How to cut laminate ?

skronk · 8 Jun 2015

Hi,

Want to cut 100 x 600mm strip from a piece of Formica like laminate which is 600 x 600mm.

How do I achieve a smooth cut. Never done this before ?

Thanks.

tec987 · 8 Jun 2015

clamp a straight edge to your laminate metal if you have one, get something with a sharp point or grind a point on a old screwdriver then score the laminate 3 or 4 times on the face side then lift the laminate up starting at one end once it has started it will come off quickly, don't press the laminate down or it will ruin the back. back in the old days I used to cut whole sheets into strips for the edges. best of luck.

Steve Maskery · 8 Jun 2015

Formica really destroys edge tools, so you probably don't want to use you best Lie-Neilsen block plane on it. DAMHIKT.

I would clamp - clam, not just hold - a good straight edge to the Formica and then use a new blade in a Stanly knife to score it. You will notice the difference between strokes one and two, let alone 1 and 5, so be prepared to change the blade if necessary. Or you could use one of those, snap-off ones

You can score and snap, or just keep scoring until you are through. If you are gluing it to a board, make it a bit oversize and then flush-trim for a clean edge.

Ah, been beaten to it.