Choice of tools and nuances of sawing laminated coatings
Many people like laminate – this inexpensive floor material is very practical and beautiful. But not everyone succeeds in carefully sawing off even pieces from it. And you will have to cut, and more than once – at the end of each row, at least. So how and with what to cut the laminate so that the cut line is pleasing to the eye. Consider the methods and tools that can be used to cut the laminate.
How to saw with an electric jigsaw without chips
It is good if you have a jigsaw at home equipped with a file for wooden surfaces.
Using this tool is the best option.
Before sawing, mark the cut line with a pencil, and then cut through the film of the laminated coating with a knife or awl. Now grip the board tightly (face down).
The speed of the power tool must be high. You must try to cut smoothly enough, without jerking the jigsaw, so that no chips occur. Having got used to it, it is possible to quickly and accurately saw laminate boards. over, an excellent result is obtained when sawing both along and across the board. It seems that the answer to the question, the better to cut the laminate, is clear. Of course a jigsaw.
Caution – sawdust!
Fine wood dust can cause cancer, with glandular tissues in the nasal cavity at greatest risk. In workplaces where wood dust is generated, it must be possible to remove such dust with exhaust devices.
It is believed that the greatest amount of carcinogenic substances is found in oak and beech trees, so special care must be taken when working with these types of wood. In addition to exhaust devices, respirators also protect well against dust. Make sure that 1 of their protection class for the permeability of the used filter material was not lower than FFP2.
Working with a circular saw
Sharp straight and complex bevel cuts are no problem with this tool.
Thanks to the large saw blade area, the circular saw always maintains a stable position in the cut, especially if the master uses a rip fence or a guide.
Miter saws are used to cross-cut long workpieces both at right angles and at an arbitrary angle.
As when working with any electric saw in general, and when using a circular saw, you should wait until the saw blade picks up full speed, and only then, with slight pressure, insert the tool into the material.
The markings on the base plate (on some models, it is also equipped with a laser cut illumination) facilitates straight-line advancement of the hand-held circular saw. Before starting work, set the cutting depth so that the disc on the back of the workpiece protrudes only to the height of the tooth. In this way, you keep scuffing to a minimum and increase your safety.
Saw teeth
Outwardly, the hacksaw has changed little over the past 20 years, but if you look closely at the teeth of its modern versions, it becomes clear that today we are dealing with qualitatively different tools. Only the cheapest saws still have unhardened, ground and set teeth. Today, a quality hacksaw has milled hardened teeth with double sharpening. With high-quality saws, the saw teeth can be sharpened even on three sides.
Some manufacturers call this type of sharpening Barracuda. Additional sharpening of the tops of the saw teeth makes it possible to place them more densely on the blade, which contributes to faster removal of sawdust from the cut and, in general, to speed up the sawing process. The alternately milled teeth require little or no setting, but the cut when working with this saw blade is wide enough so that it does not get stuck in the cut. Saw blades with such a tooth profile are also produced for jigsaws. There are also hacksaws that can work with jigsaw blades.
How to work with a hand saw
The saw must be guided, otherwise it will start to "walk". This must be taken literally. Wood is a living material and its behavior is unpredictable. Hard tree rings, knots, cracks, excessive moisture and high resin content can make sawing difficult.
For this reason, there is no universal tool that can take into account all the whims of the tree, but there are many different special saws. The shape and order of alternation of their teeth are determined not by the material from which the saw blade is made, but by its purpose. Some tool can only cut in a straight line, the other, on the contrary, goes better in a circle.
When sawing, only the saw moves, the workpiece must be securely fastened. Therefore, you will need a stable support. For example, a workbench or goats. The workpiece is fixed with a clamp or held by hand, and a particularly large one – additionally with a knee.
Sawing begins and ends with repeated light pulling of the saw in the opposite direction, that is, a "track" is laid. At the end of sawing, you need to hold on to the remainder firmly so that it does not break off along with a piece of the main wood.
Sawing is one of the most common processes in woodworking. A clean, even cut is no problem if you have the right tool and know how to use it.
In the photo (top to bottom): large and small hacksaws; saw with a "back"; saw with a narrow blade. Near the left – a saw for fine cutting.
Saw for every workpiece
The hacksaw cuts quickly, but the wide tooth pitch leaves a rough mark in soft material. On the other hand, it would be difficult to cut a thick bar with a fine saw. In short, the material and the tool must match each other. Only then can you count on quality work and getting a smooth, defect-free part. We offer a short instruction: which tree should be processed with which saw.
Tsulaga
When processing small workpieces, the tsulaga shown in the pictures below can be of great help.
To make it, you need a piece of blockboard approximately 20 x 30 cm in size and 2 mm thick, as well as two planed strips, which must be fixed to the board as shown in the figure. To prevent bending and breaking of the slab, the planks must be positioned across the direction of its core layer.
How to work with circular
The lower bar of the chisel rests against the edge of the table top and thus sets the correct direction for the cut, the shortened upper bar ensures good centering of the saw.
If you have to saw long boards or planks, then a second tsulag will not interfere, which will serve as a stop for the other end of the workpiece.
A piece of blockboard and two pieces of plank are enough to make a practical tsulaga.
Before starting sawing, the saw set at an angle must be pulled towards you several times.
Sawing chipboard – methods and methods of processing
[contents] If you have tried to cut chipboard at home at least once, then you know for sure that this work is by no means simple and requires not only skill, but also a good tool. Laminated chipboard is especially difficult to process, when sawing it often produces a lot of chips. That is why many craftsmen, faced with such a problem, come to the conclusion that it is better to cut the chipboard when buying, especially since many trading organizations provide such services and the price for them is quite acceptable.
Sawing of chipboard is carried out using precise panel saws, which will help to obtain blanks of a given size and shape.
In addition to cutting sheets, they will help you to calculate and provide in the form of a visual file several options for competent and economical cutting of sheet material (using special computer programs) and, if necessary, perform edging. However, if for some reason you prefer to do this work yourself, you will have to do some preparatory work before sawing the chipboard.
- Tools and materials
- How to cut chipboard without chips?
- Figured cutting
- What you can’t cut chipboard
Tools and materials
If possible, it is best to cut the chipboard with a hand milling cutter, using homemade guides. This method is not very convenient when cutting large sheets, because when working with this tool, a table is required. In addition, this method requires frequent replacement of cutters. But as a result, you will get cleanly processed, "chamfered" edges.
The electric jigsaw is the most popular tool for sawing chipboard
Some craftsmen use a jigsaw in their work, however, in the absence of skill, it is difficult to cut smoothly, and chips can form.
If such methods do not suit you, then for cutting chipboard at home, we will prepare for work:
- A hacksaw with fine teeth (one that is best suited for metal work). In this case, the teeth should be divorced by 1/2 of the blade thickness and be hardened;
- Paper adhesive tape;
- File for rough processing of the cut mowing line;
- Sandpaper for finishing the cut line.
How to cut chipboard without chips?
Before starting to cut chipboard, especially laminated chipboard, cut the line with a sharp tool, along which we will cut and glue paper tape with a sticky layer along it. This will help to minimize damage to the decorative chipboard layer.
If chips still could not be avoided, we process the cut first with a file, working from the edges to the center, and then with a fine-grained sandpaper. It is also possible to mask all defects by using a flexible profile where possible.