# Cutting veneered chipboard (3/4")



## Mosti (May 17, 2011)

Hi, I have just bought two 8x4 american wallnut veneered chipboard panels with a plan to build 2 beds and bedside tables/cabinets for my kids. I have never used veneered chipboard before but I have 1 main concern before starting to cut the panels and maybe someone can help me out. Does veneered chipboard, 3/4" thick, chip when cut using a circular saw or table saw like melamine does?


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

I used a table saw to cut through a 2'x2', what I thought was a solid piece of 3/4" oak and was surprised to see that it was a veneered piece of paricle board. It did not chip but it was not a piece of OSB that had been veneered.

I would Imagine that your first cut will be the ultimate answer. Maybe rip it in a way that will leave the first cut of the sheet not important if it does chip, with it being not the final cut.

Good luck. Curious as to what you are going to use on the un-veneered edges that you may have, veneer or real wood?


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## Mosti (May 17, 2011)

I will use both, solid wallnut lipping where the edges are in view, otherwise I will use veneer edging and trim it off with a flush trim bit.


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

About 15 years ago, I found myself in need of a U shaped workdesk of furniture quality that was 28 feet long in total. The engineering firm where I was employed was renting the office space, as was not allowed to do any "damage or attachments" to the walls. I designed something that was supported by 4- load-bearing bookcases. The bookcases were made from Walnut look-alike MDF 3/4" thick and I positioned the lower shelves to support joists that spanned from bookcase to bookcase, or from one bookcase to an outside joist of an adjacent span. The joists were decked with 3/4" structural plywood, glued and screwed. The plywood then received a "formica" overlay that had an appearance identical to the MDF that was used for the bookcases. This project was more than my personal shop could handle, so a cabinet man friend of mine took on the project for a small fee. I went to his shop and helped and observed. There is a special blade for scoring to prevent chipping, but his preference (which performed perfectly) was to use 2" wide (beige) masking tape where all cuts were to occur. He made the majority of his cuts with a circular saw / straightedge system (DeWalt) which amazed me to the point that I now have the same system setup. The masking tape must be removed relatively soon after cuts, but we did all large-part delivery with tape-in-place. Our resultant workspace was flawless and was the best and most cost-effective of all systems my coworkers utilized. When the company relocated several years later, the load-bearing bookcases proved to be reuseable in another similar application. *OPG3*


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

OPG3 said:


> ......his preference (which performed perfectly) was to use 2" wide (beige) masking tape where all cuts were to occur. He made the majority of his cuts with a circular saw / straightedge system (DeWalt) which amazed me to the point that I now have the same system setup. The masking tape must be removed relatively soon after cuts.....


There are a couple of caveats to that, I'd say. Ripping with the grain of the veneer is pretty much guaranteed to give a good result, especially if the blade is sharp and has enough teeth, regardless of the species of veneer. Cross grain cuts are going to be a bit more awkward, especially with "chippy" species such as European oak, and the "chippiness" is exascerbated by having particle board as the ground material (as opposed to MDF) because it has small voids near the surface where there is little supporting the veneer other than a thin skin of glue. If in doubt a scoring cut can always be made first with a Stanley knife and a straight edge, a very old cure-all. I also tend to "saw from the underside" so that if there is any spelch there is a good chance that it can be hidden inside/underneath the finished piece.

Regards

Phil


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The tape helps. Pre-scoring also works. Using a good quality melamine saw blade really helps. If you can hide one side, saw with the good side up on a table saw and the good side down if using a portable circular saw.


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## Mosti (May 17, 2011)

I like the idea of using the masking tape and will try it. Have also read that the blade should go into the veneered side which will show.


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## RJM (Apr 11, 2010)

If I was doing this, I would just make a very shallow "scoring" cut (like a few mils) on both sides using a nice sharp finish blade on my table saw. I might also use tape while doing this but I'd probably test a piece without it first.


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## Mosti (May 17, 2011)

:dance3:Have done the cut using a normal blade on a hand held circular saw, using masking tape where the saw came out of the wood only. Didnt use tape where the saw went in and the result was no or very minimal chipping.:dance3:


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Good


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