laminant countertop

Try cutting it off about 1/4” too long with a jig saw and then clean it up with a straight edge and straight bit in your router. If you cut it upside down with the jig saw it may not chip as much.

-- Although the voices aren't real they have some pretty good ideas.

Is the end gonna be against a wall or is it open to view? You will have to cap it if it is an open end. If it were mine, I’d take it to a top shop that has a beam saw, pay ‘em a couple of bucks, and get it done right.
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us

What is the counter top material? I have used blue tape on the laminate surface and a fine tooth blade in the circ saw and it has been OK. If it is a solid surface (like Corian) I have cut it with carbide blade in the circ saw and it has been very smooth.

TJU has a good suggestion with the router if it is laminate.

Good luck,
Tom

-- cut it twice and it's still too short...

Score the laminate about 1/4 inch away from your finish line. Then put packing tape (the clear type) over the area that should help keep the chips from flying.

-- BobG, Lowell, Arkansas--------My goal in life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am! Make more saw dust!!

will be against the fridge,and the other peice that needs cut will but into stove.I plan to end cap them just mainly chipping to hell is what scares me, I think its particle board,formica deal., from the big orange box, if any of you have had any experiences using this kind of counter top that might stir me away from dangers i may not see , please let me know, so far thanks all of you for your responces

Hey Tom What is “TJU” ? and as far as the fine blade, the kind with all the little teeth for veneers , ply and so forth?

O i see what or should i say WHO TJU, thanks lol

Whatever method you choose from above, you’ll still have an area that you cannot cut all the way through if your countertops have an integral backsplash molded in (like most countertops from the big box stores do). That inside corner cannot be cut fully and must be finished with a hand saw. I’ve had good luck with a japanese pull saw for this – the kind without a stiffening spine – it can be held flush to the countertop edge to finish the cut.

-- Wag more, bark less.

I would cut it from the underside/backside of the splash with a circular saw. Cut the backsplash then cut the main countertop about half-way. Then enter from the front edge of the counter to finish the cut. Exiting on a finished edge will almost certainly chip really badly. Then hit the end with a sanding block making sure you have a nice flat edge before you cap the ends.

Be sure you have support under the top so it doesn’t break off before you are finished cutting it.

Do you have a sink to cut out?

-- http://www.columbiawoodscreendoors.com

Cut it from the underside with a circular saw so that the teeth are pulling the laminate into the wood rather than away from it. As long as you use a sharp fine tooth blade there is virtually no chance for chip out. I take a 3/4” piece of scrap wide enough to support the base of my saw and use it to elevate my saw to the full thickness of the countertop taking into consideration the added height that the drip edge adds. I let the blade protrude about 3/16 beyond the thickness of the material being cut. Make sure to support both sides of the top and dont let it twist because it will snap off the backspash. I finish with a second cut through the backsplash with the same method. My advice is to elevate the countertop i.e. piece of plywood with the thick ridgid foam on top and make both cuts that way. This is assuming that you have all of the materials mentioned otherwise it would make sense just to pay someone to cut it for you.

-- "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Explore, Dream, Discover” Mark Twain

hey everyone, I wanna thank everyone for all the advice and suggestions, i made me take a moment before i started and double check everything, after posting the original question, i headed out to lowes and grabbed a porter cable jig saw blade for laminate, which i didntk know they made those, was actually looking for a circ saw blade, then also grabbed that erwin 180 tooth panel blade a roll of tape, and being i had about a foot or more to cub off , i started near the end ( in the section that was going to be scrap, and started making trial cuts, i cut from underneath, from the face , with both tools and was impressed with results, so after a 15 trial cuts from different sides and different tools and finally made a final cut on one of the three peices,turned out great in the morning ill clean it up with a sanding block or maybe a flush trim bit and knock the other two out,,,,,thanks again everyone

cool sounds like you have figured it out with everyones help

( i love this site ask a question that you think is difficult and someone will give you straight forward answer)

as a cabinet maker working with these materials often, every suggestion made above would have worked

the only other suggestion i could have made is doing the final trimming with an electric planer (its rotary blade is like a flush trim bit only with a much stabler base to work from)

but you didnt need that

keep up the good work

Hooky

-- Happiness is a way of travel , not a destination (Roy Goodman)

I’ve installed many countertops and like previously mentioned we use a circular saw and cut on the bottom and then using a belt sander to clean up the edges. And for sink cut outs I like using a jigsaw with down cut blades.

-- New Auburn,WI

David, just a suggestion but I always start with a cut through the backsplash because that is the most likely spot to break if you leave it till last. I’m sure you have your system down but just thought I’d throw that out there.

-- http://www.columbiawoodscreendoors.com