Cutting Bamboo Placemat

[Fitzpayne]

I want to cover the fronts of my side table drawers with bamboo. Have found these amazing bamboo placemats. Need to cut a few inches across the bottom, across all the rows of lined up sticks. What is the best way to do this?

[Mark Meckes]

Hi!
Is this matting made from thinner material or chunky bamboo strips?

Here's some suggestions
Power tools...
- A bandsaw works great for this, if the off-cut isn't too deep.
- Also a hand-held reciprocating saw would work (jigsaw/sabre saw)

Hold the matting firmly on the cutting table, and use blades with lots of teeth.

Hand tools
- A fine toothed hand saw
Hold the work firmly to the cutting table

- Smaller dia reed/type matting can be cut with heavy duty scissors, tin-snippers or garden pruners, or using a sharp knife by scoring each side of the line to be cut, then bend the cut line and snap it off.
The ends can get cracked/crushed though.

It all depends on the thickness of the matting material, and what tools you have at hand...

Mark

[Fitzpayne]

Hi Mark,

The mat is whole pieces of bamboo about 1 cm thick. I guess I fine toothed saw sounds perfect, just holding it in place sounds tricky...

Lisa

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Lisa,
A suggestion...
If you lay the mat on a cutting board or on some plywood or plank, with the line to be cut jutting out just tad over the edge of the cutting board... then put another strip of wood on top of the matting near the edge of the line to be cut.
You could put a clamp at each of the ends to keep the sandwiched matting firmly in place, or hold everything firmly by hand (or aided by some extra hands) while cutting.
Keeping the cut line almost flush with the edge of the cutting board will make cutting easier, and with less fraying at the cut end.

cheers,
Mark

[Fitzpayne]

Thanks Mark! That is a great idea and a big help.

Kindest regards,

Lisa