How to cut laminated chipboard without chipping
So, I collected a sufficient amount of material and decided to write another analytical note. This time the topic is sawing laminated chipboard without chipping .
There is a fairly fair opinion that it is possible to cleanly saw laminated chipboard only using professional equipment (that is, a format-cutting machine).
The whole highlight of this machine is that it has two saw blades located strictly on the same axis. The first one cuts the chipboard, the second one cuts it right through.
The cost of this unit is about 700,000 - 1,000,000 rubles (of course, there are more expensive ones))). NOT VERY ACCEPTABLE FOR AN Amateur.
Of course, if you decide to make a cabinet with your own hands. then it’s better to order a sheet cut (five square meters piece) in the workshop, and then calmly assemble it. BUT WHAT TO DO IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE IN THE CALCULATIONS AND YOU NEED TO CUT A PIECE OFF. I don’t want to drag myself back to the workshop, but I need to cut.
This article aims to answer this question. The review of options will go from simple to complex. Unfortunately, not all methods will be illustrated (please forgive me in advance), I will try to compensate for this shortcoming with text????
Method 1 - Scratch
The old-fashioned way. Previously it was used for sawing Soviet laminated chipboard coated with a thick layer of varnish. Nowadays it is rarely used. Using a ruler, use an awl or a simple nail to scratch a marking line to the thickness of the decorative coating.
After this, we saw along the line, trying to ensure that the edges of the saw teeth fall exactly into the scratch and not go past it. You can cut with either a jigsaw or hand hacksaw.
In principle, in the photo on the right you can see that all the chips remained on the piece without a scratch, and they did not go beyond the scratched line.
Detailed tutorial on this method 
The cut is much cleaner than when sawing without a scratch, but chips do occur. It is difficult to keep the tool strictly along the line. So slow.
Short cuts of acceptable quality can be made with a simple jigsaw. To do this, several conditions must be met. 
Firstly, the file must be with minimum size teeth (that is, for metal) and a new one. In this case, on one side (where the teeth enter the material) the cut will be almost clean. On the opposite side, there will be chips, but relatively few.
Secondly, the tool must be fed smoothly, without pressure. The speed should not be set to maximum (slightly above average.
The disadvantage of this method is that it is quite difficult to maintain the strict straightness of the cut, as well as the presence of a small number of chips.
Method 3 - Circular saw
To work with a circular saw, we need a “finishing” saw blade (again, with a fine tooth). It is more convenient to make long straight cuts with circular saws than with a jigsaw. But in this case, much more chips are formed (the side where the teeth cut into the material (top) is usually clean. Pieces break off from the opposite side (bottom)).
You can cut like a free-flying saw (it’s quite difficult to guide exactly along the line). It is difficult to cut several identical parts - there is a lot of hassle with markings. 
Same with a saw fixed to the table. When using guides, sawing is much more convenient. Both hands are free. You can use a guide, which will increase the cutting accuracy and allow you to stamp identical parts.
Even if you use a finishing disc, there will be a lot of chips on one side.
Method 4 - Sawing with trimming
This is a modification of working with a circular saw. Ideally, this will require a plunge-cut saw. but, in principle, you can get by with an ordinary circular saw. To work, we need a ruler (tire), which is fixed to the workpiece with clamps. It can be purchased or homemade (in the photo there is a simple circular with a homemade tire). 
The whole trick is to, by analogy with a cutting machine, make two cuts strictly along the same line.
Cutting along a tire (long ruler) will help us with this. The tire is placed along the marking line, after which we first make the first cut, cutting the laminate, with a depth of about 6-10 mm. In this case, the teeth run almost parallel to the surface of the laminate, without tearing out pieces of it. 
If you enlarge the photo it will look something like this
The second cut is through. At the same time, as we remember, no chips are formed at the point where the tooth enters the material. And at the exit point, the laminate has already been cut off and there is nothing to prick.
This is a good way to trim incorrectly marked parts, but you can’t cut the entire cabinet this way. Chips, of course, are present, but in an amount quite comparable to the formatter (it also, secretly, leaves a small number of small chips). A lot of hassle with markings. Only straight cuts can be made.
Provides the cleanest possible edge to the workpiece, the quality is no different from the formatter, often even better.
With it, we first saw the workpiece with a jigsaw, retreating 2-3 mm from the marking line, and then align the line according to the template (I usually use a second piece of laminated chipboard, sawed on a format saw, of a suitable size). The cutter must be copying, that is, with a bearing. 
