Cutting Veroboard

[camallison]

I have searched the various areas of the forum and I cannot find any definitive answer.

How do members cut Veroboard (or even PCB material) to the required size? What is your preferred method and how successful/clean is the cut?

Interested to hear about various methods.

Colin

[MrBungle]

I use a metal ruler and a stanley knife. If it's veroboard, you score about half way through and it snaps neatly. If it's FR4 you have to give it a few cuts and then you can snap it. Comes up quite clean and you can finish it off with a file if you need to.

If I'm cutting pads out for manhattan construction, I'll cut strips off using the above method and then snip them up with some aviation shears when I need a length.

[John M0GLN]

I also use a stanley knife and steel rule for straight lengths, for small pieces from a larger sheet it's a junior hacksaw, I cut through the holes and file flat, not really necessary but I still do it.

John

[paulsherwin]

Junior hacksaw here.

[camallison]

Thank you all. I currently use the knife and steel rule method but occasionally slip and wobble off the line.

Colin

[Bobdger]

Bench shears, FR4, Vero and paxolin all cut clean. For a very good job I reset the blade gap to the required thickness setting.

Bob.

[canonman75]

For Veroboard I use nothing more than a junior hacksaw, then tidy up the rough edges with a small flat file.

[ionburn]

For Veroboard I score down the line of holes on both sides with a craft (or Stanley) knife then snap the board. A fairly light score is all that is generally needed. I then clean up all the edges with a smooth file, taking particular care to remove any flash on the ends of the copper tracks.

It gives a very tidy result.

For copper clad board I use a junior hacksaw, then finish with the smooth file.

[Craig Sawyers]

Bandsaw. But only because one of my (too many) hobbies is amateur cabinet making.

[julie_m]

I cut it through the holes and file away the excess, rather than risk undercutting by scoring and breaking it between tracks.

If I had a bandsaw, I'd most definitely use that; but it's hardly worth getting one just for cutting a piece of breadboard.

[Bazz4CQJ]

Piercing saw.

[Herald1360]

Boggo Veroboard or matrix board I just nick the end of the appropriate row of holes with side cutters and manually break along the row. With a bit of care you can break out rectangular pieces from a larger board without the need to cut right across.

FR4 style- hacksaw or Dremel.

Tidying up is optional- makes no difference to function!

[G6Tanuki]

I do the score-both-sides-along-the-holes-then-snap-it technique. For large pieces I like to clamp it in a vice with the score-line tight along the jaws before snapping it: that way you can apply more-uniform bending than when holding one side of the scoreline in each hand.

[wireless_john]

Hacksaw and file here. Can't bear to see the half holes round the edge. Always have to get the corners square too - don't know whether that's OCD or training when I was 16

[Ted Kendall]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

I do the score-both-sides-along-the-holes-then-snap-it technique. For large pieces I like to clamp it in a vice with the score-line tight along the jaws before snapping it: that way you can apply more-uniform bending than when holding one side of the scoreline in each hand.

+1 here - and tidy up with deft use of side cutters or flat file.

[camallison]

Thank you all again. This weekend, I am going to try each method (except bench shear) on some scraps and see which one suits me best. My badly arthritic hands don't help!

Colin

[Skywave]

Veroboard: I use a vice, hacksaw and file.
FR4: as above, but I use a ruler plus a try-square first, plus fine ink-based marker pen.

Al.

[Andrew B]

I use a 5" 1mm thick metal cutting disc mounted in a grinder, a bit over the top, but I use the same method for cutting DS copper clad fibreglass board as we..

Snip and snap for me with a clean up on the linisher (bench mount upside down belt sander).

[Andrew2]

Same as many above. For Vero and paxolin, deeply score it with a sharp Stanley and a steel rule and then snap it on an edge. Works best if I score both sides. For fibreglass types, a hack saw and file to clear up.