There are special techniques that we use in the cabinet-fabricating industry for cutting Melamine board so that it does not chip. Without the correct blades or tools, chipping will occur. Melamine board is used for many different cabinet parts-including doors, shelves and drawers. Some shops use it for everything except the toe kick areas.
If you are cutting on a table saw, there are two options you have for cutting the board with minimal chipping. You will not be able to yield perfectly clean, chip-free surfaces on both sides of the board unless you have a double-bladed table saw. They generally cost over fifteen-thousand dollars. If you are just undertaking a "do it yourself" project, you may have a few small chips to contend with.
Table With Shelf
Sharp Blades
The first method requires that you have a newly-sharpened saw blade in your machine. You'll want to adjust your blade so that it only cuts through the top of the board about one-eighth to one- quarter of an inch. Practice on a few pieces of Melamine before working with the actual cabinet-making materials. Adjust the height of the blade until you are getting a clean cut on both sides of the board. You should push your material slowly through the cutter; the slower you cut, the fewer chips you will have.
Reverse-Rake Blade
This is a special table saw cutter that is designed for making clean cuts on both sides of Melamine board. This is not a cheap item to add to your collection of tools. So if you are going to only use it once, you may consider doing something else.
Using Masking Tape (not recommended)
You can mark exactly where the blade will be cutting the cabinet Melamine board and then place a strip of masking tape over the area on the side of the board that would normally be chipping during the cut. This usually works fairy well. The biggest drawback to using any tape is that the stickiness can create difficulty when making your cuts. Be very careful if you decide to try this method- it is not very safe.
Other methods of making clean cuts on Melamine board include using table saws that have two blades and then cutting two boards at one time.
Special saws that have two blades are very expensive. Most mid-to-large sized kitchen and bathroom cabinet fabricators have these type saws. If you only need a few pieces of Melamine cut cleanly on both sides, you should consider going to a large cabinet shop in your area and having them cut the materials for you.
Cutting two Melamine boards at once will only give you one board that will not be chipped on both sides. One of the boards will chip on one side.
Depending upon the color of the material you are working with, you may be able to cover over the chips with some type of filler. We use white "Seam Fill" on all of our white Melamine boards that get small chips in them. This liquid material was designed for repairing seams in Formica plastic laminate. Seam Fill is an excellent choice for filling in chipped areas on Melamine.
There are several ways of hiding the chips too. If you are cutting shelves, you can place the chips either on the upwards or downwards sides so they cannot be seen. If you are building drawers out of the Melamine, you can make sure that you place the clean cut side on the inside of the drawers. If you are using the material for cupboard doors, you should try to get the cleanest cut as possible on both sides.