Table saw is too cumbersome 

Table saw is too cumbersome  for 1 person to handle whole sheets , I rip mine with a 20year old Makita 7 1/4 circular and an 8 ft aluminum guide. I think I have HF 60T Bauer blade that i used .  The guide I used was a two piece extruded just like this one https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/johnson-aluminum-cutting-guide-98-in-j4900

if needed a 2x4 can be clamped to sheet for a stiffener while you cut.

Unmounted backdrop ,ripped edges are on top , theres a little bit of fuzz but not much , it could easily be knocked off with a sanding sponge or utility knife ...I didn't bother  .  

Saw blade choices

The higher the number of teeth in the blade, the smoother the cut will be. The trade off is you can't go as fast doing the cut as you could with a lesser numbered tooth blade. You might be better served going to a specialty woodworkers store, like Woodcraft, if you have one near you rather than a big box home center for the blade and ask their advice.

I had to cut some Upson Board (dense paper product) and foam some time ago and needed a bread blade for a reciprocating saw. I got it at Woodcraft and it didn't tear up the stuff like a serrated blade would have or create a lot of sawdust. The staff there really know their products.

Use what you got

You're over-thinking it. As long as you have a carbide-tipped blade, you're good to go.

Chip out on masonite splines? This should be the least of your concerns. Now if you want to talk about glues, clamping, etc that's a different subject and could yield more feedback.

I too rip the 4x8 into at least a 2x8 as this is manageable through a table saw. 16-inch strips (4x8 ripped into thirds) is even easier to work with.

Joe W.

Ripping Masonite

   Well I got on the interweb and giggled-up "best way to cut masonite". There is plenty to choose from and this question has come up on a couple of other model railroad forums. As far as blades go, which I believe was your original question, what I see is a blade with 80 teeth or more. Thin blades can over heat and warp causing you some real problems with cutting and safety. Setting up the material also seems to be important to provide good results. Maybe, if you are going to purchase your material from a big box store, they can rip the sheet in half, lengthwise, for easier handling in your shop. The skillsaw with a straightedge method would be my choice. I have a table saw but without a helper or an out feed table cutting thin material is very tricky. Using the skillsaw,  I find using an eight foot, or longer straight edge, and running the saw along the side of the straight edge edge works better for me than using a guide that slides along the edge of the material as you cut. When using a long straight edge, make sure it is rigid and does not "give in the middle" as you apply pressure along the center of the cut or you will end up with bow cuts rather than straight cuts. Patience, thinking ahead and keeping the power cord out of your way are some key elements to good cutting projects. Hope this helps.

IMHO there is no right blade

IMHO there is no right blade for cutting Masonite. Masonite is hard on any tool used to alter it's original form. Personally I use the cheapest plain steel blades I can find. When they are done, I toss them. The logic - I have not seen saw sharpener in over 20 years. I end up throwing carbide blades away for that reason, so why throw a high dollar blade away? Your mileage may vary..

As to tool usage, ie table saw vs skill saw, IF the tool is used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and good common sense applied I see no safety difference. And this applies to any and all tools. Almost every injury recorded can be traced to a violation of one or the other of those basic rules.

48T blade

A 48T blade is what you want for this task.  I have ripped plenty of Masonite with my track saw and the 48T blade is well suited for the material.

2.2mm is a thin kerf in the industry and I don't recall ever seeing anything smaller.

Chip out...

Chip out IS a concern in cutting spline from Masonite. Every chip is a potential stress concentration point, and when bending the spline is a potential weak point that could spark a fracture. Cut with as fine toothed and narrow kerfed a blade as you can find, and don't rush.

Use a backup

Tracksaws are designed to minimize tear out. The guide rail has a plastic/rubber piece that also helps, which can be replaced after repeated use. 
 

I would cut on a stable flat surface, use a piece of 1/2” foam board to act as a backup. Set the saw to the proper depth which is just past the material you are cutting. The foam backup will also prevent the piece of spline falling to the floor. 
 

the same thing can be accomplished by using a 60t finish blade, skil-saw and a aluminum straight edge. Bora makes a decent straight edge, but it is sectional. Personally having a track saw and multiple different lengths of track,, you can rival any cut from a table saw. 
 

Greg

What thickness are you

What thickness are you cutting and what radio is are you bending if a small chip out could cause catastrophic failure?  You are not building a replacement for the Golden Gate…

I use 1 1/4” 1/8”thick (2) laminated together on each side of a spacer block and I could sit on them.  But I am typically at 36” or more radios but I have been as low as 24 on the narrow gauge with 0 problems 

So maybe we are A) over thinking andb) over building?

PS I use 1.25” simply to give me room to clamp and still get the pin nailer in.  At less height I have trouble and it is not worth the hassle to save 50 cents

-Doug M

runout table

a table saw is a fantastic all around tool but requires a large surface at the table height to catch the pieces coming out of the saw

a simple method is two horses and a piece of plywood built up to the correct height. As a quickie I often screw some scrap on the horizontals of the horses and lay any chunk of sheet goods on top

6 foot long is about the minimum to make it work

you need to be able to let go after sawing and not have anything fall

An advanced version is some cabinets or shelves under the runout table if this is permanent installation

table saws let you crosscut or mitre with a gauge, rip, dado, groove, rabbet or even mould with the correct blades.

a third horse 6 feet back from the intake side provides a place to set the back end of the sheet while the front end is placed on edge before the blade. Then the sheet is laid down flat and the operator slides in behind to push evenly on both sides of the blade

I would not even attempt to slice up full sheets without this type of setup, but could do hundreds of cuts safely and quickly with this method

Modern blades are getting thinner and sharper all the time, Picking ones with thin rims and laser cut slices in the disc gets you less waste, easier cutting, and less wobble. Many $10 blades have these features now.

  "a plunge saw on a track

Table saws should have a riving knife too(or the operator have the skill to use it safely without one) . As TCcrofton noted above a table saw is much more useful than a track saw and a good outfeed table makes ripping sheets pretty easy. Table saws are also more rugged. My Walker Turner is probably 70 year old or more and still runs like a top. I'd also reconsider using masonite for splines with all the choices of wood available there lots of better options as far as grain direction, stiffness, ease of planing, fastening,etc. Masonite was not designed to be cut into narrow strips, it was designed to be used for specific tasks in sheet form.....DaveB 

Masonite dulls blades

I cut a lot of masonite for my helix construction. We used a router with very sharp blade. My contractor friend warned me to be aware how fast the masonite would dull the 'bit/blade'.

Blade

EW,

I'm not an expert on woodworking, but I can speak from experience.  I picked up a 60 tooth carbide tipped saw blade from Menards and went at it.  It's worked wonderfully for cutting my splines. 

I used it for the first batch of 10 4'x8' sheets of Masonite, and some other projects around the house, then replaced it with a new one for the second batch of Masonite sheets.

Keeping things simple...