Cutting Laminate panel with jigsaw

[DanGB]

Hello all,

Ive purchased some end panels for the wall units for my kitchen:
http://www.diy.com/departments/it-kitchens-gloss-cream-slab-contemporary-end-panel/284523_BQ.prd

But these need to be cut to the right depth.

Im planning to use a jigsaw to cut these. It may be best to use a jigsaw as the wall isnt dead flat.

Ive been looking around, and it seems these in particular are best suited?
http://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-wood-jigsaw-blades-bayonet-t101br-pack-of-5/15283

Unless anyone can recommend anything else for the cleanest cut.

In regards to the blade mentioned above, should the laminate surface of the panel be face up or down when cutting? (Bare in mind that blade is a reverse cut).

Would you then need a bit of light sanding to finish it off?

Thanks,.
Dan

 

[opps]

The reverse cutting blades mean that you will be cutting with the finish face up.

I have never used them though. Down cut blades push the work piece away from you, the upcut should theoretically make the saw jump around a little bit. Try working on an off cut first.

I had to scribe some end panels last week. I used my Festool circular saw and guide rail, set at an angle and then used a belt sander. The circular saw doesn't chip the face but it does chip the (invisible) underside.

Interested to see how you get on with the blades.

Good luck.

 

[opps]

BTW most of the chippies I know would only ever consider using a handsaw rather than a jigsaw.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Downcut blades have a tendency to bend in cut away from the vertical often leading to a far from flat edge - and on cheaper saws with less rigid blade clamping and guidance that bend can be frustrating. They need to be used with the orbit turned to zero (if your saw has variable orbit) tpo get the best performance cut, although they will then cut quite slowly. As mentioned above they also tend to lift the jigsaw off the face of the work unless downwards pressure is exerted all the time. They are used from the face side of the material so you need to ensure that the baseplate of your jigsaw is clean and free from burrs - and for high gloss materials and worktops I'd recommend taping over the track area with 2in masking tape for protection (it is also easier to pick out a cutting line in black against a light background as opposed to something like a black worktop). I've used them and still do from time to time - but mainly for making cuts where it just isn't possible to use a conventional up cut blade from the underside, so not regularly.

In the main I mark out on the top face of the material, clamp the material to a pair of trestles and hold the jigsaw in a body grip against the underside of the material and make the cut that way using a T101BIF blade (an upcut blade specifically designed for laminated materials - so you'll get a better cut than using a similar T101B). This is how kitchen fitters do it, but it takes practice and you must remember to keep your free hand well clear. If I had to work from the top down in a laminated sheet I'd use a T101BRF (again a blade specifically designed for laminates) as opposed to the standard T010BR blade you are proposing because the quality of cut will be better. Upcuts used this way are in tension rather than compression (much like a Japanese woodworking saw) and will always cut straighter than down cut types

All jigsaw blades detoriate with use, especially on curves, so you need to keep an eye on them to ensure that they are sharp. Nowt worse than a blunt jigsaw blade.especially a downcut one which will wander all over the show

 

[DanGB]

Thanks, thats very interesting! I'll look into those other blades.
Im a bit confused why people use the 'R' reverse cut blades then?

 

[motorbiking]

Unless I had a decent circular saw with a fine blade, I think I'd use a hand saw and invest in a belt sander to deal with the uneven surface.

 

[Doggit]

I find that a metal blade works well on laminate, and gives a very fine cut on both sides. If you clap a piece of wood on the panel to give you a guide, then you should get a straight cut.

And of course masking tape is a good way of keeping the cut from breaking out as well.

If you've got a circular saw, and can get a fine cut blade, then done alongside a clamp guide will also give a good cut.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Im a bit confused why people use the 'R' reverse cut blades then?

I think it's down in the main to ignorance. I use T101BR and T101BRF (laminate) blades at times, e.g. for cutting openings in already installed kitchen worktops where chipping out of the of the surface is unacceptable and where it is immpossible to get the jigsaw in to make a cut from beneath (although TBH a plunging rail saw works better in most cases except for the corner cuts which are made with a jigsaw), but often there are better choices of blade or better/alternative techniques (see above) that I could use. It's just that people don't know that there are, and with Bosch alone making somewhere around 70 or 100 types of blade, possibly more, why would they? I carry something like 10 to 15 types of blade for my jigsaw at any one time and even so there are regularly tasks where I need to get a different blade to undertake a task efficiently.

