Can you cut epoxy?

[Amw5342]

Hi! 

My father in law made us some awesome shelves to put up. Only thing, he made them wayyy too wide. Talking will stick over a foot out from the wall. Anyway we can slim these out? We have a few saws just not sure if they will crack since there is epoxy covering them.

[wtnhighlander]

Can you post a photo of the shelves? You can cetainly saw through the epoxy, but doing so may require more steps to restore the shelve's appearance.

[Amw5342]

@wtnhighlander

[Gary Beasley]

Plan to put the cut edges against the wall and use a high tooth count saw blade so you dont get a rough cut and you should be good to go. Any chance the father in law can do the cut and refinish the cut edge for best results?

[Amw5342]

Thank you @Gary Beasley. Unfortunately not. He lives in FL, us in KS. I appreciate your help

[wtnhighlander]

Looks like you will be cutting very little of the epoxy, anyway. As Gary said, no one will see the cut edge.

[G Ragatz]

I've never cut epoxy-coated wood before, but I'd guess it's going to want to chip along the cut line.  It might help to take a straightedge and a utility knife or an awl and score the cut line before using the saw.  Making a long cut on a narrow piece like these shelves, you'll need to make sure the shelf doesn't tip while you're cutting.  If you're using a circular saw, the best thing would probably be to cut it on the floor, with a sacrificial piece of plywood under it.

I can't tell from the photo how thick those slabs are, or what type of wood it is, but unless you have a pretty heavy-duty saw available, it might take a couple of passes to get through it.

I don't like to second-guess, and it certainly depends on your tastes and the specific application, but 12" doesn't sound like an unusually deep shelf to me.  The wooden bookcases in my home office are a foot deep, and 12" is one of the standard widths for pre-finished shelves in home improvement stores.

[Amw5342]

@G Ragatz they are about 1.5 inches thick. Thats a good idea about using the knife first. I dont feel 12 in for a bookcase is too deep, but these are meant to hang in the living room similar to "floating" shelves. It just sticks out too far.

[Coop]

If you’re using a circ saw, be sure and cut with the good side down and use some sort of good straight edge as a guide if available. 

[wtnhighlander]

Never hurts to apply masking tape to both sides, and cut through that. Just another little trick to reduce chipping.

[JohnG]

You’ll also want to consider covering the shelf with paper or some strategically placed strips of painters tape to make sure you don’t end up with scratches from the baseplate of the circular saw.