How to separate lid from box?

[Dave McGeehan]

I was given a glued-up, fully enclosed box 10"L X 5"W X 6"H made of MDF covered with walnut burl veneer and asked to cut it in two about 1" from the top. I'm told the MDF is 7/16" thick. Any ideas as to the best method to do this?

I was planning on running it over my tablesaw with the blade raised just shy of 7/16" and then separating it with a handsaw.

Is MDF tough on saw blades? I hesitate to use my LN dovetail saw or my Japanese saws but I do have an old dovetail saw I could use.

Can I through-cut one or two of the sides on the tablesaw or would that weaken it too much to handle the remaining near-through tablesaw cuts?

Thanks,
Dave

[Joe Scharle]

What I do is make a cut, check that the blade has just cut thru, tape a spline in the kerf, repeat.

[David Christopher]

Do you have a bandsaw.... if so use it with a resaw blade

[Charles Robertson]

Pretty much the same. I cut the narrow ends first, full thickness. tape in kerf splines to stop pinching. Then cut sides. Al

[Lee Schierer]

Pick one side and cut to 90% of the thickness of the wood. Then cut the two adjoining sides to full depth (all the way through). Rotate the box to the uncut side and cut it full depth as well. Finish cutting the first side with a knife or flush cutting hand saw.

[Dell Littlefield]

Probably doesn't need saying but I recommend putting the bottom of the box against the table saw fence. It is easier to avoid pinching that way.

[Dave McGeehan]

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll go with the spline ideas thus eliminating handsawing and truing MDF.

[Jerome Hanby]

MDF is a little hard on steel cutters, but carbide does a good job. I'd guess any table saw you're using already has a carbide tipped blade. And be sure to wear a mask, that "flour" from cutting MDF is a real mess, You sure don't want to inhale any more of it than necessary.

[Doug Shepard]

My preference would be for a bandsaw or even a japanese type pull saw (not your real good one, something like a Sharksaw). I dont like the skip in grain figure that a 1/8" or even 3/32" TS blade leaves, plus whichever method you use usually entails a bit of planing or sanding afterward, making for a bigger skip.

[Mike Henderson]

My preference would be for a bandsaw or even a japanese type pull saw (not your real good one, something like a Sharksaw). I dont like the skip in grain figure that a 1/8" or even 3/32" TS blade leaves, plus whivever method you use usually entails a bit of planing or sanding afterward, making for a bigger skip.
Like Doug, I don't like the skip in the veneer caused by the 1/8" table saw blade. But no matter how you cut it, you'll get some skip.

What you can do is lay a thin piece of wood (or built up veneer) on the two sides of the box, where you cut it. This will cover the MDF and can be a contrast element against the burl. If you make it the proper thickness, the two pieces will be about the same thickness as your saw blade so the burl will appear to be "continuous", even though it isn't.

Mike

[Doug Shepard]

One other thing I've wondered about but never tried is one of the special ground blades like StewMac sells
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Fretting/Fret_Slotting_Table_Saw_Blade.html
You could get the TS accuracy with an extremely small kerf but only to 1/4" deep, then use the kerf to guide and finish the cut with a fine hand saw.

[David Christopher]

I still think a bandsaw is the best bet... no turning over and over no spline just once through the blade...... zip youre done

[Dave McGeehan]

I used the spline method and it worked great. I cut the two short sides first, inserted the splines, wrapped a web clamp around the box, cut the remaining sides. The cuts were very clean (Forrest blade) no sanding or truing were necessary even though there was a small piece of mystery metal embedded in the MDF. I'm used to finding surprises in fence-line lumber (horse shoes, barbed wire, bullets, etc) but not in MDF.

Also, I was lucky with the skip, it's barely noticeable. I have 10 more of them to do so I doubt I'll always be this lucky. The burl figure is so heavy I'm hoping it's enough of a distraction as to not draw attention to the cut-line.

Thanks everybody,
Dave

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/progress.gif

[Bernie Wynia]

Just a thought: if you don't know how that MDF was fastened together, you might want to check it with a metal detector before running any of your saws through it. There could be danger hiding beneath that veneer.

[Steve H Graham]

I have Doug Stowe's box video, and he cuts through each side, leaving maybe a millimeter of material in the kerf to prevent the lid from collapsing against the box body and messing up the other cuts. Then he opens the box with a knife.