My Freud dado set chipped on some teeth after cutting melamine PB and I exchanged it at the place where I bought it. I don’t go there often because the guy who exchanged it told me that set isn’t for melamine, when it was clearly written on the packaging that it is. The second set has been fine- maybe your blade is a problem child and the exception, rather than the rule.
The guy who does my sharpening called Particle board “The hot dog of lumber”. You don’t know exactly what’s in there but it looks like what they call it.
“I cut this piece four times and it’s still too short.”
Replies
I use the FS tool double tri chip for melamine and it has been great.However I borrowed the melamine blade that has hollow ground faces to the teeth(by FS) and found that it cut well but blunted quickly,cost more than average to sharpen and made a whistle when running in a cut off box(tight insert)that made everyone in the shop turn really ugly so it has never been used here again.Are you comparing Melamine blades with the same tooth configuation/shape to get your wear stats?I have seen some ATB blades with a very steep top grind that cut melamine well but wear fast.Secondly some melamine board is coated thicker than the weekend warrior stuff from the big boxes
Hi Planearound ,
I have several FS blades in the 10" , 80 tooth with a negative rake can't recall the model # . I purchased them 10 or 12 years ago and use one for veneers and occasional Melamine on the TS and one on the RAS for crosscutting a variety of materials .
I have no complaints with the quality of the results from these blades . Like many blades the original factory sharp was better than the subsequent sharpenings , but still produces great cuts .
regards dusty
Try a blade height of 1/2 the height of a tooth.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
I use the SM6251 and size about 18-20 sheets of 3/4" Panolam " canada core " before changing blades. I can get more than 20 sheets when cutting Boise " southern core " sheetgoods. The height of the FS blade makes a huge difference. I run a new blade with the tooth just over the the material and raise the blade as the teeth dull, maybe after 8-10 sheets.
Canada core produces a bit more chip out than southern core but canada core holds fasteners much better. Southern core cuts like butter.
I have a couple of CMT 40 degree ATB blades that cut very well but dull quickly. Call FS Tool and speak to them.
DJK
A Hi-ATB grind will make the cleanest cut but will wear faster than most other grinds. A triple chip is typically the most durable...it's the same grind found in many non-ferrous metal cutting blades, which is actually not a bad choice for quantities of melamine.
re: melamine blades- I have used an Oldham (with varying results) and a Forrest WWII, with generally no chipout issues, although the hook angle isn't specifically for melamine and laminates. Setting the blade height is definitely critical.
I assume that you are using blade stiffeners and a custom table insert that fits the blade.Secondly I tend to cut with the blade about 1" above the material also the feed rate makes a difference either too slow or too fast is no good.Nothing beats a scoring saw but that is bigger bucks than I want to spend.Plan your cuts and you can hide most chip out .I also rough cut and make a final clean up cut to size
"Perhaps I should have gone that extra mile beyond complaining to the dealer from whom I purchased the product and contacted the company directly before grousing about the difficulties in such a public forum..." Yes, that would have been much more fair to FS Tools.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Please do follow-up. I pretty much swear by FS Tools blades and have never needed follow-up service. It sounds like you're off to a good start.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
The original poster contacted us asking that we delete this thread. Given that he has deleted all of his individual posts, I'm inclined to leave this up. Either way, I am going to change the title of the discussion to be less inflamatory.
Matt BergerFine Woodworking
Edited 2/8/2007 3:57 pm ET by MBerger
I do not care one way or the other but do you mind me asking who the original poster was and why the deleted there posts? Is the becoming a trend?
Doug Meyer
No trend. Based on the quote in forestgirl's post, it seems to me the original poster regreted being so critical once he read the responses to his original post. That seems like the responsible thing to do rather than perpetuating unsubstantiated criticism. For the same reason, I changed the title of this thread.
Ok, I guess that makes sence. I just was worried that we had another poster leave us in a huff or some thing.
Doug Meyer
Doug, the OP (sorry, don't remember the name) gave us a heads-up that he was going to delete his posts since the company involved had responded quite well, sending a rep out to check out the blade, etc., etc. He mentioned, IIRC, that perhaps he should have contacted them before posting the thread so prominently in a large forum. Me? I concurred, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Matt, so glad you changed the title. IMHO, that was actually the "rub" in this situation, and the thread probably would have been fine if it weren't for the rather glaring title. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Stumbled into this thread a tad late , however ,now that it has been renamed anyone have interest in keeping it going? I for one would like to hear other folks experiences with other mfg.'s and types of blades, whats working for them, etc.
I cut 2 sided mcp regularly, have pretty much been using Forrest's Hi -ATB Blade, been pretty happy with the results ,though not necessarily longevity between sharpenings. I always kind of accepted ""thats the animal" until the last session when a new ly sharpened blade dulled up in 4 sheets. I brought it back to Forrest for another reshapening, I didnt just drop it off , But asked them to check the blade. Still waiting for its return so we'll see what happens. I dont want one bad go round to spoil it all, but it has been a while since I looked for melamine blades, and I began to wonder whats everybody using? Small shop , Cabinet saw3HP. I understand industrial shop have big scoring saws, but I refer to us little guys.
Thanx
Eric
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