blade recommendation for cutting horse stall mats?

[hayaku]

hi there,

need to install some 3/4" thick rubber mats normally used for horse stalls.  a lot of crossfit gyms and other fitness business are using these for their flooring and the manual way of cutting them is with a utility knife and a straight edge but that takes forever.  was thinking i could use the track and a ts55 or my ts75?

any recommendations on which blade to use or don't try this at all or any other method you would recommend?

thanks

 

[Holmz]

A friends dad used to machine it. I recall something about freezing it and using soap.

I would be temped to try a jig saw, with either a normal blade with a lot of aggro Kerr, or one of the knife blades. If it binds and burns you will smell like a drag racer, and the blade can get pretty pitched with rubber There is a local place that cuts rubber all the time, and their table saw blade looks like a panther ... Totally black with glistening shiny teeth.

 

[AlexThePalex]

That is soft material, so any blade should make easy work. Best one would be the special laminate blade of course, best suited for plastics.

 

[rst]

Alex is corrrect any fine toothed blade should work.  I used to make crash bars for on super market doors and cut the rubber strips with the same blade that I cut aluminum extrusions,  I also drilled and counter-bored on my drill press although the material had to be tightly braced.

 

[Oldwood]

Things can go very wrong very fast cutting rubber material with a circular saw. [crying] Don't ask how I know [eek]

I have heard of freezing also but have no experience with it. I think it would work if the rubber was frozen well enough.

Gerry

 

[insurroundsound]

I have 3/4" horse stall mats in my garage/gym. Covering the entire floor. I tried using my TS55  on the first one. Abandoned that idea real quick. Just go with a utility blade.

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[peter halle]

Is it possible that horse stall mats might be different from country to country?

I ask this because I have what is called a stall mat in the back of my pickup.  Basically recycled tires and heavy as can be.  I cut it with my TS-55 with the standard blade without any issue.

Peter

 

[bkharman]

You can also put the blade on backwards and cut it. Take the hook out of it.

Cheers. Bryan.

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[rst]

I cut hundreds of 3/4" x 1 1/2" 70 durometer (those mats should be at least that stiff) rubber strips with 72 tooth alternate tooth carbide blades with my Makita chopsaw.  Drilled four holes in each of those with my drill press, 1/4" router bit and counter bored with 3/4" milling cutter.  Cutting those mats should not be really should not be an issue.

 

[hayaku]

hey guys,

reporting back... i tried it with the ts55 and the standard fine tooth blade... very slow.  too much burning smell and bogging the blade down as the rubber closes on the blade.  don't try to cut it at full depth - only made it about 6 inches.  only way i made it through was to cut a few mm's deep at a time.  thank goodness the track keeps the progressive cuts right where it needs to be for perfect joint lines.  but this is just slightly faster than cutting with a utility blade.

the rubber is not as stiff as the bumper bands for the doors.  i have no way of freezing it to make it stiffer so it won't close back on the blade.  i did not try a backwards blade nor my ts75 for more power.  just tried to get through the job and be done with it.

so if i need to do more of this type, just need a blade that works on this better or just a better tool for this material.

 

[IflyfromPHX]

I covered 4 of 6 stalls with mats as described above. I ended up using this - Festool 493656 S 155/W Foam-cutting Jigsaw Blade, 6 Inch, 3-pack.  These blades literally cut the mat like butter compared to all other options.  The hard part is supporting the mat high enough to provide room for the blade to work.  My barn builder was in awe with how well they worked. He had been cutting mats the hard way for 30+ years.  I gifted him a package when the build was complete.

 

[Holmz]

I covered 4 of 6 stalls with mats as described above. I ended up using this - Festool 493656 S 155/W Foam-cutting Jigsaw Blade, 6 Inch, 3-pack.
...

Same blade recommended for cake...

 

[Brent Taylor]

I used a rip blade the last time I had to cut some for a trailer, and the same for the jigsaw blade. The less teeth the better. B

 

[dukebird]

I did my whole shop in these matts.  I cut with the ts55 2-3mm deep and followed the lines with my jigsaw.  this gave me reference and was the quickest way i could figure. 

 

[Sparktrician]

30+ years ago I had access to some used mine belting to be used as a bed-liner in my Toyota pickup.  I used a jigsaw with a pretty coarse blade to cut it to fit.  That was the only thing that would cut it.  I had only a few cuts to make and that blade was toast by the time I finished the cutting.