Which tool would I use

[Davon]

Hi all, could you help please. I wanted to cut out a square from a piece of mdf but I didn't want to damage either the square or the surrounding piece, how should I go about it. :?:
Davon

 

[Mr Ed]

Plunge cut with a hand held circular saw is probably the best bet, if you have one.

Cheers, Ed

 

[Davon]

Ed, I don't have a circular saw but I think I might look into buying one.

Thanks
Davon

 

[Jake]

Fein multimaster, wide blade, and steady hands.

 

[matt]

Not damaging does not include the loss of material to the kerf I assume?

Plunge cut with a jigsaw.

 

[Davon]

Matt, the kerf is all I want to lose, but I want to find a tool that will allow me to cut with precision ( should I get competent enough to use it properly )

Davon

 

[Davon]

Jake, I've just had a look at a demo about the Fein Multimaster on you-tube...... spot on what I was looking for, now all I have to do is save up.

Thanks
Davon

 

[phantom of the offcut]

You could always save your tool money and buy another piece of MDF! Must be cheaper than a fein, then you could cut out a precision square to fit in a perfect hole.

 

[Oryxdesign]

You could always save your tool money and buy another piece of MDF! Must be cheaper than a fein, then you could cut out a precision square to fit in a perfect hole.

My thoughts exactly, it's not like you need to match the grain.

 

[Imperial]

A circular saw can't be used for this, would need to be a jig saw to give a square cut at the stop / corner...

Can still be plunged !carefully!

 

[j]

Assuming you don't want to buy another sheet of MDF, and you have already resigned to the fact that you will have a kerf missing. Why not have a wider kerf, and use a router with a template.

Without knowing what you are planning, it's hard to know if this suits or not.

 

[matt]

I suggested a jig saw - is that a no go for some reason?

 

[phantom of the offcut]

If you must use the same piece of MDF my recomendation would be to use a cicular saw and plunge cut on each side then finish with a handsaw to corners, i often use this method when cutting worktops for sinks and hobs as it gives a far superior finish than a jigsaw. However thats a good 4mm kerf after cleaning up edges, what exactly are you building?

 

[jasonB]

A lot depends on the size of what you are doing, if its 18mm board and a largish square then I would plunge cut with a cordless circ saw (thin kerf blade) and finish the corners by hand.

If its a 100mm square in 4mm thick MDF then I'd reach for my japanese saw with woodpecker tip, would only loose 1mm kerf max.

If there are a lot to do then make a template and rout it out.

Jason

 

[Davon]

Thanks all for your replies, although on this occasion it is mdf, next time it may be a quality hardwood so I wanted to ask for opinions on the best tool to make the cut on future projects.

Thanks again
Davon

 

[chippy1970]

A circular saw can't be used for this, would need to be a jig saw to give a square cut at the stop / corner...

Can still be plunged !carefully!

It can if you have a Festool plunge saw, come to think of it if you are careful any circ saw can. I had one the other day a large plasma tv unit and it had to have a flap below the telly. I cut it out perfectly with my ts55 and all you have to do is just finish the corners with a handsaw.

For Davon though this would be an expensive option unless he needs a ts55 anyway.