Laminate - how to cut a round piece?

[Darro]

Hi, Can anyone give me suggestions on the simplest and most precise way to cut Formica plastic laminate into a round piece 42" in diameter out of a 4x4 sheet? Thanks...

[Gordon Shumway]

Try scissors. They work fine for the cuts I made with them.

G.S.

[dpb]

Trim router w/ trammel point.

Although typically one would simply trim oversize and then use the edge of the mounted piece to trim to final size in place.

--

[dadiOH]

Rough trim (saber saw works) it first then mount it - either permanently or temporarily (FIRMLY if the latter, especially on edges) on a 42" round piece of plywood then trim with a router using a bearing guided flush trim bit.

Don't have a 42" round piece of plywood? You can make it by attaching a router to a piece of ply about 6-8" wide and more than 24" long...drill a

1/4" hole in the 6-8" piece near one end then attach the router to the other end so that the inside edge of the bit is precisely 21" from the center of the 1/4" hole. Now drill a 1/4" hole in a piece of ply greater than 42"x42", put your jig on it and insert a 1/4" bolt thru both holes. You now have a big compass.

[Darro]

Gordon: I had always assumed that the laminate's finish surface would chip at the edges if cut with scissors, but I followed your suggestion and used them just now to cut a scrap piece. Scissors work like a charm. Thanks!

[Phisherman]

A bandsaw will cut a nearly perfect circle but You will need to mount the plastic laminate onto some hardboard first where a pivot point is drilled. Otherwise, sissors may be enough precision fopr your application.

[aemeijers]

If this is for a table top, you cut it oversize, glue down, and then rout the edge to match the substrate. In a production setting they would use a jig or die, but for a one-time job, whittle to fit is the way to go. Even if you did have a perfect circle and the substrate was a perfect circle, you could never get them perfectly aligned when you dropped the laminate into place on the contact cement.

If it isn't a table top, what are you making?

-- aem sends...