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I've got some thin carbon fiber strips that I need to rip. What is the best tool to do this? I've seen cf eat up chisels, so I'm afraid it will ruin a tablesaw or bandsaw blade.

Thanks in advance.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

I have a little table/sled I built for my dremel and use the fiberous discs for blades. It does wear the disc down pretty quickly, but it works.

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

If they're thin, like .03 or so, you can cut them along length wise using a razor knife and a straight edge. It'll take several passes but it works pretty well.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Thanks, guys.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Like Jim said, if it is unidirectional carbon fiber you can pretty much cut it with a knife. I even just carefully snap it in that direction. Just recently I found that tin snips (the ones that look like overgrown scissors) work great for cutting across the fibers. I also use bias carbon fiber where the fibers are laid up on a 45 degree angle for my bridgeplates. In this case I have to cut with tin snips no matter what direction I am cutting. I always clean up my edges by sanding. Don't breath the dust.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
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