Laminate Trimmer

[PoP]

I'm asking for opinions on the following.

For my worktop work I could really do with a laminate trimmer to trim down the edging strips, but these trimmers work out quite expensive - up to about £200. For example:

seems to me that I could buy a cheap router (see following URL) for less than £25, make a suitable sole plate for it out of MDF or similar, and I've got me a ready-made trimmer:

I would need is a simple 1/4in bit and I'm laughing, surely?

Am I overlooking something obvious?

PoP

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[Toby]

Well stick a straight cutter with a bearing at the tip in any router and it will do the job just fine. Don't understand the need to change the sole plate.

Agreed that unless you are doing this every day, a specialist tool seems overkill.

From your postings it seems you are often seeking a power tool for every possiblew job; for trimming edging strips hand tools are surely sufficient. A laminate trimmer would be useful if you were trimming a large flat sheet glued to a base board, but how much edging needs to be cut? A smallish shaper and 400 grit wet and dry round a block would be just as quick.

[John Rumm]

All you need is a router with a standard sole plate plus a flush trim bit:-

[Andy Dingley]

Makes it easier to handle. I've an old Bosch 500, with the removable motor, and a few baseplates like this. When I'm balancing it on the edge of a board, I like to use the lightweight router core and a wider base.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

[Paul Mc Cann]

ISTR professinal use a file

The main differences between a standard router and the edge trimmers are spindle speed and ease and accuracy of set-up. They can be very finely tuned which you will need for this type of operation

(Generally these trimmers IME are used on hard wood edgings)

For small runs you mat get away with a standard router if you are careful but you will only want to make a slip once and you'll regret it, as you run the risk of ruining the whole thing.

Paul Mc Cann

[kitchenman]

I use a 1/4 router with a laminate trimmer, the one with the bearing

Only have the first 2 mm on the cutter to do the work, if you lower the router at an angle you will bevel the edge & mess it up

[PoP]

That's what I've been using for years. I've used the same file all that time so I'm very comfortable with how it "attacks" the edge. Only problem was that I did a worktop recently and couldn't find that file.

PoP

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[PoP]

Well I do try to have the right tool for the job in hand. And recently I've been upgrading tools as opposed to buying new.

Based upon comments made on this thread I'm probably not going to go ahead with getting an edge trimmer just at the moment. Maybe a future Xmas or birthday pressie :)

The last worktop I did a short time ago was a right 'B', and whilst using a file to tune the edges I pondered about whether a proper edge trimmer would have made it easier. Had a look at the online catalogs (as you do) and thought "blimey, you have to pay that much for something you can knock up yourself?".

Thanks for the comments - always appreciated.

PoP

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[Christian McArdle]

Do you do worktops for cash in the Reading area, then? Not that I'm prone to underestimating my competence to cut 100's of pounds worth of hardwood...

If so, how much would it be to cut some Iroko to size?

I (will) have:

1. ~4m length with Belfast cutout (inc. drip groove) and unusual rear profile (Mrs doesn't want the window frame architrave to be cut, and the walls are a bit uneven).

1. 1.5m straight length. No issues.

2. 1.2m bar. Needs an angled cut: +--WALL--+ | | \ | +------+

All need rounding over, top and bottom edge.

Christian.

[Keith Refson - real email addr]

[ snip]

I hope I'm staying on the right side of the FAQ guidelines by suggesting in response to your post that you take a look at

you will see a tool which does much more than just laminate flooring at a lower cost. It gives a very clean cut on thin and delicate materials such as laminates and even veneer.

[ Disclaimer. I think this is a great tool, but I could be accused of bias since my brother owns the company!]

Keith Refson

[Tony Bryer]

In article , Keith Refson - real email address in signature wrote: [re

[ Disclaimer. I think this is a great tool, but I could be

Please tell him that the correct response to 'Please click here if you can't see the animation' is not to link to Macromedia's download Flash page, but to link to a page that serves up the info without the rubbish. My sensibilities aside, it's more than possible that he's made his site less than visible to search engines.

Having struggled (and failed) to get anything from the Glow-worm site

except gratuitous graphics I am feeling less than warm towards Flash this afternoon.

[PoP]

The link is appreciated. However the web site isn't particularly brilliant - for starters when you click on the link above you go to the home page. It shows a large Flash message with no "to get out of here click here...." showing. After waiting an inordinate amount of time to realise that the Flash demo isn't going anywhere you scroll the page down to discover a link to "get you out of here". So it's a non-intuitive web site. That surely must be hurting sales!

Anyway, that little moan aside.....

I perused the web site for quite a while because this tool immediately suggested to me that my toolbox might be better equipped with one of these inside. After quite a bit of clicking around I discovered it was available from Protrade, at a cost of £119 (presumably plus VAT and shipping). And then it dawned on me that maybe it didn't need to live in my toolbox after all. For an occasional-use tool I considered it to be too expensive for what it offers.

Bottom line - yes I'd really like one of these. But it does come across as being overpriced. That may explain why it hasn't appeared on my tool radar previously - none of the major tool sheds that I use appear to have this in their catalog.

PoP

Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.