I guess this is somewhat of a broad-spectrum questionation of sorts….
about 90 degree fluish trimmin bits….
I have a multitude of laminate trimming bits,and a bunch of laminate trimmers… some dogs, and some reliable…. Given yer choice of one bit, would you chose a 1/4″ or 1/2″ or 1″ dia bit for every day use…?
If I’m using a ctop blank to rough cut my laminate out of sheet stock, I use the 1/4″ bit—less waste and less wear and tear on the trimmer motor. Here, a cutter with a 1″ bearing generates a tad too much waste. Agree? or not?
If I’m trimming pre-Roughed out stock, I use the 1/2″ OR 1″ (replaceable cutter blade tipwhich seens to cut smoother,) and if I’m edging off of plywood stock, seems to avoid the bumps and valleys better, and if I’m edging off laminate, seems to reduce the risk of “bearing burn” (even though I use lubricant)
I have and use the Klenk manual laminate cutters (both kinds) for rough cutting out of sheet stock, , and they work well for rough cutting and have for years now. …., and I’ve recently upgraded to a milwakee ‘lectric shear to ease the task (tried the makita shear but that was a no-joy situation- too much tearing) What do the other fellas use….?
I have the virutex bench slitter, and hate it. How can you slide a 12′ slab of HPL through that sucker with any expectation of accurate cutting. If you concur this is a waste of money, respond, otherwise NOT.
OTOH, I’ve got the first and second iterateons of the Virutex handheld laminate slitters and swear by them ( instead of swearing at them as I did at the import versions) If yo is dping any kind of volume HPL work, these suckers will pay for themselves within 6 months, This is a no-brainer, so unless yer complaining about how the “depth of cut” is counter-intuitive, just tell me if you love it or not….
Do you manual file or machine file edges. I tried a Beaver air file with disappointing rusults…..for all the noise and time and effort I coulda manaully filed the results by hand (pardon the redundancy) with as much accuracy as this device offered.
Do you use this air-file? Happy with it, or just cannot aford to find another althernative?
There are jigs in my shop to slice up laminate on theTS, jigs to x-cut 5×12 sheets, etc.
Not to mention I got my own stock of Richard’s Laminate scribers, p-cutters, and even a panel guage modified to hold a carbide tipped scirber.
So, what I’m asking, is amongst the diverse illuminati in the FWWuniverse, is there any amongst you that may be willing to share some methodology I am missing in laminate cutting, or “stock prep” if you will, that might help me get a tad more efficient.
Eric in Cowtown
Replies
Hey Eric,
I live in NE Tarrant county. Are you in Ft. Worth? Sounds like you have more experience than me with this stuff. I rough the pieces out with the Table Saw and a scoreing knife. I then use the largest trimming bit that will work with the inside corner radiuses. I have a 3 cutter 3/4" (I think) pattern bit that cuts very nice. But really it seems that the bits make little difference, it is how clean they are. The damn glue builds up so fast..... I cant imagine why an air file is necessary. I seldom use a file at all. A chamfering bit tidys up every thing real nice.
Mike
I live in NE Tarrant county. Are you in Ft. Worth?
Calgary- Alberta, home of the Calgary Stampede, and the Flames....
Lots of folks use a table saw, but as I never went to gymanstics, I could never muster the courage to manuever a 5x12 sheet of laminate over the table saw- at least with the degree of accuracy I sometimes need.
I used to use the scoring knife quite a bit, and still do,
But I long ago abandonded the 7 degree flush trimming bit- I neve did like the way it looked.
Bits do make a difference----particularly with the 90 degree flush trimming bits, cause if they are cheap, or the bearings are cheap, you can inflict a lot of damage real quick. Been there, done that.
As for the glue build up, I encounter that from time to time, but have found that prior to trimming the overlay, I use my finger to slop on some vaseline, which not only protects the surface the bearing is running against from damage from a bearing which suddenly gets bound up with adhesive, but also assists in clean up. Way cheaper than specialty lubricant sprays and as well, helps coat the bit with lubricant so the glue doesn't stick as bad.
I sometimes hold the bearing down on a scrap piece of wood so that it ain't turning and the cutter is, it gets warm. I shut the router off, and (of course-wait till the bit stops turning, and slather the bearing with vaseline which melts, and as the bearing cools, draws the liquid vaseline back into the bearing and the shields. Helps reduce the glue-blues.
