getting a clean cut on melamine

M

MrMac

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May 5, 2010
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I'm using my TS55 to cut some 5/8" melamine. I've set the depth at 25 and installed the little chip limiter thing. I'm still not getting perfect cuts! some small chip out's appear :(

The saw doe's not move side to side on the track, I checked that. I've never "tuned" the saw to any of the tracks, it didn't seem necessary as it always cut dead on. However I've not needed to cut melamine before, so now I am thinking that there might be something else I can do to improve the cut quality.
Am I expecting too much? from 2' away you cannot see the chip out's, they are small - on the face. The back side is a bit of a mess.
I did change blades, and it did improve a little bit. I am using the factory blade that the saw came with. The second blade is the same just a bit newer.
Thanks!

Laurie

 
Did you try taping the cut line?

Also, do you have it flat on a sacrificial piece? You mention the back being a mess.

Tom
 
You could also try a scoring cut (3-5 mm) first and then make the normal cut. 

There are a few other threads on this and one thing I am guilty of is using the green splinterguard for all depths of cuts.  I should really buy a few different ones and mark each for the different depths I am cutting, otherwise it won't be supporting the material and can lead to chip out.

Is this melamine purchased at one of the big box stores?  I find the stuff I get there usually suffers from this.
 
I have noticed this with my saw also.  You would have thought with the orientation of the blade the underside would be perfect but I'm afraid to say it is not.  I don't think you should have to make a scoring cut or put tape on.  It kinda defeats the purpose of the saw.

Woodguy.
 
MrMac said:
I'm using my TS55 to cut some 5/8" melamine. I've set the depth at 25 and installed the little chip limiter thing. I'm still not getting perfect cuts! some small chip out's appear :(
Laurie
Click to expand...

Laurie:
If you are buying this melamine at a big box store the quality is 50-50. Sometime you get good stuff and sometimes not.
I have found that I get much better cuts with melamine purchased from wholesalers that sell cabinet grade material.

There are several posts on getting  better cuts from Melamine but I do have some questions.
What support are you using under the melamine?
I find that if i cut my melamine on sacrificial piece of MFD and the piece is supported evenly along the cut I get good cuts.

While scoring does help, it does not really improve the cut particularly if you are getting a crappy cut on the underside.

What speed to you have your saw set at?
I find that setting my saw at 6 or maximum setting is the best.

I find that the Tenryu blades are the best and stay the sharpest the longest when cutting melamine. Freud blades are not bad, but they don't last as long as the Tenryu blades. The Festool blades (standard) work well but the quality of the cut falls off quickly. I have not tried any other Festool blades.

If your saw has been dropped, not saying that it has you might need to re-tune it. While I have not had to do this, and I have dropped mine twice I think I have been lucky.

Is the saw bevel set at 90 degrees or to the bottom of the bevel adjustment? I forgot to reset mine to the bottom of the bevel adjustment (slightly off 90 degrees) and the cuts were awful.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
Tim
 
Thanks for the info!

I did not tape the cut, I guess I figured that the new splinter guard would prevent chip outs.

I did NOT get the melamine from a big box store! (I really don't like buying anything at them) I got it from a local lumber yard that sells good stuff- Windsor Plywood.

I did not have a sacrificial piece under the melamine- that's a good idea.

I haven't dropped the saw! (knock on wood) it's come close at times though.

The TS55 is set at "6" for the speed.

I'll look into that tenru blade.

good thing this is a home project, if it was for a client I'd be upset.
 
ive tried fine tooth blade, solid surface blade, and the tenryu melamine blade.  None were perfect, but the tenryu was the best.  next time I'm going to try a compression bit.  I hear thats the way to get perfect cuts top and bottom.
 
Wow! I must have gotten lucky. I just cut up 5 sheets of melamine (from the big box store) :-[ with my new TS55 and I was so happy because I did not have one single chip out on either side of the many pieces I cut.
 
I just cut up five sheets of melamine (bought from Menards) using the fine tooth blade on the TS55 and had very little chipping. I set the blade depth just a little past the board thickness and used a slower feed rate.

I didn't try the universal blade, but am happy with the cuts with the fine tooth blade.

Tom
 
Hmmm, I got chipout like the rest report with the stock blade.  It did start off good but fell off after several sheets.  This is the Industrial grade stuff so not the cheap stuff from big box.  I'll do a tune up tomorrow and see if anything changes.  I did predict this so I cut everything a hair large then trimmed it up on the Table saw with a 80 tooth LU97..Heck, even that thing brand new gives me a tiny bit of chip out.

I will say I had a riot however with the new toy...I can see this thing being very handy
 
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