How to cut a laminate, choose a file. How and with what to saw a laminate - the choice of tools and the nuances of sawing laminated coatings Which jigsaw files are better for laminate

Laminate is the most common floor covering today, which is made from a compressed material - fiberboard (MDF). Appearance laminated board defines decorative layer, usually imitating the surface of a tree, although other options are possible. The board itself consists of 4 layers, sealed ("laminated") in protective film, due to which the material got its name.

The material is quite simple to install, so both professionals and ordinary home craftsmen who try to do everything with their own hands can do its installation. The technology is such that the laminate must be sawn at the time of laying. Accordingly, the question arises: How to saw the laminate so that the cut is neat and without chips?

About laminate

From practice it can be seen that it is almost impossible to fit laminate slabs to the size of the room, they need to be filed to the desired size. It is necessary to determine which file to cut the laminate so that the cut is even.

To do this, it is important to study the structure of the processed material.

The first, lowest layer of the product consists of unrefined paper. It protects against moisture penetration. Sometimes an additional substrate is added under this layer, which is designed for sound and heat insulation, but this makes the price of the product higher.
The next layer is made of HDF and the greater its density, the better the fixation between the panels.
Then comes the layer decorative paper , on which imitation of various types of wood, stone, sand, marble and other natural materials can be depicted.
Most upper layer colorless and composed of acrylic resin. Through it is clearly visible decorative pattern on the panel. It is its thickness that affects the wear resistance class of the laminate and its service life.

Laminate flooring can be classified into residential and commercial. The latter is more durable protective coating and is intended for rooms with increased "human traffic".

Sawing tool

When processing any structure, it is imperative to use tools that are suitable for this particular material composition. After all, it is impossible to cut ceramic with a jigsaw floor tiles, and glass cutter - hardware. So the best cutter for one raw material cannot be useful for another.

Any professional or just an "amateur" probably knows that cutting a laminate board requires special tool to ensure that the structure of the material was not violated.

These tools include:

jigsaw;
a circular saw;
hacksaw;
laminate cutter.

Electric jigsaw

What is the best way to cut laminate? The best cut is obtained when using a jigsaw. A jigsaw file for laminate should be designed for working with wood.

Advice!
Before making a cut, on the laminated side of the board, it is necessary to draw a cut border with a pencil, then cut the protective film with a paint knife.

The board should be placed face down on a flat surface and fixed. At the time of cutting, it is very important not to make sudden movements, in order to avoid the formation of chips and damage to the structure of the material. A neat incision can be made both in the transverse and in the longitudinal direction.

Saw

In order to get a neat cut of a laminate board, you can use a hand-held circular saw with a disc for metal, called a grinder. As in the previous case, the board must be laid on a flat surface with the front side, firmly strengthening it. Gently lower the “grinder” disk and draw along the line marked with a pencil.

If neither one nor the other tool is available, you can use a hand saw or a hacksaw for metal. Using this method work with the utmost care. And the whole process takes a lot of time. This method is not easy and the cut is not of sufficient quality.

It can justify itself only with small amounts of work.

Cutter

For cutting laminate in large volumes, you can use a special cutter that looks like a sharp blade that descends on the material with a handle. Using this method, the laminate can only be cut in the transverse direction. The cut line is very precise. This method is convenient for those who are laying laminate flooring on an ongoing basis, since the price of the tool is very “decent”.

What blade to cut laminate?

If the tool has already been selected, then you need to decide on its components. Jigsaw blades for laminate differ in shape, pitch and method of setting the teeth, as well as in the material of the blade. The quality of laying depends on the quality of cutting material elements. If you try to cut a laminate with a saw that is not intended for this, it is more likely to leave multiple chips on the edge of the workpiece.

If there is no special file for a jigsaw on a laminate, any file with fine teeth and a narrow blade can be used. For curly or curvilinear cuts, the narrower the canvas, the more accurate the cut will be.

A wood file should be with the direction of the tops of the teeth in the opposite direction. Due to this, the probability of chipping is excluded when sawing the material from the front side and excludes the “turning” of the decorative layer outward. The evenness of the cut is affected not only by the size of the teeth, but also by the speed with which the panel web is cut, as well as the quality of the metal from which the laminate saw is made.

If the farm has circular machine, it can also be adapted for cutting laminate.

