The key to cutting through laminate flooring without chipping it, is to use a fine tooth blade. Some recommend at least 18 teeth per inch on a hand saw to prevent chipping, whilst others recommend at least a 30 teeth per inch blade for a jigsaw.
The best circular saw blade for a straight cut through laminate counter top is one with many fine teeth — at least 40. Blades with carbide tips tend to last longer than regular steel. In addition, you should choose a narrow blade, or one with thin kerf, as it's called in saw talk [source: Out of the Woodwork].
For cutting laminate flooring, it's best to use a fine-toothed carbide-tipped circular saw blade. These blades are specifically designed to produce clean cuts in laminate materials without chipping or splintering. Make sure the blade size matches your saw and take proper safety precautions during cutting.
A miter saw is an excellent tool for cutting laminate flooring. To ensure there's no choipping, prep the board with painter's tip before cutting. Install a sharp fine-tooth blade with a high TPI (80 to 100 teeth per inch) in the miter saw.
TPI is the number of teeth the blade has per inch. If you're looking to cut wood or other soft materials, you'll need a blade with a TPI of 6 up to 20. For harder materials like metal, a TPI between 14 up to 36 is more suitable.
Cross-cutting wood or sawing plywood: Use a 40-tooth to 80-tooth blade. You can use a 40-tooth to 50-tooth general purpose blade as well. Joinery work: Use a 40-tooth to 50-tooth all-purpose combination blade. Cutting MDF and man-made materials: Use a 50-tooth to 80-tooth blade.
The #20 blade is used for larger incisions through thicker tissues or for dissection of the soft tissues in larger animals. Blades #10, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 are all curved and said to have a "belly." They are all used for making incisions. The sharpest area on these blades is the apex of curve at the belly.
For simple straight cuts, you can easily use a handsaw to cut laminate flooring if that's all you have, but for the most professional finish, you should choose a crosscut saw or table saw. If you're planning on cutting out angles or curves (such as around a toilet), then you should use a Jigsaw.
To make cutting more manageable, you can stick masking tape along the face side of the cut and let the tape stick out along the sides of the Formica® laminate sheet where the saw starts to cut. This will reduce the chance of error and chipping.
A common miter saw is considered by many to be the best saw for cutting laminate flooring to length. The cut quality will increase by choosing a high-TPI, carbide-tipped blade. How do you cut curves in laminate flooring? Like many materials, a jigsaw is the best tool for cutting curves and details in laminate flooring.
Always use a fine toothed blade and have the saw blade spinning before you touch the board. Pro-tip: test the direction of the teeth on the saw blade of your jigsaw. It'll show you if you have to saw up or down with the board's design. By doing this, you'll always get a nice cut.
Additionally, to allow for the flooring's natural expansion and the placement of baseboards always cut the laminate flooring with the flooring side facing towards the wall and leave the necessary expansion gap.
Plunge Cut Blades
Straight cutting blades excel at making precise plunge cuts, allowing for deeper cuts into materials than segmented blades. These blades are perfect for creating cutouts in drywall, laminate, skirting boards, and more, as well as making rough cuts in wood.
The simple answer is a 60 tooth carbide blade, and plan on a re-grind after every job... or sooner. Expensive blades or melamine blades are no better and no longer lasting. It's not the hardness that causes the wear. The board and the melamine layers are abrasive and wear away the edges.
Generally speaking, if you're working with hardwood then you should use a blade with fewer teeth because it will require less energy from your motor. On the other hand, if you're working with softer woods then you should opt for a higher tooth count in order to get smoother cuts.
Cutting laminate flooring to length is the first step in the installation process. Use your measuring tape to measure the distance between the last piece of flooring and the wall. Subtract an additional ⅛–¼ inch from this measurement to create a small gap, allowing space for expansion and making installation easier.
You see, laminate flooring will destroy a wood cutting blade with alternating top bevel (ATB) teeth in no time at all. The sharp points on this type of blade can't handle anything that hard – they dull quickly and those tips are what the blade uses to cut cleanly through wood.
The first thing that you want to do is lay out your first few rows of laminate flooring from wall to wall. You will have to make a cut or two for your beginning and end piece. You want to somewhat have the laminate or vinyl plank close to where it is going to be so you don't cut a plank short or long.
Score the laminate outside the cutline to prevent cracking.
This helps prevent the sawblades from chipping the brittle laminate. On my most recent project, I created chip-free cuts around the whole perimeter using a circular saw for the long cuts and a jigsaw to finish the corners. — Mike Guertin; East Greenwich, R.I.
We therefore recommend cutting from the back of the sheet (far from you) to the front (towards you), with the laminated side down, to avoid chipping the laminate. If you are installing your sheet as a countertop or on top of other furniture, leave the curves and the corners out.
If you only have a small flooring area, then a utility knife can be a good alternative for cutting laminate. Make sure that you use goggles, gloves and a mask to protect your skin, mouth and eyes from the saw dust particles that are released when cutting laminate flooring.
The Bosch T101BR jigsaw blade is an ideal choice for cutting laminate materials. The blade cuts on the down stroke, not on the upstroke, the “R” in the product code referring to its “reversed” teeth. This is a popular blade often referred to as a worktop blade.
With 40 tungsten carbide teeth for easy wood & plastic cutting. High quality professional carbide tipped saw blades ensure fast and accurate cutting with impressive results. Perfect for all types of wood, plastic, veneer, particle board, MDF, hardbord and plywood cutting.
I can tell you that 7FC cuts 1/8" long. 3FC = 1/2", 5FC = 1/4", 7FC = 1/8", 10FC = 1/16". The higher the #FC, the shorter the cut. Hope this helps !
23 is a "leaf-shaped" blade sharpened along its leading edge. Used for making long incisions such as an upper midline incision of the abdomen during the repair of a perforated gastric ulcer. The No. 23 fits handles 4, 4L, 4 Graduated & 6B.