Very clean cut. The ability to carry out curved cuts, that is, the production of many radius parts. including several completely identical ones. Disadvantages - a lot of hassle: the need for precise marking, preliminary filing of workpieces, setting a template or tire for the router, that is, it is not very suitable for mass use.
http://ruki-zolotye.ru
As practice shows, do high-quality cut Chipboard with a durable melamine coating is very difficult. Rough tools often leave nicks in the cuts. You will no longer be able to assemble a neat door or shelf with such defects. Cutting laminated chipboard at home usually occurs when repair work or furniture making.
How to cut chipboard without nicks and chips?
Special equipment
Of course, the most the best option- use a special formatting machine. With its help you can get any cut. But you can’t buy such a tool for private needs, and at a manufacturing enterprise that provides sawing services, such a procedure will cost good money. More cheap way- Circular Saw. There are even special saws for chipboard. But they will also require the use of special tools. However, many should have in their arsenal milling machine, which will correct the rough cut with a milling cutter. If you have experience working on such a machine, it will not be difficult to obtain a satisfactory appearance cut.
Handy tools
You can cut chipboard with a jigsaw, but this will be a rough cut. The edges may turn out not straight, but sinusoidal, and in the worst case, the edge will not be perpendicular to the front surface.
When cutting, you must be prepared for the fact that the jigsaw file will begin to “walk” due to the bend. You need to cut with a margin of 4 mm, and then level the edge.
Cutting laminated chipboard at home using a jigsaw reduces the formation of chips. When cutting, you need to increase the speed and reduce the feed, setting the pumping to 0. Only sharp saw blades designed for special cutting of chipboard should be used. Only by following these rules can you achieve good result. After cutting, the end that will be visible can be sanded down. Additionally, before cutting, as already mentioned, you need to cut a line along which the cut will take place. But we do not move the file along this line, but near it - then the chips will not touch the limits you need. In the end, all that remains is to finish the edges with sandpaper.
Indents from the contour can be up to 4 mm. Then these few millimeters are removed cylindrical cutter using a hand-held electric router with a bearing. The bearing is guided along a long level fixed with reverse side leaf.
In addition, if the chips are in a non-working, low-visibility area, they can be disguised with a marker or felt-tip pen matched to their color.
The most undesirable way to cut chipboard- with a file (oddly enough, in old textbooks a lot of material is devoted to this method). You can use a plane, but preferably an electric one with carbide knives. But here we must take into account that dust from under the plane will scatter throughout the room.
And the most comfortable way- by using hand router along the guide. The end should be smooth and at 90 degrees, there will be no chips, and when the vacuum cleaner is turned on, there will be almost no dust.
Craftsmen recommend using a hacksaw for such cutting. If you have a saw with a fine tooth, then the operating procedure is as follows:
1) Draw a cutting line with a knife. Sharpen your saw before starting work. The knife should be applied with slight pressure to cut the laminated upper layer.
2) Glue a tape with an adhesive base along the intended cutting line. It will help keep the decorative layer from cracking. You can also use paper tape.
3) The tool should be kept very acute angle. In this case, the angle should not be higher than 30 degrees - this will reduce the likelihood of chipping. During the cutting process, you need to apply light pressure on the saw. If the work is performed with a power tool, such as a jigsaw, then there is no need to rush and press on it
4) After finishing cutting, the cut can be cleaned with a file. But in many cases this is not necessary, since the small teeth of the saw prevent the laminate from being deformed. If torn edges have formed, then delicate work with a rasp will bring the cut into proper shape. The grinding tool must be guided towards the center from the edge - this will minimize possible damage to the top layer.
5) The glued strip of veneer will give the final beauty to the cut.
Of course cutting laminated chipboard at home does not imply professional quality and high speed of work. For those who are in a hurry, you can offer sawing of chipboard with a grinder. A wood disc is used as a cutting element. A strip is attached to the chipboard with clamps so that the grinder can be guided along it for an even cut. After cutting, possible chips are processed with the same grinder, only with a different attachment - for grinding. But a more gentle option is to use sandpaper.