Instructions for cutting laminate using a circular saw looks like this:

It is important that the saw blades on the laminate have fine teeth;
A mark is applied to the front side of the laminate board at the intended location of the cut;
After that, the bar is installed on the machine in a horizontal position and down with a pattern.
The edges of the bar must be held tightly with your hands and slowly pushed away from you in the direction of the rotating disk.
Using, saw blades on the laminate you need to be very careful not to hurt your hands. Sleeves outerwear working must be fastened, the disk is closed with a special casing.

The complexity of the whole cutting process is that the laminate saw blade is not designed for curved cutting. But this task is quite easy to handle electric jigsaw. Thanks to the use of this tool, you can make any curly cut.

When cutting laminate with a manual circular saw, it is important to know that the disk on it rotates from the bottom up, respectively, if it is not sharp enough, torn edges will remain on the material. To avoid this, when preparing the board for the cut, it must be laid face down.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a little about how professionals saw laminate. People who face such work every day most often use a special laminate cutting machine in their practice. It has a very sharp blade that makes a precise and even cut. With it, professionals cope with cutting large amounts of material very quickly.

This tool is almost indispensable for craftsmen involved in professional styling floor coverings. In order to make the whole process more visual, you can view photos and video materials on this topic.

Lay out the floor whole sheets laminate is not possible. There is always a need to saw the laminate to obtain the required dimensions. Therefore, in order to avoid excessive material consumption, it is better to determine the list of fixtures and tools for accurate and waste-free cutting of panels at home before starting work.

Of course, it is impossible to do without waste completely. Therefore, when calculating the amount of laminate, a small margin is laid, given that you will have to cut some boards, fit them to size, and then dock them together.

Types of tools for cutting laminate

Due to its structure, the laminate is well sawn with a wood tool and is extremely easy to process for craftsmen. different levels: from professionals with many years of experience to beginners.

The peculiarity is that the sawing of the material is carried out directly at the installation site. At the same time, it is very important to achieve a qualitatively even cut and not to spoil the panel.

Turning to specialists with the question of how to cut a laminate quickly and efficiently, you can get various tips. After all, each master has his own criteria for selecting a tool, his own characteristics and knowledge of technology, the experience gained and natural ingenuity. For one, it is important to work with a light and mobile tool, for another, the issue of connecting to the mains or manual execution is important. However, everyone agrees on one thing: the cutting of the laminate must be done with high quality, ensuring a perfect cut.

All laminate cutting tools can be divided into two categories: hand tool and power tools. The advantages of the first category are the versatility of use and affordable price. The use of the second group of tools, despite the higher cost and dependence on the place of connection to the mains, can significantly speed up and facilitate the installation of the coating.

hacksaw;
jigsaw;
circular saw;
grinder;
special cutter;
construction knife;
and even an ordinary clerical knife.

The use of any tool from the above list with the appropriate handling experience will allow you to get a high-quality and accurate cut. A general or unified recommendation on how to cut a laminate at home, what equipment or fixture to choose in specific situation does not exist. Each master, based on personal practical experience, knowledge and professional training, has his own preferences and "chips". It is important to consider that with any of the chosen methods, one should be guided by folk wisdom: "Seven times measure cut once".

Let us briefly consider the purpose and principles of operation of each type of laminate cutting tool.

Hacksaw

Let's start with the simplest and most affordable - hand saw wood or hacksaw. This is a hand tool that is in almost every home. A hacksaw requires physical effort and can be used when cutting a small amount of material. On a large volume, its use is not effective. In this case, the choice of a hacksaw with large teeth can lead to destruction decorative surface coating lamellas. To prevent such consequences, it is better to use a hacksaw with fine teeth or a hacksaw for metal.

Advice: Before you start cutting, masking tape should be glued to this place, which will prevent the formation of chips at the cut site. In this case, it is recommended to lay the board with the front cover up.

A hacksaw is not the main tool for cutting laminate for professionals due to low productivity, high physical costs and the danger of damage to the decorative layer of the panel. But in some cases, with small volumes, when it is impractical to use a jigsaw or grinder, a hacksaw can be useful.

A direct alternative to a hacksaw is an electric reciprocating saw. There are many such tools on the market today. However, an electric saw will not add much convenience and speed to work. Therefore, in our review, we will not dwell on it in detail.

