Cutting Melamine

[John Gregory]

How important is it that one uses a special saw blade to cut Melamine? We have a couple of projects coming up where we will construct the carcass from Melamine.

Thanks

[Brad Trent]

In the past I had used a blade (can't recall brand right now) that was supposed to be good for melamine and some other laminates. It did ok, but wasn't great, even taping the cut line. The best results I've had cutting melamine with little chipout was recently when I used the EZ Smart system. The anti-chip inserts work pretty well in conjunction with an ordinary Freud Diablo 40t blade on a CS.

[Byron Trantham]

I have done way too many projects with melamine. I have found a blade that cuts the stuff almost perfectly - a Forrest Hi A/T. I think that's right. Anyway go to their site and you will find the "laminate blade". You may consider it pricey but it works.

[glenn bradley]

I use a Freud Avanti 10" 80T from Lowes $35-$40. Inexpensive and a nice clean cut.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Freud makes an hi-ATB blade called LU80 that is specifically for melamine and splintery sheet goods. It makes chip free cuts (even on the underside of the sheet) and I don't need a blade stabilizer or zero clearance throat plate. I've heard an Hi-ATB blade will dull more quickly than a normal ATB or triple chip. I've done one melamine cabinet reface and everything is still fine with my blade. It's about 1/2 the price of a Forrest. I highly recommend it.

Oh...and to answer your other question. The laminate coating on melamine is very thin and brittle. It will chip very easily. If you use a regualr ATB or triple chip 80 tooth blade, I can almost guarantee that you will have plenty of chipping. If you do use a non-malamine blade, you can back score (1/16" deep) the melamine first, then raise the blade and thru cut. This helps, but will not eliminate chipping as good as the Freud LU80.

-Jeff :)

[Bernhard Lampert]

Any high angle ATB blade with plenty of teeth (80 for a 12" blade) will do nicely. I am using a blade with a 40 degree angle: cuts nice but dulls quicker (due to the high angle).

Bernhard

[frank shic]

get an alternating tooth bevel blade with a NEGATIVE hook (-5 or -6) and set up a zero clearance insert plate. amana's got a decent blade that fits these specifications. i tried the freud melamine blade and did not get great results even with the zero clearance insert. you may need to experiment with the blade height to get chip free cutting on BOTH surfaces.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I use the Amana laminate blade when I need excellent results on the table saw. The Forrest WW II cuts melamine really well, with just a few small chips. If you need perfect edges, then use the EZSmart or Festool setup with chip guards on both edges of the blade.

[Nancy Laird]

We use the Freud F80 - no chip-out at all. It's not cheap, but it's good!

Nancy