TS 55 Cutting Melamine board

Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
281
Hi,

I am cutting large (2.8m x 2.07m) sheets of 18mm Melamine face chip board on a set of MFT/3's using a 3.0m Guide rail.

On the side where the splinter strip is - lovely cut.

On the side where NO guard is - well, less good. I would like to improve this.

I do have one of those "green" splinter stops, but as I am only going in 22mm (18mm thick material) it does not seem to do much.

Any suggestions ?

Should I use a new "green" splinter stop, ensure the blade is at full extension (55mm) and put packing under my Melamine faced board ?

Should I run some tape down where the cut is being done ?

I am using Fine tooth saw blade 160x2,2x20 W48 491952. Would I get a noticably better cut using Special saw blade 160x2,6x20 TF48 489457 ?

 
Paul

I would try a 3-5mm scoring cut on the first pass- then all the way through on the second. It works rather well for me.

T-Bone
 
Oh, I didn't spot that one in the picture... That's one of my building buddies !! Two German Wirehaired Pointers... They come and help at most of my build projects... they are useful, turn up with these and you get discounts at stores !! (and lady attention)

 
PDT,

I recently made a few cuts in some decent quality melamine using the 48t "laminate" blade available from Tenryu.  I did use a new green "right" side splinter guard, but I did NOT make a scoring pass first, and my feed rate was fairly fast, as these were just for garage shelves, but the cut quality was very good.  I suspect with a slower feed rate, the cuts would have been immaculate.

I also used the 12t rip blade on some 2x doug fir, and the 28t universal blade for some 23/32" osb.  Both of those blades also performed very well.  I have never used the Panther from Festool, so I can't compare the cut quality, but I have used the universal blade on the TS75, and I would say they are very comparable. 

My reasoning for trying Tenryu's blades was for the consistant kerf and offset between all the blades.  After my first pass with the laminate blade (which took a tiny bit of the splinter guard previously cut by the Festool 48t fine blade), all of the subsequent cuts were dead on.  I was very pleased with the cut quality of all of those blades, and extremely pleased with the fact that I can use on set of guide rails without constantly replacing the splinter guard or adjusting the base of the saw.  As I've stated previously, I feel this is one area where Festool missed the bus on their "system."

I
 
Paul  --- those are some wise looking dogs  :) ----- I feel like I should take their counsel.  Nice cutting setup by the way.

Justin
 
try putting some blue painters tape on then cut thru it it works good on prefinished plywood maybe even try 2 layers ?
 
Paul

I saw your two table/stop setup thread- I know you were building cabinets. I'm calling you out ;D what method did you employ score,tape, or fancy blade.

Come on I'm dying to know.

T-bone
 
Good old tape seemed to do the trick. If it's really cheap crappy tape (technical term), then use two lots of it.

I'll post my "Edgebander" MFT/3 attachement tool - it's the killer add-on if your making carcasses - you can do what the big boys do - but, on site, when required as opposed to having to wait for a german manufacturer to build and ship it in 3 weeks time...

I'll do a review - not quite festool... but a great complement with fancy man-made boards.
 
Some pics of the results of using two lot's of tape on the melamine faced chipboard... Also a picture of the size this stuff comes in... It's massive !!

I'm 6'4" before I put my work shoes on... So you get the idea...

Now the Egger Eurolight stuff 8mm MDF, 34mm egg shell, 8mm MDF is really heavy..
 
WOW, those sheets are monster sized!.  Please be careful so you don't win a Darwin award or nomination.

I think the others have pretty much identified what to do to get the best cut edges.  Make sure your blade is sharp, too. 

Dave R.
 
Oh, these are not the BIG sheets... Essentially, I am buying what the furnature business purchases. It's cheaper than buying 8'x4' sheets...
 
Hi Paul - I want to start using those Eurolight boards too. Can you tell me if the TS55 handles the cutting well as they're 50mm thick arent they?

How much do you pay for the Eurolight boards? I find there's a problem getting them in decent range of finishes.
 
If I want a perfect cut in melamine/melteca I usually do a 1-2mm score and then a full depth (55mm) cut without any packer underneath.
 
Hi Paul

You should be able to get splinter free cuts with the green splinter guard on the right side of the saw. I would try a fresh splinterguard set to 22mm. Also make sure the splinterguard is pushed all the way down making full contact.

What happens sometimes is the splinterguard may have been used for a 25mm cut and if you then try a 22mm cut the wood fibers/ melamine are not fully supported by the splinterguard.

I always tell people to mark the slinterguards with a Sharpie for a specific depth and also set the saw to that depth before using them.

Dan Clermont
 
I would say go with a new green splinter guard on the right cut to 22mm deep that way you know its gonna work I sometimes do a shallow pass first that works well too.
 
Keep your blades clean, I clean my blades often with orange hand cleaner, toothbrush and hot water.

For a perfect cut on melamine more teeth and I put the good side down...
 
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