Good day gents,

I'm looking for suggestions on safe and quick cutting of wine rack lattice. This is the 3/4 (sometimes 7/8") thick hardwood lattice, usually it's diamond shaped (squares). The hardwood is half-lapped with a pin in the back. We don't produce in house, it's outsourced.

We order it as a full sheet and cut it to fit inside the cabinets. Two pieces... one back, one middle.

We can succesfully and repeatedly cut it right, but it's a slow process. I have to use a pin nailer to pin it down to a spoil 3/4", usually MDF.

Otherwise it tends to bind up on the blade, shatter, and make a general dangerous mess.

Bandsaw isn't much of an option for us. Neither is CNC since our suppliers tend to put a metal nail on the backside of the lattice on the lap joints.

We only end up cutting these a few times per year but it's time we try to find a leaner way of doing this.

Thanks,
Matt

I would think using a caul on top of the lattice, close to the blade, held down with eccentric clamps at either end on a slider would keep the joints from moving during the cut. In lieu of a slider, the same idea might work with a track saw clamping the track to a caul below the lattice.

I would figure out the bandsaw issue. We cut these quite a bit and have found that's the safest way. Use the clamp method of calls top and bottom and run that against the bed of the bandsaw with a good blade, usually a 2 person job, one controlling the cut with the other helping hold up the other end. You can rough time size with a track saw if your sheets are 4 x 8. We sometimes will rough out on our vertical panel saw, making sure to avoid joints on the cut, and take it really slow.

Thanks guys, we're going to try this with the Festool trak saw. We have a couple on the install vans, I'll just rob them one day and give it a shot.