IN this material We will touch upon such a pressing question for garage craftsmen who deal with furniture made from chipboard, how to cut chipboard without chipping. In fact, the question is quite topical, because professional equipment(format cutting machine) on which cutting is carried out in furniture shops costs about a million rubles, which not everyone can afford, and the area for its placement should be slightly larger than the standard 18 square meters. meters. A feature of such machines is the presence of two saw blades (the first is a small scoring one and the second is the main one, which follows exactly behind it). What can replace such a machine in an amateur workshop?
The most optimal replacement, in my opinion, is submersible a circular saw complete with guide rail. That's what we'll talk about today.
Personally, I use an Elitech plunge-cut saw - this is a domestic budget model, which, despite its simplicity, allows you to achieve good results.
Professional models (for example, Festool saws, they cut even better, but also cost 5 times more).
So, how is a plunge-cut circular saw different from a regular one? Firstly, with its spring-loaded working part with a depth limiter. Due to this, it is very easy to set and change the depth of cut; in addition, the “head” returns to its original position on its own without operator pressure. Secondly, there are mandatory grooves on the sole for integration with the guide rail. Thirdly, there is a rigid design that eliminates backlash (the cut passes strictly in one place).
The tire itself is equipped with an anti-splinter tape (as a rule, it is a tape made of hard rubber - black stripe on the right)
The tape presses the laminate, preventing its pieces from tearing off where the teeth exit saw blade. The tire also has grooves for fixing to workpieces with clamps and tapes for easier sliding (red stripes).
By the way, the Festool saw is equipped with anti-splinter inserts on the side opposite the tire, which makes the cut clean on both sides of the blade.
The tire itself is rigidly attached to the workpiece and does not move. Fixation is carried out with special clamps (their shape is somewhat different from standard F-shaped ones. The price, by the way, too).
All these features allow you to cut in “two passes”. The first one does not cut deep the top layer of the laminate. The second is through sawing to the full depth. At the same time, there is no longer any material at the point where the tooth emerges from the workpiece, so there is nothing to pull out, and accordingly, chips do not form. This is all in theory. Let's look at how this is all done in practice.
The markup is quite traditional. Using a tape measure, mark the start and end points of the cut (you can use a carpenter's square).
We draw a marking line connecting these risks.
We set the guide bar along the line so that the edge of the anti-splinter tape aligns with the markings.
Please note that the tire lies on the part that should remain (there will be no chips on it - the tape on the tire will help). On a suspended piece, they are possible due to the absence of an insert on the saw itself.
You can, of course, saw by laying a sheet of laminated chipboard on a workbench, but this damages the surface of the workbench and you need to use replaceable tabletops (I don’t do this, although with large pieces this may be the only correct method).
The tire is attached to the workpiece in pairs F-shaped clamps, inserted into special grooves on the tire.
We take the saw in our hands and set the depth regulator to 11-12 mm, which corresponds to 5-6 mm of cutting depth (the bar itself “eats” about 5 mm).
We place the saw on the bar, aligning the grooves on the sole with the protrusions on the bar.
We make the first shallow cut. The photo shows that there are a small number of chips on the part of the workpiece not covered with tape.
And one more photo from a different angle.
And a close-up
We change the depth to 35-40 mm and make a second through cut without changing the position of the tire.
Having removed the tire, we see a fairly neat cut that does not require additional processing.
I took a separate photo of the part after removing the tire from above
And from the bottom side.
By the way, the cut from below is traditionally cleaner, because in this place the teeth of the disk only cut into the material, they tear it out at the exit.
Let me also note one important fact. Use sharp discs when working. The disk used in this lesson is already quite tired and requires editing. I think that with a zero disk there would be no chips at all.
In addition to the sharpness of the teeth, the quality of the cut is greatly influenced by the material being cut. There are thornier coatings and stronger coatings. In this example, 16 mm Lamarty chipboard boards were used - one of the best domestic boards. Egger or Kronospan laminated chipboards are much more susceptible to chipping, and I most likely would not have achieved such a result with this disk.
All these moments come with experience, all that’s left is to invest in the purchase of this device.
In principle, you can cut in “two passes” with ordinary circular saws with homemade guide rails, the main thing is that the sole does not dangle, but doing this is less convenient than using plunge-cut saws, primarily due to the inconvenience of rearranging the cutting depth.
Any home craftsman sooner or later is faced with the need to cut chipboard. This could be making furniture with your own hands or covering walls. MDF panels or chipboard. As you know, sawing chipboard is not difficult, but making an even cut without chips is not an easy task.
Do it yourself or order it?
