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Copper clad Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic board is
difficult to cut because the glass fibres embedded
within it are about as hard as steel and so will make
steel saw blades or knives very blunt very fast.

For lengthy cuts, the best technique is to score it
on both sides and then bend it to break it off cleanly
at the desired place.

You will need:
A straight edge - a ruler or scale will do.
Two clamps to hold the straight edge against the board to be cut
A sharp knife or other scoring tool.



If you are using a steel knife, a piece of sandpaper
or grinding stone to sharpen it would be essential.
Or else use a carbide tipped scriber.

First, mark on the copper side. The copper is soft,
and a sharp point of a pin or compasses can be used
to scribe lines for the cutting marks.

When the cut line has been drawn the way you want it
clamp the straight edge to the board using G-clamps.
Holding it in place with one hand, and cutting it with
the other sometimes causes the cut to take unintended
deviations from the intended line.



Here, I have protected the steel ruler from being
marred by the G-clamps by using pieces of cardboard.
Use light pressure to cut the copper at first, and
the resulting groove will guide the knife or scriber
as you apply more pressure for the later passes.



Score the board deeply.



Turn the board over, clamp the straight edge to the
other side and score deeply.



Now clamp the board in a vice or place it with the
line of cut along a table edge and bend sharply.



It shall separate into two along the scored line
and the rough edges can be sanded clean.



The dimensions of the strip may be checked,
and the sandpaper applied to bring it down to
the required measurement.



Cutting narrow strips of board into pieces is
easier with a pair of tin shears. Starting the
cut from both sides will enable you to cut pieces
about twice as broad as the length of the cutting
blades.



The edges will have to be sanded square for
the box to fit together perfectly.

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