An electric jigsaw is a convenient, simple and highly productive tool. In most cases, it takes first place due to its ease of use, accessibility and efficiency of use. Therefore, when looking for solutions to the problem of how to cut a laminate at home, many of the users opt for it.

To use a jigsaw does not require special training or many years of skill, everyone can successfully cope with it. The result will be of high quality, the cut will turn out to be even and perfectly smooth, given that the tool operates at high speeds. The main thing in its application is correct selection files for laminate.

Usually, a jigsaw set includes several blades designed for processing wood or laminate. If you do not have them, you should take care of the purchase in advance. A jigsaw blade for a laminate has a special shape and a fine tooth pitch. Look for the appropriate label on the packaging. The use of the wrong file will lead to chips at the edges of the cut. Therefore, it is better to cut the panels with a special jigsaw file for laminate. If you couldn’t find one, you can use the metal sheet, but work productivity will be slightly reduced.

Important! Marking is done from the wrong side of the panel. For cutting with a jigsaw, it is necessary to lay the workpiece on a flat, clean surface with the decorative side down. So the teeth of the saw blade damage the panel less during the cut.

An important advantage of a jigsaw over other types of tools is the ability to make not only straight cuts, but also curved ones. This is very important if you need to put a laminate floor in the places where pipes and communications pass. Under them, a jigsaw can easily cut grooves and entries.

The circular saw allows you to get more even cut laminate than a jigsaw, and much faster. However, working with such a tool requires a lot of attention and is much more dangerous. Therefore apply circular saw it is recommended only for those who have the skills and experience in handling such a tool, or have familiarized themselves with the work procedure in detail by watching the video.

Typically, a circular saw for laminate is used only by professionals with very large amounts of work. At home, this tool is rarely used because of its high cost, bulkiness and risk of injury.

As in the case of a jigsaw, for sawing laminate on a circular saw, a blade designed specifically for this procedure must be installed. The cut is made face up with smooth movements in the longitudinal or transverse direction.

corner Sander or in the common people "Bulgarian" for cutting laminate is used quite often. This is an easy to use tool. A clean wood cutting disc is installed on it, which can easily cut a laminate panel.

The workpiece is fixed on a flat plane with a decorative layer up. It should be cut slowly, smoothly, without strong pressure and clearly following the marked straight line. Make sure that during the cutting process the disc on the laminate of the grinder does not get stuck or slipped in the workpiece. This requires some skill and skill, so it's best to test your strength and skill on waste before sawing laminate at home.

For many, the grinder is associated with metal cutting. But this power tool has great potential and a wide range of sizes and capacities, which allows it to be classified as universal tool. A certain part of the masters do not make another decision when the question of choosing cutting tools arises - they prefer to cut the laminate with a grinder, since it is with its help that they cut almost all materials.

When cutting laminated material with a grinder, the cut is perfectly even and smooth. To get a surface best quality it is important which blade is used for cutting: for cutting wood, metal, concrete or stone. The right circle will help you achieve the best results.

Important! Before cutting, the workpiece is laid and fixed face up. Cut should be smooth, without strong pressure, clearly in a straight line. To cut laminate, you need to use a wood saw blade with a clean cut.

When working with this tool, a large number of dust and bad smell scorched tree. Therefore, when choosing a grinder, it is not recommended to perform work indoors: for this, it is better to go to outdoor balcony or to the street.

Laminate cutter

A guillotine or laminate cutter is a highly specialized and fairly expensive hand tool designed exclusively for cutting laminate. It does not require skills or physical strength.

Externally, the cutter resembles a guillotine equipped with a sharp knife. When to make a choice the right tool, a laminate cutter is usually not the first choice, as this narrowly professional tool is little known to a wide range of users, despite its effectiveness.

The advantages of the guillotine are:

Noiselessness;
High speed of work;
No dust;
Experience and skills of use are not necessary;
High cut quality.

The cost of the cutter is relatively expensive, so the purchase of such a tool for cutting laminate is expedient and cost-effective only for professionals who are constantly busy laying laminate. If you need to change the floor in two-room apartment, it is hardly worth making a decision to purchase such a specialized device.

Important! Work with a cutter is possible only in the transverse direction.

