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I’ve got to do some shelving for the pantry and the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. I was wondering how many of you guys and gals cut melamine and do their own cabinets and what brand of blade you use. If you have more than one, which one do you prefer and why.
I was looking at the Bosch Daredevil DCB1080, anyone using it?
I’ve been using the Frued Diablo and I have had it sharpened once. (maybe 6-8 kitchens on it??) So far it has been great. I don’t see the bosch blades around here at all but I think they get pretty good reviews.
Brad T
Self employed Pro since 2014!!Thanks Brad, I looked at the specs on Bosch website and the blade had no reviews on it. I know Freud make some excellent blades but I am curious to see if anyone has comparisons to other blades.
I use the Diablo blades, too. However, I use a 7 1/4″ blade in my circular saw because I mostly cut formica countertops. I use a medium to fine-toothed blade – about 32 tooth on the 7 1/4″.
Most important is the rotation of the blade – to make sure that the cut starts on the finish side. And I always tape the area I’m going to cut to reduce chipping. Another thing I sometimes do if I’m worried about chipping is I scribe the surface with either a utility knife or an OMT prior to using the saw.
Since countertops with backsplashes are so awkward to cut, I use a Kreg rip guide. My pieces always come out straight with this tool. But I suppose this wouldn’t be something you’d need if using a table saw. I just thought I’d mention it in case you ever cut large pieces.
Pat
I have been using the Bosch stock blade but I am going to try the Diablo blade soon since it gets great reviews. My plan B is a Forrest blade.
I use an FS Tool melamine blade for building kitchens. It gives very clean cuts and stays sharp for quite awhile. I also have the Bosch DareDevil blade and it works well too but doesn’t cut quite as cleanly.
Dan
danpattison.com
The best blade for cutting melamine isn’t a brand but a specific tooth grind. You want a TCG (triple chip grind), a Hi-ATB (Hi alternating top bevel), or ATAFR (alternate top alternate face with raker). The downside to the Hi-ATB is they tend to dull faster. I have had good luck with the TCG. The ATAFR is on my list for our track saw just for melamine.
Tenryu or Forrest blades will be decent blades. Oshlun is a decent budget blade.
Andrew
A Working Pro since 1995!
Member since March 26, 2014.
Are you cutting with a circular saw or table saw? I have a 10″ Melamine specific blade from Freud for my table saw that works quite well.
We use the 80 teeth extra fine cut blades from Frued with great results. We have them in our table saw and radial arm saw. Don’t have to sharpen too often.
Well, from all of your advice and comments, I may have to toss the coin on this one ( between buying the Freud Diablo or getting the Bosch Daredevil with my points from BTP ) I will also look at the quality of the cut and score the melamine first if I get too many tear outs.
No matter what blade you cut it with make sure that you put tape over the cut
I am surprised I didn,t see anyone else mention that right away 🙂
I use the Festool melamine blade. The melamine blade with the splinter guard attachment gives both sides of the cut a chip free edge. A spoiler board underneath and you can cut 2 or 3 sheets very crisp lol. Melamine is hard on blades.
The best blade for cutting melamine isn’t a brand but a specific tooth grind. You want a TCG (triple chip grind), a Hi-ATB (Hi alternating top bevel), or ATAFR (alternate top alternate face with raker). The downside to the Hi-ATB is they tend to dull faster. I have had good luck with the TCG. The ATAFR is on my list for our track saw just for melamine.
Tenryu or Forrest blades will be decent blades. Oshlun is a decent budget blade.
I think these 2 guy have summed it up well! I like the Tenryu and Forrest blades too.
Are you cutting with a circular saw or table saw? I have a 10″ Melamine specific blade from Freud for my table saw that works quite well.
Forrest Duraline HI A/T is the blade we used in the cabinet shop for melamine.
Ron
A Working Pro since 1994!
Member since March 26, 2014.
I’ve got to do some shelving for the pantry and the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. I was wondering how many of you guys and gals cut melamine and do their own cabinets and what brand of blade you use. If you have more than one, which one do you prefer and why.
I was looking at the Bosch Daredevil DCB1080, anyone using it?
Hi Andre. Bosch offers a blade, DCB1072, which is specifically designed to cut melamine and laminated or veneered panels. DCB1072 is a 10″ blade with a triple-chip tooth grind (TCG) with anti-vibration body slots to produce a smooth cut that is chip-free on both sides of the work in table and miter saws. This allows the user to cut material to size without having to mark inside and outside surfaces because the cut material is uniform throughout. The teeth are C4 carbide which stay sharper longer in the abrasive substrates used in this material, and the blade can be resharpened many times. One tip – when cutting panels in the tablesaw, start with the height adjusted so that the bottom of one gullet (space between two teeth) is flush with the top of the panel and make test cuts. Depending on the material, adjust slightly up or down if needed until both sides of the cut are chip-free. The DCB1072 is available in many outlets including industrial suppliers, Menard’s, and Amazon.com.
Email us at bethepro@bethepro.com
@ChrisC_BoschTools Thanks for the info and the tip on blade height
Brad T
Self employed Pro since 2014!!
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