Cutting Cork

[Pappy]

Our RV has a built-in bulletin board but the cork is less that 1/4" thick, not thick enough to hold pins securely. I bought some 1/2" thick self-adhesive cork tiles to replace it. It appears that the cork was applied to a larger backing and then fastened to the back of the cabinet frame. I have doubts the adhesive will stick to the excising cork so my plan is to trim along the frame with a razor blade and remove the old cork.

Now to my problem. The tiles are 12" square and the frame is about 4 3/4" wide. What would be the best way to cut the tiles to width? My guess is that a table saw would leave a rough edge. Would a band saw with a fine tooth blade give the desired results or should I try to cut it with a straight edge and a razor blade. I have 4 tiles and it will only take 2 so I have room to experiment. I just hate to waste material that might come in handy down the road.

[d_meister]

I would think that with either saw, it will help to support it during the cut. A zero-clearance plate will help, but running it through with an 1/8" or thicker scrap plywood backer would be best. Cardboard may work for a backer. Instead of tear-out, there may be a crumble type of disintegration. If the blade is sharp and the guide is stable, the quality of cut should be similar to other woods. A band saw has the disadvantage of pulling the material straight down in column where a circular blade "nibbles" from an angle if using the minimum blade height..
The trouble with knife blades is that they don't create clearance and require the offcut to bend out of the way for best results.
It's surprising how well a tablesaw cuts unconventional materials. My BT3000 cut foam for tool case inserts straight and true, where a razor knife wandered all over and made a mess if a stop and restart was necessary. I was afraid that the saw blade would pull down and collapse the foam, but there was zero material distortion when it was cut.

[Black walnut]

I would guess a better cut would be achieved with a fine tooth cutoff bade in the table saw. Easy enough to try just ripping a thin strip first with both methods. You might try masking tape as a "backer" to minimize crumbling. I have not cut cork but have cut what formerly was called acoustic board on the table saw. It cut cleanly. Might be called low density fiberboard now? LDF as opposed to MDF.

[LCHIEN]

My personal guess with no experience to back it up is that a fine tooth blade on a table saw will cut those guys nicely. If not, hide the rough edges with some 1/4" square stock as a molding around it.

Another suggestion is just a metal straight edge with a sharp utility box cutter will probably make a clean cut.

Finally cutting 12" down to 4-3/4" wide gives only 2 pieces of 12 x 4.75" with a waste strip about 12 x 2-1/2" You can use that 2-1/2" practicing trimming the 12x12 tile down one edge a quarter or half inch at a time to check your cut quality and experiment if necessary.
If you find it too floppy, you may need to fasten it to a backer board.
Cutting multiple stacked layers to the same width at once may also help.