Construction and stationery knife

Most often, a construction or office knife for cutting laminate can be used in situations where you need to trim or trim a small piece of the board. You can also use a construction knife if you need to cut off a piece of laminate, and there is no other tool at hand. To do this, with strong pressure, make an incision of the decorative layer along the marking several times (it will not be possible to completely cut off the fragment as if with a saw), until a deep mark remains on the surface. Next, you need to put a hammer handle or other stop under the cut line and break off a piece by pressing on the far edge. The cut can be cleaned with the same knife or sandpaper.

Drill and screwdriver

A drill or screwdriver is not the primary tool for laying laminate, but is often used to make cutouts for pipes and communications, as well as when installing skirting boards and thresholds after laying the laminate.

Features of the laminate cutting process

Getting started laying laminate flooring, you need to know not only how to cut the laminate at home, but also how to use the tools correctly. Among the main defining points regarding the features of working with a laminate, the following can be noted:

do not use great effort when cutting the laminate;
in case of a poor-quality cut, the board should be laid with the damaged side under the plinth;
to obtain a perfect cut, the workpiece should be placed inside out when working with a grinder and a circular saw, or inside out when working with a jigsaw;
before cutting, check the calculations several times to prevent damage to materials;
figured cuts should be made using a template for measuring bends, gluing construction tape to the place of the cut.

Instead of a resume

Each type of tool for laying and cutting laminate at home must meet the following criteria:

must be correct;
be convenient to use;
have a small weight;
ensure the quality of the work assigned to him;
cost cheap.

Undoubtedly, the best tool for cutting laminate is a jigsaw. It is versatile, convenient, can cut lamellas along, across and with a rounding, does not require special skills, is light and not expensive. It is only important to choose the right file.

Follow our advice, and the selected cutting tool will make the process of laying laminate flooring simple and of high quality.

The technology of working with laminate to provide for the fact that in the process of laying it will be necessary to trim the web along the length or width. An ordinary buyer who decides to carry out these works on his own has a perfectly reasonable question of how to saw a laminate at home.

For cutting laminated boards, both hand tools and electrical equipment can be used. The quality of the cut in each of the cases varies, but if the elementary instructions are followed, the result is almost always positive.

#1 – Hacksaw

A hacksaw is the simplest and cheapest tool for cutting laminate.

A hacksaw with a fine tooth is the most a simple tool for cutting laminitis. Such a tool is often found even among people far from repair and decoration.

A hacksaw can be taken from familiar car mechanics and plumbers or purchased at a hardware store. average cost the simplest design starts from 200 rubles.

check the tensile strength of the metal sheet. It must be securely fixed;
apply the necessary markings on the surface of the laminate with a thin marker or construction pencil;
take a rigid support and fix the panel in any convenient way;
make a light cut along the line and start sawing the lamella with slow but smooth movements.

This tool will take a long time to cut the lamella, as the laminate is a very dense material. The quality of the saw cut is highly dependent on the ability to work with a hacksaw and patience.

Before cutting laminate with a hacksaw, try the tool on a regular block of wood or thick plywood. This will allow you to understand at what pace it is most convenient to work, how the canvas behaves on dense material, etc.

#2 – Laminate Cutter

A manual laminate cutter is a specialized tool designed as a support structure with a fixed cutting blade. The principle of operation can be compared with a guillotine. The thickness of the material to be cut and the length of the cut itself vary depending on the model.

The average laminate thickness rarely exceeds 0.8-1 cm. Therefore, it does not make sense to buy professional cutters. Enough equipment of the middle price category cost 1500-1700 rubles.

The laminated board cutter allows you to get fast results at minimal cost

Can be cut both along and across the canvas. The only thing is that the quality of cutting along the blade is highly dependent on the length of the cutting element. But for laying the last row, the quality of the edge does not really matter, since the cut off part will be covered by the baseboard.

The cutting process is as follows:

apply markings on the front side of the laminate;
we take the handle with the blade back and lay the panel on the supporting structure;
we expose the panel so that the cut line of the part we need is slightly to the right of the knife (to the left for left-handers);
smoothly lower the handle to contact with the panel, press and saw until the unnecessary piece is cut off.

After cutting, the front side remains flat and undamaged, and with back side pieces of paper and torn edges may remain, which should be sanded with sandpaper.

