Exchange-a-Blade 2100005 9-Inch Laminate Flooring Cutter

2024 REVIEW UPDATE: I purchased this flooring cutter in 2016. Since then I have used it for so many room remodels that I have lost count. It has been hauled around and used at multiple family and friends homes and just this last weekend I dusted it off for yet another room remodel at my house. This time we’re laying 26MIL x 9 inch wide waterproof vinyl laminate planks. The cutter slices through with no problem whatsoever and these planks are THICK! I genuinely believe that this cutter has definitely paid for itself several times over by saving us TONS of time. It also makes no mess whatsoever which cannot be said about the circular saw method. I highly recommend the investment in this fantastic tool.ORIGINAL REVIEW:I have used this to put laminate flooring in three 15' X 15' bedrooms in the house. It is still working like a charm and I will be using it when I put the laminate flooring in the living room, dining room, and family room. I can't imagine having to cut pieces with a saw it would take FAR longer than using this. Yes, you do need some strength to operate it but I can't imagine anyone over the age of 12 would have any issue cutting with this. So glad I bought this - it really made the job faster and easier.

Fantastic tool. Very easy to put together and works like a champ. We did 1200 sf with it over the weekend and are getting ready to do 4000 more. We did a ton of angle cuts and will cut a pretty broad angle. About 1/1000th of debris and dust of doing it with a power mitre saw. Just goes to prove that we are never too old to learn. I actually found it easier besides being cleaner because you don't have to move the blade on the mitre saw around and get it just right. I read one of the reviews where he said that it kind of dented the end. Mine cut straight through like a razor and looks enough like the factory cut that I got confused and tried putting it in the groove. Very clean and precise cuts. I wasn't and have never been paid for a review.

I like the tool and wish I had purchased it sooner. I did about 150 Square feet of the first bedroom of our 4 bedroom home, just using a traditional miter saw and table saw, until I remembered a YouTube video of a guy who used one like it. My laminate is 12MM and cutting it with the electric saws created a dust bowl in my garage. This tool saved me a ton of time, buy not having to go outside to make every single cut. I made a wood block the same height as the cutter and when you place the panel down, it keeps it level and makes a cleaner cut, not perfect but easy enough. I also put another block under the cutter, since it is plastic and did not look like it would last too long, if I did not provide more support under it as well. I also put my foot down on the cutter, to keep the panel straight and it makes it easier to cut as well. It does take some effort, but I did another 700 square feet with this tool and no dust and just some chips of the laminate. It did not work for angle cuts for me, since the laminate panels are 9 inches wide and would not fit, but for straight cuts, made my job much easier. You can see from the pictures, it cuts down on top and then tends to break off the rest, but this is the side that gets hidden under the trim anyway. It was easy to setup, just a few screws to tighten and you would think that it is cheaply made, but it held up and planning on doing my daughters home next week with it. Price was good too, lumber liquidators had one for a few bucks more, but looked like the same quality. Saved me $2500 bucks by doing the work myself and watching the Youtube videos. I made some of my own tools too, take a few cut off scraps and attach a piece of wood, just a bit over the end of the panel and glue it and screw it together, so when you hammer with the dead blow or rubber mallet, it will not break the panel and it makes the install go much better. Plus, you can use the metal puller up against the wood, to pull in the tight spots, by making smaller ones too. The results were great and floors look wonderful and no more carpet and sold the used carpet on Offer up for 20 bucks for each room.

Highly recommended for all of the reasons others have indicated in their reviews. Far and away, the two major advantages are that (1) the Exchange-a-Blade allows for a lot of cuts to be made without dust getting everywhere and (2) the Exchange-A-Blade makes it quick to make the majority of cuts you'll need for a project. The cuts are just fine (splintering is rare) for anything that will be hidden (e.g., under baseboard, a molding, or quarter round). The blade does noticeably dull over time (about the first 5 to 10 cuts only required a single compression of the lever). However, I found that many more cuts can be made by simply compressing until the laminate begins to deform, then relaxing pressure on the handle a bit, then compressing again (a bit harder), then relaxing a bit again, etc. -- in this manner, a nice cut can be made even when the blade has lost a bit of its edge. One additional advantage of the Exchange-a-Blade is that it's relatively portable. It's easy to pick it up and move it to a location as needed while putting down laminate. The bottom line: I wouldn't do a laminate project without this.If you don't have much experience with laminate, you should be aware the Exchange-a-Blade is not intended to, and will not be able to, make every cut you will need to make. Almost certainly, you will need additional cutting tools in your arsenal. The Exchange-a-Blade won't help much with rip cuts or with detail work that you'll likely need to do near doors, wall corners, etc. Finally, it should be noted that the "cuts" made by the Exchange-a-Blade, while fine if hidden, are not perfectly even and, thus, would not be suitable for some situations (e.g., if you needed to butt two pieces of laminate together, you would want to use an appropriate saw (e.g., table saw or miter saw) that gives a perfectly clean edge).