So, I continue to scribble. In fact, in the past week, I've met...
Today we will tell you what affects the quality of sawing, how to saw off chipboard evenly and cleanly, and also how you can saw with a tire and without a conventional guide. circular saw.
We will show using the example of a hand-held circular saw, but this does not affect the sawing techniques in any way, the difference is only in minor details. You can get a similar cut quality on a cheaper tool if you follow our advice.
What influences the quality of cutting chipboard?
AT this case we will saw chipboard, this is the most capricious material for sawing, because it has longitudinal and transverse layers, quite delicate and thin veneer. But on the other hand, it has a rigid adhesive base, which will also interfere with us.
Saw disc. How to choose it?
When cutting chipboard, the saw blade must simultaneously cut cleanly and be resistant, because the glue is very close to glass in its properties and quickly dulls the tool itself. Therefore, in the process of sawing chipboard, you need to choose good enough discs to cut them without losing quality for a long time.
What is the difficulty of sawing with a circular saw with discs?
If we look at the cut of the workpiece, we will see that it is full of scuffs, because it is almost impossible to keep the saw straight in the cut “on the hands”.
On the saw blade there is a difference in height between the body of the saw itself and the sawing part - the tooth. Due to this distance, the disc has the ability to direct its position in the cut. Accordingly, as soon as it changes its geometry, the rear teeth begin to hit the chipboard blank and leave traces on it.
It is important to place the workpiece face down. Why?
The disk rotates from bottom to top, it cuts the pile of the workpiece up to the base. Thus, from below, on the front side, we always have a clean surface. Problems start to form at the top where the teeth come out of the workpiece. This is how explosions, chips, pile are obtained.
How can they be minimized or avoided altogether? There are several simple tricks and we will talk about them now.
Reception 1. Cutting along the guide
We install a guide (tire) on the workpiece, set the sawing depth and perform a cut. As you can see for yourself, even on the outside of our chipboard blank there are no chips, no explosions. He himself drank even without signs of scuffing or side waves. Why such difference?
What is the merit of a leader?
When we saw with a disc, we inevitably move the saw, we get the so-called "movement of the iron." That is, when we move our hand, we move the saw all the time to the right, to the left. The guide, which has a hard edge, avoids this.
Accordingly, when we guide the saw along the guide, it does not move and the saw blade itself runs smoothly without changing its position. It turns out an ideal line parallel to the guide.
What to do if there is no manual circular saw and guide?
You need to make your own guide. We find a regular profile, you can take the rule, any flat rail, the main thing is that its geometry is even.
We measure the distance from the saw blade to the edge of your chipboard blank. We fasten the guide to the workpiece with any clamp and start cutting.
The main thing in the process is to constantly press the saw against the guide. That is, your hand should always lead the saw towards the homemade tire.
After cutting, you will get an almost perfect cut, the cut line is barely visible. We made a very high quality cut, the cut itself is clean, no side marks are visible on it. Except for a small pile on the back of the workpiece.
Where did this pile come from, because we worked with a guide (tire)?
A commercially available cutting bar has a special plastic protective tape. This tape does not allow the pile to rise and the saw cuts it. In this case, we did not have this tape, so we got this pile on the surface.
What to do with the pile in this case?
There are two options:
1. Take ordinary masking tape. It is glued to the place of cut, marking is made on it and sawn together with masking tape. The adhesive tape holds the ingrown in place and when we cut it, we get everything clean.
2. Just drive the saw blade more slowly. That is, if you do the same with a slower feed, then there will be much less chips.
Reception 2. "Reverse cut".
The first pass is performed in an unusual manner - in reverse. That is, the circular saw rotates in the course of feeding the workpiece. We set the minimum cutting depth, turn on the saw and move not forward, but backward.
If you have a regular saw, then just fix the saw with a minimum reach for the base. The meaning of the first pass is that the blade, moving along the guide, only clings to our workpiece. We need a small groove on the chipboard.
Having made the first - undercut cut, you will make sure that there are no chips with such a feed (back). The surface is perfect!
