Formica is a versatile plastic laminate available in many colors, designs and finishes. It allows you to customize areas of the house (or objects) making them resistant and easy to clean. Learning how to cut this material correctly helps you save a lot of time and money as it can sometimes break or chip. Some preventative measures, put in place before cutting the ant, can help you do a professional job. There are two techniques for doing this, with a hacksaw or a cutter. Follow these instructions to learn more about both.
Steps
Step 1. Purchase an ant sheet that fits the size of your project
The thickness varies between 0, 8 and 1, 5 mm. There are sheets of 90-122-152 cm in width by 250-300-370 cm in length. Usually, the smallest piece on the market measures 90x250 cm. Some home improvement stores sell scrap clippings for a bargain price, which can be useful if your project isn't too big.
Step 2. Measure the area you need to line with a tape measure
Step 3. Draw a cutting guideline on the ant with a pen or pencil
Step 4. Put masking tape along the cutting line
Apply an additional piece of scotch tape to the edge where the saw will start cutting. If the trace is not visible under the tape, take your measurements and redraw the line above the tape.
Step 5. Place the ant on a flat, hard surface
- You can use a scrap piece of plywood, or an oriented flake board as a base. The surface will likely get scratched by the saw, so make sure it's not a valuable countertop or it can't be damaged.
- Concrete is not a good base to cut on.
Step 6. Use the circular saw or laminate shears to cut the formica sheet into large pieces
Do not try to make curved cuts with the circular saw. Make rough cuts and leave corners and trims to more suitable and precision tools.
Step 7. Apply the ant to the base you intend to cover
Step 8. Use a fine-bladed hacksaw for fine finishing and curved cuts
Step 9. Use a belt sander with 100 grit sandpaper to smooth the edges
Some belt sanders are very powerful so you may want to do this by hand with sandpaper or a flat file.
Method 1 of 1: With a Cutter
Step 1. Cut the ant, leaving a 3mm excess edge of the required size
Step 2. Remove the tape you used for the first rough cuts with the circular saw
Step 3. Install the formica sheet on the surface you want to cover
Step 4. Cut the ant to the exact size
Use a cutter with a sharp laminate tip.