Cutting melamine with scroll saw

[Myra]

HI
What kind of blade in the scroll saw have you found works best for melamine. I have to alter a bathroom cabinet from a chain store and the finish is like a melamine but it is very soft, I had to re drill a couple of holes and held the two shelves together with masking tape and it took the finish off !
Do you think a table saw does a better job?

Please advise.
Thank you
Myra

[Rolf]

It really depends on the cut and the thickness.
I assume it is paticle board. for a straight cut a table saw with zero clearance insert would give you the best results.

[GrayBeard Phil]

Myra:

Welcome to the Forum.

When it comes to melamine, there is also the problem of what melamine is on top of. The sub-structure (normally) will be a wood fiber and glue mash-up. The glue is hard on blades. Table saw blades have very hard carbide tips which will hold their sharp edges and table saws apply a greater cutting force. Cannot be matched by a scroll saw (cutting power and carbide tipped teeth.) Do not try to cut melamine coated products on a table saw with a just a steel toothed table saw blade (no carbide tips.) Very bad!!

The other problem is the scroll saw--We are talking about a scroll saw, and not a hand held jig-saw are we not?--would be fitting the bathroom cabinet between the saw's upper and lower arms since most scroll saws have a throat depth limit of less than 20 inches in most cases.

Not part of your question, but yes, you will have to remove the shelfs, and maybe the door and anything else that may vibrate when you cut. Taping in place is not a good idea, as the tape most likely won't hold against the vibration during the cutting. Duck tape may, the the adhesive is so strong it might damage the finish.

Drilling holes in a hard plastic coating like Formica or melamine is an art. Needs sharp drill bit, some say carbide drill bit. Painter's tape, or masking tape over where hole is to go. As you mentioned, drilling will easily cause the finish to chip and become marred. Some may even prefer to clamp a thin piece of scrap plywood (1/4 inch) over where the hole should go.

Phil

[Myra]

Thank you for your ideas, I used the drill press to drill new holes for a minor adjustment of the support placement and the finish on this is like paper!! Where I taped them together so that they would be aligned the finish came off. Good thing it won't show in the small bathroom. I haven't put it together yet because I have to cut 3 1/2 X 10 1/2 inches out of the bottom to clear a build in gyp-rocked box that is hiding a drain pipe. I will try the table saw with the 2 cut method, and see what happens, worse case scenario I can paint over the chips. I will let you know and thank you again for your suggestions.
Myra