David Root wrote:I have always used my little bench mounted three wheeler 12" band saw, using a fine tooth metal cutting blade. Don't have much trouble with the dust, the bandsaw drags much of it down thru the platten.
Hand guided, then squared up on a 4" belt sander with a very worn #36 belt. Will have to break down and get a new belt soon!
sepulchre wrote:I know this is an old thread but I'm wondering - is what Watts sells garolite? Firberglass? Guess it doesn't really matter. My neighbor has a little tile wet saw he's probably let me use for this one cut.
Watts sells 1/8" board material that goes by several names, G10, FR4, Garolite,etc . It's all glass reinforced epoxy. A wet saw seems like the perfect tool for cutting the stuff. Nice clean cuts and no dust.
I use a hacksaw with a carbide-grit blade. I start it off with a regular handsaw in one of those right angle guides, just till there's enough of a indent to follow with the hacksaw, because those carbide-grit blades are to wide for the slot. G10 absolutely destroys normal blades.
I do it slowly over some newspaper to collect the dust, and try to do it outside when I can. Takes about 5-10 minutes, but I don't have to do it all that often.
A circular tablesaw would be sweet but I use a benchtop bandsaw. Works great for me but blade choice is critical if you wanna cut more than a couple boards. That old school red board with glass shards/swirls is BRUTAL on blades and I've wasted many off-the-shelf blades from Home Depot cutting that stuff. I use cheapy puke green G10 and a fine tooth metal blade. Both can be purchased from Mcmaster Carr at VERY reasonable prices. If you decide to use a bandsaw, I'd recommend not using a very narrow scrolling blade as they tend to wander. YMMV.