Worst case scenario for a laminate installation is if something hooks the overlying ledge and causes a chip out (read into that "replacement costs" -which come outta my pocket-so by dragging yer finger nails over the underlying piece, if there's any overhang, you will feel it.
(try that trick on the next restaurant laminate table top you come across...
Seldom has any item not required filing, even if it's just a slight touch, or draw filing to dull the sharp corners which can and do lacerate hands and the heads of little kids who bump into the edges. . It's kinda a Quality control thing with me.
Maybe I should re-visit the chamfer bit again,
The air-file thing is indeed a mistery to me too. Having tried one, I still cannot envision the overwhelming need to use on. 10 minutes with a handfile (single-cut bastard, draw-filing most of the time) does the trick.
hey- if yer cutting a lot of strips, you gotta take a scrap of laminate into yer local tool monger and at least try a virutex laminate slitter. It will blow you away. and I mean really blow you away with what it saves in time. Avoid imported immitations. Without a doubt, this has been one of the most time (and ergo-money) saving tools I have purchased. .
Do you do a lot of this stuff too?
Eric in Calgary
I live in Trophy Club, my shop is in Keller. Are you familular with Louis and Company? They are in Grand Prarie of 360 and Post and Paddock. They have all the specialty tools you could want. There are special files for laminate. They are suposed to be worth it.
MIke
Thanks Mr. Mudmeister.....Never heard of Louis and co. I have indeed heard of and tried the laminate files- I assume it is the same type you reefered to!. I has not been impressed with the ones I have. They is too agressive for my taste. When it comes down to it, when one stroke with a single cut mill bastard will reveal a white undercoat, why would someone need a more agressive file. But I will look them Lousite folks up to see what they have to offer.
Thanks for the input.
ERic
No prob. You definately want to look them up. Once you open an account (free but requires a $100 purchase) the prices are lower than anything on the net or any retail store. The customer service sucks, basicly the people there know nothing about the product (they don't need to because it is a wholesale company) and all the hinges and hardware are sold in parts. The cups and the screws and the mounting plates are all seperate. So you have to know exactly what you need to get the job done. Don't expect then to be able to tell you which slide/clip/bracket combination for Blum tandem slides will work for an inset, full extension drawer with 3/4" sides and a 24" cabinet depth. Here is their number. 800-444-0043
Mike
Hey- up here in Canada, it's the wholsale folks who are totally tuned in to what you need. You order hinges without clips, they'll tell ya. If yer hinge uses say a 26 mm cup size, they'll ask you if you got a bit to do it.
So far nobody's told me I'm out in left field in so far as laminate cutting is concerned.
Hey if you use single cut mill bastrad files, do you seem to think that they ain't made as durable as they were say 10 years ago, or is it just me.
Eric.
How did I ever have a brain fart. I just realized that you are in Canada! I thought you were in Texas. Forget about the recomendations for that company, unless they have a division near you, they might. I am definately not a laminate expert but I have managed to get excellent results in my own half assed way.
Mike
Let's see.....In the shop where I work we use mostly PC 310 trimmers outfitted with inexpensive flush trim bits. The one piece variety. When we get a bag full of dull ones, we send them to be sharpened. They cost around $10 bucks to buy, and around $2 bucks to sharpen. We use A LOT of these, most economical way for us. I'm not a huge fan of bits with bearings for trimming. The parts seem to get gummed up too easily. If you've ever had a bearing malfunction, the results aren't pretty.
We use 15 deg. bevel bits on a final pass. These have a bearing, but some glue and muck clean-up is done before the final pass is made. Usually like to leave a little to file by hand, just tough to get a fine result without it. I also like Vaseline as a lube to prevent scratches or burning. Use a small solder flux brush to apply.
We have a hand slitter, the kind with the roller cutters. We don't use it. 99% of the laminate is cut on the table saw. Including 5x10's. Just takes practice and a large area/outfeeds off all sides of the saw.
We try to always allow enough waste off of the laminate where the table saw doesn't have to make precision cuts in the material. Not always a reality, but more oft than not.
Cheers,
-Paul
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