Cutting a plastic laminate countertop
mccarty12
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I’m a carpenter/contractor who usually subs out plastic laminate counters. I had a client who called me to install some cabinets and an oversized plastic laminate countertop that I have to cut down to size. Since I don’t have any work until April I’m going to take the job. I’ve set millions of cabinets but I’ve never cut a plastic laminate countertop. Can I cut it with a circular saw? Is there a special blade that I need? Any other words of caution?
Replies
Is the countertop post formed with the back splash installed? If it is, you will be cutting it from the back side, make a jig to ride your saw on, measure and transfer marks to back . Use a melamine blade in circular saw, you will have to go ' up and over' if the backsplash is deeper than your saw will cut. You may want to score a line on the laminate face to reduce chipping with a laminate knife. . I done this to a few tops . If it is a 'slab laminate top, then you can cut from the laminate side, scoring with knife is advisable also. If you are finishing the edges, consider wood edge ( oak ) and stain the wood, this will help hide any chipping of the laminate. Carbine laminate knives are available, Richardson makes one , looks like a linoleum / carpet knife but with a carbine tip and Olfa also has one with small replacable blades fairly cheap . Good luck.
IF IT WAS EASY, EVERYONE COULD DO IT !!!!!
great minds think alike,your just a minute faster!! larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
art I disagree on one thing. Regardless if it is slab or postformed, there will be less chipping if you cut from the back."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
is this performed top ? is it off or still on cabinets? if it's off i would turn it upside down and use about 120 tooth blade and trim it. if it's still mounted , i first run a pc of tape where it's to be cut. then scribe with a knife and cut about a 1/16th off line and sand with a belt sander to the line. if it's a preform i would cut the backsplash with a japan saw.larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
A circ. saw with a new 40 tooth carbide blade will do the job nicely.
Screw or clamp a fence on the backside.
Make a practice run 1" from your finished line to get the feel of it. This will also get rid of any excess material. As your finishing the cut, too much weight on the waste side can easily cause cracks/runs coming off the kerf.
Make your final cut and touch up with a belt sander (150 grit) and a light touch...buic
While a fine tooth saw cutting from the back may work just fine, I would advise cutting 1/8-3/16" shy of the final line and trim back with a router following a guide.
I have also used a technique of cutting 1/8-3/16 shy with a saw, then cutting to the line from the back with a circ saw set to a depth just shy of the laminate, then trim with laminate cutter using a trim bit with bearing.
Obviously, if the cut edge will be hidden by trim or overlapped edging, then all the TLC I suggest for preserving the laminate edge is unnecessary.