For more expensive and professional cutters, the edge on both sides is more even, since the handle has more weight, and the sharpening of the blade itself is of better quality.

#3 – Electric jigsaw

The jigsaw is the most handy tool to obtain a high-quality saw cut without chips, damage and burrs. Due to the high frequency of stroke, the cutting of the laminate can be done in the shortest possible time.

For a thin laminate, you can use the cheapest jigsaw costing 1300-1500 rubles, designed for cutting wood up to 7 mm thick. A thicker and higher quality laminate will require a more professional tool: power 550-750 watts, cost 2500-3500 rubles.

If you plan to purchase a jigsaw for further use, we recommend that you immediately take the second option, since a cheap power tool has a short service life.

Electric jigsaw ideal solution for wood cladding

In order to cut laminate with a jigsaw, you will need to purchase a separate laminate file. Standard marking - T101BR. This canvas with backwards teeth, the pitch of the cutting elements is 2.5 mm with a working length of 74-75 mm. The average price is 200 rubles.

Before applying a guide to the surface of the panel, you should find out from which side you can cut this panel. Usually this item is indicated in the instructions, since some manufacturers allow sawing along the front layer.

The process of fitting a laminate with a jigsaw is as follows:

Remove the factory universal blade and install a laminate saw.
On the back side of the lamella, draw a cut line with a pencil.
It will fix the lamella so that there is free space under the cut line for the saw blade to move.
If the jigsaw has a pendulum mode, then it should be turned off.
Set the jigsaw against the cut line, but do not abut the blade until it is turned on.
Turn on and slightly pressing, saw off the panel.

The very principle of working with an electric jigsaw is quite simple and will not cause any particular difficulties. In the process of cutting, try not to rush, do not put pressure on the tool, work smoothly and measuredly.

#4 – Circular Saw

A circular saw allows you to get the highest quality result of all possible. The main disadvantage is the ability to work with the tool and the high cost of the tool itself.

Circular saw requires skill and experience with the tool

There are household and professional varieties. Professional equipment is completed with a rack, a supporting structure and a clamp. This allows you to securely fix the panel.

The minimum price for a household circular saw starts from 1800-2000 rubles for the lowest quality tool. We recommend purchasing only if you need a “circular” for work other than laying laminate. But even in this case, it is better to look at more expensive and powerful specimens.

To work, you need a saw blade for laminate. The size of the disc is 160-200 mm, the thickness is not more than 2 mm, the number of cutting elements is 48 pcs. The mounting hole is selected according to the tool. The minimum price is 500-700 rubles.

The sequence of work will consist of the following:

take away protective cover back and put emphasis;
loosen and remove the fixing nut from the standard disc. Install the disc on the laminate and fix the nut with a wrench;
using a protractor, set the disk perpendicular to the laminate panel;
apply markings on the front side of the panel;
set the circular saw, turn it on and smoothly saw off along the cut line.

During the cutting process, the saw should be gently pushed forward. Try not to make jerky cuts, do not tilt the tool itself, as the cut line will turn out at an angle. If possible, it is better to entrust the work to a professional or practice on unnecessary pieces of wood.

#5 – Angle grinder

An angle grinder or a manual grinder is a compromise option when the tool is available, but there is no way to look for something else. Laminate can be cut with a grinder, but it is strongly not recommended to purchase this tool specifically for these works.

Manual grinder not the best choice when working with laminate

You can use a ceramic tile disc to cut laminated boards. Cutting should only be done from the front side of the lamella. In the process of work, you should lead the cutting blade “toward yourself” and hold the grinder firmly with your hands.

It is difficult to highlight the special advantages of this approach, since this is not a specialized tool that requires work skills. If possible, it is better to refuse to use it.

As a result, it turns out that it is better to cut a laminate with an electric jigsaw, a circular saw or a hacksaw with a metal blade. With skill, you can also use a grinder, but the speed and quality of work will decrease significantly.

In fact, it turns out that for many it is much easier to assemble a structure from laminated panels than to fit these panels to the right size. And all because most people who are trying to make repairs with their own hands do not know how to saw a laminate.

In order to understand this, it would not hurt to understand what layers the panel consists of.

About laminate

The processing of any material requires any special tools suitable for this particular composition. You will not cut with a hacksaw ceramic tiles, and cut metal with a glass cutter, because even the best cutter for one structure will be completely useless for another.

