Is Engineered Flooring Hard on Saw Blades

[LRod]

When I put laminate flooring (not engineered) down in my bedroom it ate up the carbide Freud on my miter saw. The cork (which sounds very much like yours) I just put down in my kitchen was too wide for the miter saw so I used the table saw, also with a Freud carbide.

Fortunately I didn't have near as many cuts to make with the cork even though it was a bigger room, but I also haven't had occasion to try out the blade on regular wood yet, so I can't tell if it did anything.

My impression when cutting the cork was that it was very much easier on the blade than the laminate was.

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

[Glen Duff]

I recently installed engineered cork flooring called uniclick that has a grey composite in the middle and used my sliding compound miter saw extensively during the job.

My saw blade was a good quality carbide-tipped blade and was only a few months old. After I was finished I noticed that it caused burning when cutting both hardwoods and softwoods and was obviously dulled. Has anyone else had problems with this. I was rather surprised as the flooring did not seem to be the type of material that would be hard on blades.

The problem was presumably with the grey composite material as it certainly wouldn't be the cork.

Any comments are appreciated.

Glen Duff

[Wood Butcher]

Is the flooring you put down pre-finished? If yes, that may be where the problem lies. Some of the factory finishes include silicon-dioxide to resist wear. This will eat saw blades rapidly.

Art

[RE Quick Transit]

I put down 450 feet of engineered wood with no problem at all. Just like cutting firewood. Then I lent the saw to someone that put down 200 feet of laminate and the blad would barely cut after that. It sharped nicely though.

[LRod]

Was that a Craftsman blade?

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

[Brian Morris]

Uniclick has an aluminum-oxide surfacing on the finish (you see the sparks in the right shadow) and it doesn't matter what blade you you laminate is very hard on it (you get 300 to 600 sf ) I even bought a royce-air blade and it didn't do very well. I bought a 10" Frued blade just made for laminate, I haven't used it yet but they tell it works. Has anyone used a diamond blade on laminate? I used 41/2"one with a grinder to cut a curve in the floor and seemed to work well.

[Joe Willmann]

Glen Duff wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I put down 1400 sq ft of pergo. Went through 8 40 tooth 10 inch carbide blades.

[RE Quick Transit]

No, it was the 12" DeWalt that came with the saw. I did some laminate a few years back and had to make about 20 cuts. It took TWO non-carbide blades to get it done. That laminate is very tough stuff. In the case of the DW, it sharpened up like brand new.

[igor]

Do you like the floor? What room is it in? On bare feet is it warm like wood or cold like tile or laminate? Did you get it local or from a national company - if the latter and you liked them, then who? TIA. -- Igor

[LRod]

I can answer for my part, since I also recently installed a similar cork floor.

Yes.

Kitchen/dining suite.

As stupid as it sounds, something in between. It's absolutely NOT cold like tile. The sensation you get more than hot or cold is comfort, because it's not hard (it's not soft, either, but definitely not hard). Resilient is a closer word but that's not quite it, either. We're in North Florida, so adjust your cold/hot comfort interpretations accordingly.

Local.

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

[LRod]

You did know I was making a joke, didn't you?

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

[RE Quick Transit]

Actually yes, but about an hour after I sent the reply (duh!). Some days it just happens that way.

If I used a Craftsman blade, I'd still be cutting away! Ralph

[Glen Duff]

Igor,

We live near Toronto so our winter's are pretty cold. Also, our cork flooring is in a kitchen and family room in an old stone house and in a section of the house that has no basement, only about a foot above dirt surrounded by stone walls. The cork is an excellent insulator and I agree with LROD that it is definitely not cold so this has been a good choice for us.

The product is called Torlys. When we researched the product we wanted something at or near the high end of cork products. Apparently there are different densities so be careful when comparing different products. Price was in the $6.50 range Canadian per sq ft. Easily installed and looks good. I understand it is available in the U.S.

Glen Duff =====================

igor wrote: