Laminate and Skirting - Best for cutting?

murphyxx

So i'm going to try and attempt to put new skirting boards up in the living room and also to lay new laminate flooring in the hall. Just can't afford to get anyone in to do it.

What's the best tool i can use for both of these - cutting wood at angles etc. Don't want to buy one tool then find out it's not the best for the other...

Remember this is my first time doing either so need the easiest tool that makes cutting all the wood simple and at the correct angles.

missile

You need a compound mitre saw like this > http://www.screwfix.com/prods/76747/Power-Tools/Compound-Mitre-Saws/Direct-Power-BM210J-210mm-Compound-Mitre-Saw

Watch your fingers :eek:

wallbash

missile is correct , a bargain at £30 , will cut the laminate very quickly ( but of course the 'cut' end are hidden ) The skirting would be easy with the mitre saw if your walls were straight .... but they never are. Some one will tell you you need to scribe the joints ... a lot easier said than done .
So be prepared to doing a bit of filling!

That £30 is never going to be wasted.

ormus

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/19927/Hand-Tools/Saws/Mitre-Saws-Boxes/Compound-Mitre-Saw-24-600mm

manual mitre saw for 9 quid.
bargain.

trumpton

One with more teeth on the blade will give a neater cut, but that one should be fine for laminate. B and Q do a couple around £40 too.

djheath

Make sure the mitre saw can actually cut the full width of the laminate though!

That one on screw fix will only cut up to 120 mm. When I laid laminate the laminate planks were 200mm wide. I had to get a bigger more expensive saw form B and Q, which cut to a max of 200mm wide.

wallbash

Or turn the laminate round.

phill99

A 210mm blade wont cut a full laminate board without you turning it around. If you are going to do a lot of work, you may be better getting a travellling mitre saw.

I've laid dozens and dozens of laminate flooring and have never used a mitre saw. I always use a jigsaw. You will certainly need another type of saw as a mitre saw can only do straight cuts. If you need to so intricate cuts, this will be of no use.

keystone

phill99 wrote: »

I always use a jigsaw.

Agree entirely and also always use a blade which cuts on the downstroke only. That way you don't splinter the surface laminate.

For the skirting use a skirting mitre block with a sharp saw (the handraulic variety) for external mitres and scribe the joint with your jigsaw for internal corners. Scribed internals cope better with walls that are not square and the inevitable expansion/contraction of the timber than mitreing and in any event internal mitreing is more difficult than scribing. Not worth the bother.

Cheers

Norman_Castle

I would use one of these, http://www.screwfix.com/prods/63787/Hand-Tools/Saws/Mitre-Saws-Boxes/Forge-Steel-Mitre-Box?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Datafeed-_-Hand%20Tools-_-Forge%20Steel%20Mitre%20Box With a toolbox saw (check it fits in the slots in the mitre box) for the skirting. The toolbox saw will also be usefull for the flooring.
I allways use a jigsaw to fit flooring. I use good quality Bosch blades and have never had a problem with splintering the surface.

tony6403

Beware of cheap powered mitre saws . I have experience of several of these and the inaccurate results can be quite alarming.
Some of the inaccuracies can be sorted by not taking the manufacturer's settings for granted and adjusting them with set squares etc.
I recently paid a reasonable £120 for a Makita which cross cuts up to 130mm bang on.