That is why we will figure out what, and also see photos and videos about laminated panels.

What is laminitis made of?

The lowest layer, which is marked in the figure with the number 1, consists of unrefined or tarred paper.
He is reliable barrier for moisture that may come from the main floor. Sometimes additional paper is added for sound and heat insulation, but this happens only in individual collections and this significantly changes the price of the material.
The thickest layer of the laminated panel is marked with the number 2, it is made of high density fibreboard (HDF) and the quality of the product largely depends on its thickness.
A lock is embedded into this layer and the thicker the fiberboard, the higher the fixing spike of the lock, therefore, the groove is deeper and the connection is tighter (no gap).
The number 3 in the figure indicates a decorative layer of paper on which a certain pattern is applied..
Since the drawing can display many materials, the panels can also imitate various types of wood, wooden and ceramic parquet, stone, sand, marble, and the like.
The topmost, fourth layer, consists of acrylic or melamine resin.. Through it, almost without interference, clearly visible decoration panels. Depends on the thickness of the protective top layer, and, therefore, its belonging to a commercial or domestic category (the classification of a household (non-commercial) laminate begins with the number 2, and commercial - with the number 3).

Fitting laminated panels

If there is an instruction on how best to saw a laminate, then it probably looks more like advice, not instruction.
After all, if you pay attention to its structure, then we can conclude that any file will do. Yes, indeed, this is so, but after all, it can be chopped off with an ax, but not everything that can be done will be useful and correct.
The clarity of the cut will depend on what the laminate is sawn with (the edge of the panel may have a torn cut). Therefore, the finer the cutting structure of the disc or saw, the smoother the cut line will be.
But the evenness of the cut depends not only on the fine teeth, but also on the speed with which the blade cuts the panel, as well as on the quality of the metal from which the cutting element is made. So a jigsaw file for a laminate can have large teeth, but at the same time leave an excellent cut.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that a jigsaw file for a laminate, as such, does not exist at all, but there are simply nail files for wood or metal.
Any of them is suitable for cutting laminated panels, but a small sheet for metal sticks more in the structure of the laminate, and a large one (for wood) moves much easier, although the cut is almost the same.

It is very good to cut laminated panels with an electric circular saw, where saw blades for laminate are the most common saw blades for wood.
Here, again, you can pay attention to the fact that there are no discs specialized for cutting laminate, and almost any blade of a manual electric circular can be called such.
The inconvenience of this cutting method is that it is extremely difficult to cut in different directions with it, because the saw blade on the laminate cannot be turned to direct the cut along a different line.
An electric jigsaw does an excellent job with such an operation, and if you need any figured cutout, then a metal file is very well suited for this, as it is thinner.

Advice.
If you are cutting laminate with a manual electric circular saw, the disk on it rotates from the bottom up, therefore, if it is not very sharp, then the paper on the panel will have a torn edge.
To prevent this from happening, turn the board face down when cutting.

The laminate can also be cut with a grinder, although this method will cause a lot of smoke, but saw blades for laminate in this case will be discs for metal or concrete.
Large angular rotation speed grinder allows you to easily cut not only laminate, but also wood. But you can also insert a blade with teeth into the grinder, although this is not the most the best option, because the cut is not very even.

The simplest cutting tool for laminate, you can use a hacksaw for metal or wood, but with fine teeth.
In this case, the metal blade will leave a clearer cut, but it is difficult to cut with it. wide panels or cut them to length.

It is known that in production cutting of lamellas is carried out using special machines, which are equipped with two files:

The first is called trimming, it is small and rotates in the direction of movement of the part, while removing the bottom layer;
The second one makes the main cut of the board, rotating in the opposite direction.

Precise work is always characteristic of such a machine, as a result of which lamellas are obtained without chips with right angles. But what if you do not have such a tool when you lay a laminate flooring at home? How to cut laminate? Achieving maximum results is possible even in everyday life if you use the “right” devices.

How to cut laminate at home?

