Chip-out on walnut faced plywood ruined a full panel today

Cutting a 4x8 sheet of walnut ply for a built-in in Phoenix and the bottom edge tore out about 3 inches near the end of the cut, even with a brand new 80 tooth blade. I was using my track saw with a zero-clearance plate, but the last bit still grabbed and blew out the veneer. Any tricks for preventing that final-edge chip-out, or do I just need to leave a sacrificial strip on every sheet now?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesf413d ago

Score the veneer with a sharp knife before the blade exits, that stops the tearout cold.

wright.richard2d ago

Tore out a chunk of walnut veneer last month on a curved piece, still kicking myself over it. Scoring the back side before the blade exits has saved me more than once since then, and it's such a simple trick. Wish I'd learned that lesson twenty years ago instead of the hard way.