Replies

1. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Jan 08, 2004 01:20am | #1

   Bill,

   Nothing wrong with the CMT blades in general - I find them reliable and their claims proven by experience in the field.

   I use a negative hook blade for melamine (tooth angle greater than 90 degrees).  Stumbled upon it quite by accident as I had to resaw timber from an old house.  Rather than spend days removing nails, I hit upon the idea of using a steel blade.

   Cuts a clean smooth finish and works fine on melamine - minimal breakout.

   Cheers,

   eddie

2. 
   JohnWW | Jan 08, 2004 01:40am | #2

   All of the blade manufacturers make blades specifically for cutting veneers and laminates.  Typically they have 60 teeth in the 10 inch size with a triple chip grind and a negative hook angle.  To further limit chip out, use a dedicated zero clearance throat plate on the saw with no extra kerf in front of the blade.

   Because of the high tooth count, these blades are fairly expensive, to save some money you can buy an 8 inch diameter blade since most sheet goods don't require a lot of cutting depth.

   John W. 

3. 
   Andrew | Jan 08, 2004 01:50am | #3

   FS tool makes great blades. Same with dimar, gladu, and there are other industrial suppliers that make excellent blades. Go to any industrial blade supplier and you should be able to get a great blade.

   My FS tool crosscut blade will slice through oak ply with absolutely no tearout, and it will do that without a zero clearance insert. All that at half the price of a forrest WW II. The problem that you run into though is that ideally, you should have 2 different blades, one with a triple chip grind (TCG) and one with an alternating top bevel (ATB). TCG is the best for melamine, and the grade of carbide used is usually different than that used in blades for plywood. I have found though that a TCG doesn't work as well for cutting veneered plywood.

   One final thing, how well is your saw tuned up? no blade will cut well if the saws arbor doesn't run true and if the saw is out of alignment

   andrew

1. 
   JBD | Jan 08, 2004 08:39pm | #8

   I TOTALLY agree with Andrew and Don.  

   I own two FS Tool negative hook Hi ATB (sharp angle ATB) melamine blades.  The carbide was XL4000 or something, too.  Was turned on to these blades by a guy that eliminated the use of his scoring blade on their 17 grand Altendorf (old pricing) due to the ZERO bottom tearout/chipping. 

   I couldn't believe the results when I first mounted the blade.  I couldn't tell the top of the cut from the bottom.  Triple chip is good with negative hook, but ATB is better if the the bevel angle is 40° or less.  

   "The furniture designer is an architect." - Maurice DuFrenes (French Art Deco furniture designer, contemporary of Ruhlmann)

   http://www.pbase.com/dr_dichro

4. 
   johnhardy | Jan 08, 2004 04:09am | #4

   Forrest makes a blade, called the Hi A/T (I think) that is used for melamine. A friend of mine who is a retired cabinetmaker used them and swore that they did a very good job. I don't use melamine so am just passing this along.

   John

5. 
   DonStephan | Jan 08, 2004 04:24am | #5

   It's my impression that triple chip has generally been replaced by high ATB blades, but I'm not looking for argument. Local saw sharpener made a real mess of a high ATB several years ago so I bought one from Bull Sharpening in Chicago and UPS it back to them when it needs sharpening. I can cut about 12 or so sheets of 3/4" melamine before it starts chipping. Very satisfied with the blade and Bull Sharpening.

6. 
   BenA | Jan 08, 2004 04:26pm | #6

   Did you check out Freud blades. They make a LU97R, a  double laminate / melamine blade. never used one , but heard they get excellent results from this blade. good luck

   http://www.freudtools.com/woodworkers/rep/sawblades/Industrial_Series/Laminate/html/Laminate_1.html

7. 
   rslatm | Jan 08, 2004 07:02pm | #7

   I'm sure there are others out there now but in my kitchen cabinet days we swore by the Forrest Hi AT.  Previously we struggled with triple chip blades and fresh zero clearance inserts. With the Hi AT you don't even need a zero clearance insert, at least when it's freshly sharpened. We could cut one kitchen between sharpenings. It had a C4 carbide and very pointed carbide tips unlike any other blades as I recall.
8. 
   bakesale1 | Jan 09, 2004 11:33pm | #9

   I dont' know how it would work on melamine, but read a suggestion for preventing tearout on veneered plywood.  Wrap a strip of painter's tape around the section that takes the blade.

9. 
   TomT226 | Jan 10, 2004 02:49pm | #10

   I use the Freud laminate/melamine blade for high-end ply and melamine cuts. I also use blue tape on all cuts made in ply that will be exposed. Watch your blade height too.....

10. 
    Carcase | Jan 11, 2004 04:37pm | #11

    FS Tool makes chip free melamine blades with a negative rake and high ATB of 30 degrees. The XL 4000 series of blades has a carbide that lasts much longer than regular carbide. I have used these blades for years now and have had etremely good results. Any particle core material is abrasive on saw blades, as the blades get dull the height has to be adjusted of the blade to keep the back of the melamine panels from chipping. Another good blade for cutting melamine is a hollow face triple chip blade, however these blades tend to get dull quite fast. Dimar and Royce also make melamine blades with extended life carbide.