You can choose one of the most popular and available options. Before you pay for the device, learn more about its capabilities and the nature of the work:

Hacksaw. Can't say it's modern version, but in some cases it turns out to be very useful. The hacksaw never fails. For the best work result, it is better to use a hacksaw for metal or wood with a fine tooth. Start cutting with reverse side panels to prevent possible chips on the surface of the board;
Bulgarian. This is an angle grinder with a disc for metal. How to cut laminate correctly? Fix the lamella and slowly lower the angle grinder so that it does not break out of your hands and does not stall. Get ready for what will appear during work bad smell due to heating of the disk;
cutter. Here is another popular device for cutting laminated material. It allows you to cut boards quickly and efficiently. The cutter effortlessly handles both thin and thick panels. Such an ideal result cannot be achieved either using a grinder or using a jigsaw. It is a device with a sharp blade, which is easily set in motion with a handle. Such a mechanism works very quietly, without noise and dust and does not need power supply;
a circular saw. What blade to cut laminate? This is an option for accurate cutting, equipped with a special disc. Lay the board face up on a hard, flat surface, fix it securely, and mark the cutting line. Then gently lower the disc of the grinder and gradually move it along the intended line without getting stuck in the board. It is this option that requires skills in working with a circular saw, as well as a lot of patience. But, the advantage is in high-quality and fast results. Are there any downsides? Yes, if the smell of burnt wood, which appears during sawing, can be considered a minus;
electric jigsaw. This is quite effective, but simple option. Make sure the jigsaw is equipped with a special wood attachment. Before starting work, you need to fix the lamella on the floor. Turn on the device and set it to high speed to protect the material from possible chips. Your movements should be smooth.

! A minimum of two people must work with the jigsaw.

I would like to pay special attention to laminate files, which are used in conjunction with a jigsaw:

The goal is a quick cut: if you need to cut many boards at once in a short period, then it is better to choose the option with a large tooth. The fact is that the larger the tooth, the faster the work will proceed. The only negative is that the cut will be less accurate, the cut is not smooth. For this purpose, as a rule, they buy a tool marked T101D, since it is suitable even for a thickness of 75 mm. For 100mm choose 244D, 200mm choose 344D;
the goal is a clean cut: here you need to use the T101B option. It is characterized by a smaller tooth, so the cut is smoother. There are no chips in this case. Of course, even 75 mm can be cut with such a file, but it will take several times more time.

The laminate file is equipped with a reverse tooth, which, compared to other options, is directed in the opposite direction. Why is this needed? This is done so that chips do not form on the front side of the lamella and the appearance does not deteriorate.

! Such boards can be easily sawn with a blade withsmall divorce and moderate tooth size. At the same time, the speed of the jigsaw should also be moderate. So the tool does not get stuck and does not tear the edges.

How to cut laminate correctly: straight and curly cuts

How to make straight cuts?

Method 1. You can use a hacksaw or circular saw with the maximum number teeth to avoid chipping. First, make a markup and mark the part of the board that you are going to cut. You can do this with both chalk and pencil. It is very easy to erase the chalk afterwards. Well, after that, just cut the lamella along the marked line.

Method 2. You can also use an electric jigsaw. This option is several times simpler than the previous one. Fix the guide on the device, and then lead it over the edge of the workpiece. In this case, the movement of the file will be even relative to the edge.

! Are you working with a thin lamella? Be prepared for the appearance of chips on its front. The matter is that in the first variant the tool will move up. To prevent such an outcome, you can place the workpiece face down. Another way is to use anti-slip pads.

How to make curly cuts?

How to cut a laminate in a curve? For such work, only a jigsaw with a special blade with very fine teeth for laminate floors or even with a standard blade is suitable. Special variant better, as it helps to cut the pattern up and without chipping.

First, prepare the desired template from paper or cardboard. It is needed in order to calculate the cut and maintain the integrity of the board;
attach a template and circle the desired pattern;
cut out the drawing and attach the template again to make sure it is accurate;
now just trace the sample along the contour on the surface of the lamella;
make a cut. If you are using a standard canvas, lay the board pattern side down and attach the template upside down. Hold the jigsaw vertically only. If you need to cut with the right side, stick a strip of masking tape on the cut line so that you do not have chips when cutting. Then measure over the adhesive tape the lines along which you are going to cut the lamella. For this, a special canvas is used, intended for such flooring.

! Sometimes the template needs to be applied several times in order to get a sample. desired shape. In this case, it is important not to rush: take the time to make the template, and then you will spend less time and effort on cutting the boards. 2