TBH if your scribe is more or less straight then the technique of using a circular saw (with a fine tooth blade, used from the back of the piece to minimise chipping) or using a fine tooth hand saw from the surface side will yields a straighter cut than any jigsaw can, even a Mafell P1cc. It's where you need to scribe round skirtings, pipework, boxings and the like that the jigsaw comes into it's own

If you want to see the scope of jigsaw blades on the market take a look at the UK Jigsawblades website (and especially the application guide). It'll blow your mind

 

[MRBen66]

In the main I mark out on the top face of the material, clamp the material to a pair of trestles and hold the jigsaw in a body grip against the underside of the material and make the cut that way using a T101BIF blade (an upcut blade specifically designed for laminated materials - so you'll get a better cut than using a similar T101B). This is how kitchen fitters do it, but it takes practice and you must remember to keep your free hand well clear.

Hi JobAndKnock,

Please can you clarify the above and in particular what you mean by 'in a body grip'?

I'm picturing you lying on the floor looking up at the underside of panel/plinth (which is the inward facing side rather than that which is visible to the outside when installed) and holding the jigsaw upside down. Although the panel is clamped (somehow) to the trestles I can imagine that you might have to pull it towards you (downwards) to stop the blade which will rise up and down and the pressure of the saw's baseplate from lifting it so you could use your free hand...taking care as you say not to grip the blade on the other side of the panel.

Is this correct?...what is the body grip you refer to?

I'm also missing something because I seem to be thinking that it is preferable to use an upcut blade so why not simply put the panel with outer side (the on that you can see once he panel is installed) down and the cut from above while you are standing - why wouldn't that be best/shouldn't that be done?

thanks
Ben

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Please can you clarify the above and in particular what you mean by 'in a body grip'? I'm picturing you lying on the floor looking up at the underside of panel/plinth (which is the inward facing side rather than that which is visible to the outside when installed) and holding the jigsaw upside down.

I hold the jigaw by the motor body, rather than by the D-handle. Much of my jigsawing is done using a Mafell P1cc and that has no D-handle, so you have to hold it by the body. The type of inverted body grip i was referring to is shown at about 1:18 in this video. You can adopt this type of grip with a D-handle jigsaw, but the D-handle makes it a tad more awkward

I'm also missing something because I seem to be thinking that it is preferable to use an upcut blade so why not simply put the panel with outer side (the on that you can see once he panel is installed) down and the cut from above while you are standing - why wouldn't that be best/shouldn't that be done?

Some things to consider:

If you run a jigsaw across the top (finished) surface of a decor panel there is always the chance that a burr or grit caught on the baseplate of the jigsaw will mark the surface of the panel. This will be very noticeable on dark panels and certain colours of high gloss panels. On some saws (e.g. Bosch) you can reduce the tendency of the edge of the laminate to chip by using an anti-splinter inser around the blade. Niot a full cure, but a a partial one

If you use a downcut blade such as a T101BR (but again with the jigsaw on the finished face) you'll overcome this top face chipping, but the blade will always flex in cut (and also the saw shaft will squirm about a bit in the case of most jigsaws) so you'll probably have to tidy up the edge when you are done. The thicker the panel, the worse the blade will deflect with 18mm often being too much for these blades to cope with. Not helped by the fact that even the average trade jigsaw won't cut consistently perpendicular to the surface on 18mm stock (DIY ones are often a lot worse). Remember that a blade of grass in tension is straight - in compression it warps.

Ideally, then, you need the blade to cut downwards towards the finished surface so that breakout at the edge of the laminate (which always occurs to an extent on account of laminate being so brittle) is confined to the back of the panel (where it will never be seen and so is immaterial). That leaves cutting from the underside with an upcut blade as the option which will give the best results and the only to see the cut line at the same time as you make the cut is to use the jigsaw in a body grip.

Bear in mind that when making any scribing cut it is generally very handy to add a few degrees of undercut to the edge so that it fits tightly and is also easier to adjust should it need fine tuning

 

[domdee]

i dont think you can beat a good hand saw. buy a new one so you know its sharp. and then let the saw do the work.

i use a stanly knife to cut along the line first too so the laminate is less likely to chip.