Cutting a rubber mat

[Andy Wickiser]

I made a lot of cuts on 3/4" stall mat to fit to the bed of my pickup truck. I used a curved-blade knife as pictured along with a straight edge, required multiple passes but worked really well.

 

[zuhnc]

Put those mats in one of my horse stalls. Used a skilsaw at first, but 3/4" rubber grabs a lot. Went to the box cutter and multiple passes, bending the cut line over a 2x4, as mentioned. A new, sharp blade, a little bit of lubricant, and all went well, and a lot easier. zuhnc

 

[Janicholson]

Use a breakoff blade knife and bend the cut over an edge. ANtifreeze in a squirt can is also great. Jim

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a 4'x6' 3/4 thick rubber stable mat from TSC, that I need to cut to fit around a chimney.It will be used as a
floor mat. Any suggestions on how to cut it? Maybe a sawsall? Skill saw? chain saw? Way too thick for a razor knife.

I cut mine with a razor knife. Had to make two passes as I recall. My cuts were straight, length wide cuts and I used sharp blades.

 

[JD Dave]

I have a cordless fabric cutter which uses a very sharp round blade and have cut rubber sheet with amazing success.

 

[NoBite]

My entire workshop floor is covered by the same type of mat , they really are practical and comfortable .
I cut all of them with a ' box cutter ' type of knife . It takes a little patience but the result is really accurate and neat .You really only have to score the top of the mat deeply , then flex the cut open while cutting further , sounds difficult but is really quite easy a fairly quick . It only took a few hours for me to lay the floor of a six by five metre building with many cut outs for doors , bench legs and other fixtures .Lubricating the blade while cutting makes it glide smoothly as well , just some detergent and water is enough .

Exactly how I do it. Got those mats in all our horse stalls and on the main barn floor, too. Cut them all this way.

 

[Buffalo Pete]

Rubber products are pretty easy to cut with a sharp knife. The problem is the rubber healing back up on the cutting instrument, creating drag & heat. Lubrication with something slippery on the knife will help. If you can get a helper, have him slightly pull on the rubber as you cut to slightly open the kerf as you cut. This will significantly reduce the friction encountered when cutting rubber.