Now we will set the saw to full depth and cut the workpiece along this groove with a regular cut - feed forward. We will get two cuts for one workpiece. No wave cuts, no arson, nothing - perfect quality!
Video - how to saw off material (chipboard, plywood) without chips
The furniture in the store is beautiful, attractive. Road. And it does not always turn out to be exactly the most desirable addition to the interior, as it was drawn in the imagination that was played out in earnest.
Another thing is custom-made furniture. The master came (at least that's what they call themselves), measured everything, asked everything, assessed everything, left to fulfill the order. Sometimes for a long time. Less often - not quite what was required. But the price of custom-made furniture often turns out to be even higher than its analogue, which is languishing in the store.
Guided by such considerations, the heads of middle-income Russian families often think that it would be nice to acquire the skills of the legendary Pope Carlo themselves and sculpt masterpieces of furniture architecture right at the place of their future residence. That is, at home.
Starting, as a rule, with "light infantry" - stools, bedside tables, coasters - simple hacksaw and ax workers inevitably face one problem. Her name is Smooth cut chipboard. Making reciprocating movements with the same hacksaw, or (worse) leading a vibrating jigsaw along the drawn marking line, they get anything but an uneven cut of the material. Well, maybe even. But this is a rarity.
But for cabinet furniture, geometrically flawless ends wooden boards are of critical importance. This is the quality of fitting elements together, and appearance decor and so on.
In what ways did our ancestors, who were more skilled in this matter, achieve this level of processing?
When working with a hacksaw, the tool itself is primarily important: its choice depends on the material being processed, its qualities and properties. For chipboard, which is now common, it is highly desirable to use a hacksaw with fine teeth, diluted by half the thickness of the canvas. A larger divorce will give a wide propyl and unwanted chips; narrow - to jam the tool in a chipboard sheet, which leads to mild psychosis. In addition, if the hacksaw is armed with hardened teeth, this only goes to her "plus" - and the wiring is preserved better, and the sharpening is lost more slowly. It is important.
However, sawing long cuts with such a hacksaw is fraught with significant fatigue, since small and frequent “teeth” are quickly clogged with wood dust and are no longer able to effectively perform their functions in this state. But still, at home, using a tool with just such parameters is most preferable. The sawing itself should be done under the maximum acute angle the cutting edge of the hacksaw to the sawn plate. This is less tiring, and besides, it gives the desired even cut.
Of the electrified devices in this area, such figures are known as electric jigsaw and a miter saw.
The first is characterized by a rather riotous nature with uncontrolled conduct of his harvesting. Techniques for his restriction of freedom here are quite simple and unpretentious. This is, first of all:
- guide - flat and straight, preferably a metal ruler, fixed with clamps along the marking line. Resting against it with the sole, the tool passes its distance almost perfectly, without “blockages” and chips.
- the file itself - its parameters, this is rigidity and purpose - for a simple chipboard - with small teeth directed upwards and without wiring, for a tree - divorced large teeth, predatory sticking out in different directions from the plane of the canvas. But about the first ones, it should be remembered that, after about a meter of cut, their canvas will inevitably heat up, lose its qualities and “tear” to the side. Almost always this happens with inevitability of 100%;
- adhesive tape pasted from the side where the teeth exit to the surface. Better yet, both. You never know ... Chips appear in these places. However, it is not out of place to monitor the strength of the bonding of the adhesive tape itself with the surface to be treated: if it is subsequently removed, it itself is capable of heaping up characteristic flaws, even worse than a file;
- two parallel cuts with a carpenter's knife on both sides of the marking line for the entire length of the intended cut. It also saves from chips, and is especially true for laminated chipboard sheets.
After sawing, you can modify the cut with a milling cutter or grinder, however, firstly, this is due to circumstances, and secondly, too many tools are already required for a cabinet that will appear in life once and for many years.
Only one thing can be said about the miter saw: it is needed.
Any home craftsman sooner or later faces the need to cut chipboard. It can be making furniture with your own hands or wall cladding. MDF panels or chipboard. As you know, cutting chipboard is not difficult, but making the cut even and without chips is not an easy task.
Do it yourself or order?
Custom cut will be smoother
quality sawing chipboard difficult to produce by hand due to the large size of the sheets. Dimensions standard plate 2440x1200 is not the limit. However, if you often work with chipboard or MDF, it makes sense to get an expensive tool and work for your own pleasure. If you only need to cut a few sheets, you can go two ways:
- Cut the slabs yourself using the available hand tools;
- To order cutting chipboard in a specialized workshop.
What to choose is up to you, and we will consider each of these options.
Cutting panels at home
It is quite possible to cut a sheet of chipboard or chipboard manually. True, in this case, you are unlikely to be able to avoid the appearance of chips and burrs, but you can try to reduce their number and size.
There are several rules that should be followed when cutting chipboard panels:
- cutting sheets must be done on a flat, solid surface. For sawing large panels, two large tables can be adapted (their height must be the same!);
- in order to prevent the appearance of chips, stick adhesive tape or a good masking tape along the cut line, which will hold the edges of the laminated layer;
- for sawing with a hand saw, select a blade with a grinding tooth. The saw teeth should be well sharpened. You need to drive the saw with a little pressure, at an acute angle to the surface, constantly monitoring its position;
- to cut chipboard and chipboard with a jigsaw, the cut line should be scratched or even cut. It is best to use a sharp knife to cut through the tough laminate layer;
- install a file with a small back tooth;
- select the maximum speed of the jigsaw, turn off the "pendulum";
- fix a flat rail along the saw line and guide the jigsaw strictly along it;
- the jigsaw should be firmly pressed against the sawn surface.
All these recommendations help to properly cut and cut chipboard, but chips, nevertheless, cannot be completely avoided. Therefore, if it is so important to get a perfectly smooth, straight line cut, without chips and traces of a saw, you should contact specialized workshops, where for a moderate fee any figure will be cut out of a chipboard sheet.
Accuracy and quality
Accurate cutting is the key to success
Panel saws for sawing laminated chipboard and chipboard have a high cut quality, which reduces the subsequent costs for processing cuts (grinding, removing chips and burrs, and so on). That is why on such machines it is possible to cut any complexity and configuration, which means almost inexhaustible possibilities in the production of furniture. Fantasy children's furniture, comfortable tabletops computer tables, figured through carved decorations in the doors kitchen facades– all this is possible with the use of machines.
There are two types of panel cutting machines:
- vertical, which is a strong rigid vibration-resistant welded frame (frame), installed vertically with a back deflection of 50 °, with guides located above and below, along which the saw beam moves. It is a bracket for the saw unit, which moves up and down along the beam, and also rotates 90°, which allows you to make both vertical and horizontal cuts. The cutting precision is amazing. For sawing laminated chipboard, as well as hard, corrugated or porous boards, a special cutting unit is used. The rotational speed of the saw reaches 15 thousand revolutions per minute;
- horizontal, consisting of a table for a plate, a carriage for moving the saw along the saw mechanism and the actual saw mechanism, consisting of one or two cutting units. The cutting units themselves are equipped with a main and scoring saw. The principle of operation is simple: the main saw cuts deep chipboard, and the undercut accurately and clearly cuts the bottom edge (veneer or laminated surface). The saw unit can also be tilted up to 45°.
The miter saw is a "domesticated" and greatly reduced copy of a horizontal machine. It will not be possible to cut a wide sheet of chipboard or chipboard on it, but with small details she'll be fine.
Sawing other types of panels
Cutting MDF is different from cutting chipboard panels. high density material quickly blunts the teeth of the saw, so it often has to be sharpened or completely changed. It is possible to cut unfinished MDF on a conventional machine, but laminated board requires a machine with an additional bottom saw. This is especially important when sawing boards with a double-sided finish.
Cutting fiberboard can be done at home using an electric or manual jigsaw. Of course, the file must be sharp, with a fine tooth, it is necessary to set the maximum speed on the jigsaw. Install the fiberboard horizontally on a support that should not interfere with sawing (between two tables or chairs, for example), secure with clamps if necessary.
The electric jigsaw should be held with both hands, pressing firmly against the surface, moving smoothly, strictly along the marking line, without jerking and pressing. The same applies to working with a manual jigsaw.
In the case when you need to cut a lot of sheets of material, it is more convenient to contact a specialized company. This will save you time and effort.
Video on cutting chipboard with a circular saw
Cutting chipboard beautifully and without chips is not always easy. See how to do it right:
As practice shows, it is very difficult to make a high-quality cut of chipboard with a durable melamine coating. Rough tools often leave nicks on cuts. You can no longer assemble a neat door or shelf with such defects. Sawing chipboard at home, usually occurs when repair work or making furniture.
How to cut chipboard without nicks and chips?
Special equipment
Of course the most the best way- use a special formatting machine. With it, you can get any cut. But for private needs you cannot buy such an instrument, but on manufacturing plant providing sawing services, such a procedure will cost good money. A cheaper way is a circular saw. There are even special saws for chipboard. But they also require the use of special tools. However, many in the arsenal should have milling machine, which will fix the rough cut with the cutter. If you have experience with such a machine, it will not be difficult to obtain a satisfactory cut appearance.
improvised tools
You can cut chipboard and a jigsaw, but it will be a rough cut. The edges may not turn out straight, but sinusoidal, and in the worst case, the edge will come out not perpendicular to the front surface.
During the cut, you must be prepared for the fact that the jigsaw file will begin to “walk” due to the bend. You need to cut with a margin of 4 mm, and then level the edge.
Sawing chipboard at home with a jigsaw reduces the formation of chips. When cutting, you need to increase the speed and reduce the feed by setting the swap to 0. Only sharp saws designed for special sawing of chipboard should be used. Only by following these rules you can achieve a good result. After cutting the butt, which will be in sight, you can earn some money with sandpaper. Additionally, before cutting, as already mentioned, you need to cut a line along which the cut will take place. But we do not file along this line, but near it - then the chips will not touch the limits you need. In the end, it remains only to finish the edges with sandpaper.
Indents from the contour can be up to 4 mm. Then these few millimeters are removed with a cylindrical cutter using a hand-held electric mill with a bearing. The bearing is guided along a long level fixed on the back of the sheet.
In addition, if the chips are in a non-working, inconspicuous area, they can be masked with a marker or felt-tip pen, matched to their color.
The most undesirable way to cut chipboard- a file (oddly enough, in old textbooks a lot of material is devoted to this method). It is possible with a planer, but preferably electric and with carbide knives. But here it must be borne in mind that the dust from under the planer will scatter throughout the room.
And the most comfortable way- via manual router along the guide. The butt should be even and under 90 gr, there will be no chips, and when the vacuum cleaner is turned on, there will be almost no dust.
Masters recommend using a hacksaw for such a cut. If you have a saw with a fine tooth, then the procedure is as follows:
1) Draw a line of cut with a knife. Sharpen the saw before starting work. The knife should be driven with a little pressure so that the laminated top layer is notched.
2) Glue a tape with a sticky base along the intended cutting line. It will help keep the decorative layer from cracking. You can also use paper tape.
3) The tool should be held at a very sharp angle. In this case, the angle should not be higher than 30 degrees - this will reduce the likelihood of chips. In the process of cutting, it is necessary to slightly press on the saw. If the work is done with a power tool, such as a jigsaw, then you do not need to rush and press it
4) After finishing sawing, the cut can be cleaned with a file. But in many cases, this is not required, since the small teeth of the saw do not deform the laminate. If torn edges have formed, then delicate work with a rasp will bring the cut into the proper form. The grinding tool must be guided towards the center from the edge - this minimizes possible damage top layer.
5) A glued strip of veneer will give the final beauty to the cut.
Of course cutting chipboard at home does not mean professional quality and high speed operation. For those who are in a hurry, we can offer sawing chipboard with a grinder. A wood disc is used as a cutting element. A bar is attached to the chipboard on clamps so that the grinder is guided along it for an even cut. After cutting, possible chips are treated with the same grinder, only with a different nozzle - for grinding. But a more gentle option is to use sandpaper.
