Ideas For Cutting Laminate & 50" Clamp??

[David Perata]

I am building a table especially for cutting and sizing plastic laminate. First off, I need advice on a good 50" clamping guide. I see the Rockler is on sale and have read reviews. It seems that the far edge guide is not fixed. I need one that I can just slip over the work, pull it snug and secure it with the clamp on my side of the table.

Also, any ideas or features I might add would be most welcome. Thanks.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I use a home made cutting guide. It's a piece of 1/4" plywood about ten inches wide, with a piece of 3/4 plywood about 2 inches wide attached to it. I run the saw against the 3/4, trimming the edge exactly where the blade cuts. Clamp it down with a couple of Quick clamps. If you are using a outer to cut laminate, use router to trim plywood. I have one that on one side of 3/4 the saw was used to trim it, and on the other side the router was used to trim it.

[Dino Makropoulos]

I am building a table especially for cutting and sizing plastic laminate. First off, I need advice on a good 50" clamping guide. I see the Rockler is on sale and have read reviews. It seems that the far edge guide is not fixed. I need one that I can just slip over the work, pull it snug and secure it with the clamp on my side of the table.

Also, any ideas or features I might add would be most welcome. Thanks.

a zero clearance plate and a freud diable 40 teeth blade.
You can eliminate any possibility of blow outs ( chipping )
with a scoring cut. some like to do a backward scoring cut with the lade
set at 1/32" to 1/16" ( just enough to cut the melamine)
I like to do a forward cut 1/32" deep.
If you choose to do a backward scoring cut, make sure that you have a positive stop block
on your saw instead of depending on the depth lever.
The depth lever on the low grade and very old saws can loosen with unpleasant and dangerous results.
Putting a solid block between the motor and the sawbase makes any cheap and old saw very stable and safe.

good luck and remember to allow for the sawblade kerf.

[Craig Coney]

You could also use the carbide cutters/scorers used for cement board, usually two swipes across the straight edge, then lift up on the off cut side and it will snap free with a clean edge, not cut perfect, but clean. IIRC, they are $10-$15 and by the cement board at the box stores. Good enough for rough cuts and sizing laminates.

You could hinge your straight edge on the far side and use a clamp on the near side.