Ts55 rough cuts on ply

[danturn]

Hey folks getting some rough edges on mitre cuts on ply at the moment.

This is 18mm birch ply with the blade that came with the ts55 (in the UK)


Does this point to anything specific?

I think the steps here could be

Replace splinter guard
Sharpen blade

Anything else?

Dan

 

[peter halle]

Those would be my suggestions. You could go a bit further if a new sharp blade and splinter strip don't help by setting you blade to cut 2mm and pull it backward to pre score. I am assuming that image is of the top surface and that you are using something underneath to support your work (that wouldn't help the top surface but would help the cut on the bottom). I suspect you are in Europe. What is that plywood. It reminds me of some plywood that Home Depot sells here that will shred the top veneer under almost every instance when crosscut.

Peter

 

[danturn]

Heya thanks for that

Yes in Europe

Using a sacrificial piece of MDF underneath

It's highish grade birch plywood so yeah the face is meant to be visible and nice ideally

Funnily enough the bottom face was better

I will try prescoring thanks!

 

[Jamie_MA]

Hey folks getting some rough edges on mitre cuts on ply at the moment.

This is 18mm birch ply with the blade that came with the ts55 (in the UK)


Does this point to anything specific?

I think the steps here could be

Replace splinter guard
Sharpen blade

Anything else?

Dan

Hi Dan,

I’ve cut a lot of cabinet grade plywood with a TS75 and have good results using a fine tooth blade. Maybe try one of these…

HW 160x2,2x20 W48​

Saw blade
491952

- JT

 

[Packard]

Quoting Peter (Post #2 above): […] It reminds me of some plywood that Home Depot sells here that will shred the top veneer under almost every instance when crosscut. [,,,]


During the Pandemic, supply side interruptions lead Lowes and Home Depot to seek out other plywood vendors. I bought a sheet of birch veneer plywood. The outer plies were extremely thin and had poor adhesion with the substrate.

I got similar tear-out with my track saw with a nearly new blade.

Worse, though was the fact that applying Seal Coat (shellac) and then oil-based poly caused the top veneer to delaminate.

So the tear-out could be an early indication of a crap piece of plywood. I am attaching a photo of the plywood 2 years after applying the finish.

Try this test: Apply a piece of packing tape to the face of the plywood at the cut. Burnish it down and then lift it up. If large pieces of the face veneer lift with it, it is likely that that problem is with the plywood and not the blade.

Managing to defeat the issue might mean having to re-do the project at a later date. (I scored the top veneer with a utility knife to get a clean cut. I would have been better served not to use the plywood for anything other than shop shelving.)

Here is a close up of my 2 year old “coffee bar”, which is 24” deep and 7 feet long. (And it looks worse in real life.)

Note: If you try the packing tape test, be sure to leave some of the tape un-adhered to the plywood or it will be difficult or impossible to remove it. I like attaching a small piece of paper to one end of the strip of tape. That gives me a generous area to grab onto to remove the tape.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

It's highish grade birch plywood so yeah the face is meant to be visible and nice ideally

Funnily enough the bottom face was better

I will try prescoring thanks!

The bottom face will always be better, since the teeth are not lifting it, but cutting into it directly. Miters are the trickiest, especially on the off-cut side. The most important part is that the rail is clamped in place. The force of plunging may not be enough to overcome movement, like it is when pushing straight down.

 

[danturn]

Hey everyone thanks so much for all the responses! I have a lot to try out

This ply was offcuts to test the setup before buying more so I may have better luck with the next piece. I think I'll try the same cut on various other bits of wood to see how it goes and will try and get the blade sharpened or maybe a finer one for the real work!

 

[tjbnwi]

Birch veneers do not cut well, try maple.

Tom