A custom cut will be smoother
High-quality sawing of chipboard is difficult to do manually due to the large size of the sheets. The dimensions of a standard slab are 2440x1200, and this is not the limit. However, if you work with chipboard or MDF quite often, it makes sense to get an expensive tool and work for your own pleasure. If you only need to cut a few sheets, you can go two ways:
- Cut the slabs yourself using available hand tools;
- Order cutting chipboard in a specialized workshop.
What to choose is up to you, and we will consider each of these options.
Cutting panels at home
Sawing by hand chipboard sheet or laminated chipboard is quite possible. True, in this case you are unlikely to be able to avoid the appearance of chips and burrs, but you can try to reduce their number and size.
There are several rules that should be followed when cutting chipboard panels:
- Sheets must be cut on a flat, hard surface. For sawing large panels, you can adapt two large tables (their height should be the same!);
- in order to prevent chipping, stick adhesive tape or good masking tape along the cut line, which will hold the edges of the laminated layer;
- for sawing using hand saw choose a blade with a grinding tooth. The saw teeth should be sharpened well. You need to drive the saw with slight pressure, at an acute angle to the surface, constantly monitoring its position;
- To cut chipboards and laminated chipboards using a jigsaw, the cut line should be scratched or even cut through. It is best to use a sharp knife to cut through the durable laminate layer;
- install a file with fine reverse teeth;
- select the maximum speed of the jigsaw, turn off the “pendulum”;
- fasten an even strip along the cut line and move the jigsaw strictly along it;
- The jigsaw should be pressed firmly against the surface being cut.
All these recommendations help to correctly saw and cut chipboard, but chipping, nevertheless, cannot be completely avoided. Therefore, if it is so important to get a perfectly smooth, even cut line, without chips or saw marks, you should contact specialized workshops where they will cut out any shape from a sheet of chipboard for a reasonable fee.
Precision and quality
Accurate cutting is the key to success
Format cutting machines for sawing laminated chipboards and chipboards have a high quality cut, which allows you to reduce subsequent costs for processing the cuts (grinding, removing chips and burrs, and so on). That is why such machines can be used to cut any complexity and configuration, which means almost inexhaustible possibilities in furniture production. Fantasy children's furniture, comfortable tabletops computer desks, curly through carved decorations in the doors kitchen facades– all this is possible using machines.
There are two types of panel cutting machines:
- vertical, which are a strong, rigid, vibration-resistant welded bed (frame), installed vertically with a backward deviation of 50°, with guides located above and below, along which the saw beam moves. It is a bracket for the saw unit, which moves up and down along the beam, and also rotates 90°, which allows you to make both vertical and horizontal cuts. The cutting precision is amazing. A special scoring unit is used for sawing laminated chipboard, as well as hard, corrugated or porous boards. The rotation speed of the saw reaches 15 thousand revolutions per minute;
- horizontal, consisting of a table for the stove, a carriage for moving the saw along the saw mechanism and the saw mechanism itself, consisting of one or two cutting units. The cutting units themselves are equipped with a main and scoring saw. The principle of operation is simple: the main saw deeply cuts through the chipboard, and the scoring saw accurately and clearly cuts the bottom edge (veneer or laminated surface). The saw unit can also be tilted up to 45°.
The miter saw is a “domesticated” and greatly reduced copy of the horizontal saw. It will not be possible to saw a wide sheet of chipboard or laminated chipboard on it, but with small details she can handle it just fine.
We cut other types of panels
Cutting MDF differs from cutting chipboard panels. The high density of the material quickly dulls the saw teeth, so it often has to be sharpened or completely replaced. You can cut untreated MDF using on a regular machine However, laminated board requires a machine with an additional bottom saw. This is especially important when cutting slabs with a double-sided finish.
Fiberboard can be cut at home using an electric or hand jigsaw. Of course, the file must be sharp, with a fine tooth; the jigsaw must be set to maximum speed. Install the fiberboard horizontally on a support that should not interfere with sawing (between two tables or chairs, for example), secure it with clamps if necessary.
The electric jigsaw should be held with both hands, pressed firmly against the surface, and moved smoothly, strictly along the marking line, without jerking or pressing. The same applies to working with a hand jigsaw.
In cases where it is necessary to cut many sheets of material, it is more convenient to contact a specialized company. This will save you time and effort.
Video on cutting chipboard using a circular saw
It is not always easy to cut chipboard beautifully and without chips. See how to do it correctly:
