Cutting a post form laminate countertop to length requires a clean straight cut.
Cutting countertop with circular saw.
When using a circular saw it can be quite difficult to keep the blade running straight while cutting.
The best diy tool for the job is a circular saw with a fine tooth carbide blade made for laminate the same blades are typically sold for non ferrous metals and other types of plastics.
Hold the saw firmly otherwise you won t have a good control and might not get a straight cut.
It is possible to cut counter tops smoothly without much preparation with carbide tip blades.
For example some circular saw blades have diamond tipped teeth so they can easily slice through hard materials such as ceramic and glass.
Cutting solid surface material is a difficult process especially if you are cutting it with a simple hand held circular saw rather than one of the five guided saws officially sanctioned by the manufacturer.
Measure the thickest part of the countertop and set your saw to just a bit deeper than that thickness.
This will allow the saw to cut cleanly through the whole countertop.
Stores charge a lot to cut counter tops.
Make sure the blade of the saw will go exactly over the cut line otherwise the countertop won t go over the cut line.
Laminates are essentially layers of paper tightly pressed together and glued with a resin.
The countertop will probably be the same thickness everywhere.
Set the depth on your circular saw to 1 8 in 0 32 cm deeper than the countertop.
Use your saw to cut slowly along the whole line to cut the countertop.
Use your carpenters square to make a mark on the countertop area.
After making the first cut you need to install the fence guide perpendicularly and clamp into place tightly.
In this case you re.
Cut through the marked lines and keep the piece down on top of the countertop part to see the small cutout left by the initial cut.
You can also use a jigsaw with a fine tooth blade.
Press down the power button of your circular saw to get the blade up to full speed first.
Place the blade carefully against the start of the cut line and the outside edge of the saw guard up against the wooden guide fence.
To cut through laminate countertops you can use a hand saw but a circular saw makes the job much quicker.