In article ,
busbus wrote:
Hello,

I have the need to cut a piece of melamine shelf into about 16-inch pieces.
The shelf is six-feet long and 12-inches wide and it is a bit unruly for me
to hold on the table saw by myself. So I figured I should make 18-inch wide
piece with my circular saw then cut them down to final size on the table
saw.

I have three questions:

1. I do not have a melamine blade on either saw. Do you think I can keep
chipping to a minimum by running a piece of masking tape over the line I am
cutting?

masking tape will help.

"Better" is to make a 'sandwich' with a couple of pieces of sacrificial
stock surrounding the shelf 'middle'. use _double-sided_ masking tape
to hold the pieces of the sandwich together.

2. Which side is facing up for the circular saw?
3. Which side is facing up for the table saw?

Generally you want the leading edge of the blade cutting from 'outside'
the board, into the melamine, and thence into the shelf substrate.

This means that the melamine would be the side "away" from the saw
table, or away from the baseplate.