TS55 and Melamine

[rodwolfy]

I've been talking with my mom about her cabinets. What she wants is actually a sewing center for her Bernina.  I've been looking on line at Koala and some others. It appears that most of them use a lot of melamine panels, sent into wood frames. This won't pose much of a construction problem.

However, I haven't used melamine before. For those of you that have, is it pretty fragile? Is it available in 1/2" sheets, or only 3/4"? Do they weigh more than a conventional sheet of 4x8 oak veneer? Do they come standard in 4x8 sheets? And I'm assuming that the TS55 will give me splinter free cuts using the standard blade that comes with it? Or should I purchase the "Laminate" cutting blade. If I do use this blade, I looks like it will have a 2.6mm kerf, which will once again cut into my previously cut rubber guide edge?

Rod

 

[Eli]

You can get it already edgebanded and drilled, cut to the right depth. You can get full sheets. You can get it cut to depth, but not drilled.  I wouldn't use the word fragile for it. I use a regular blade, but I have to be honest, if I care little enough to build it from melamine (and I use quite a bit of it in a house with two young kids, for durability), I'm not dying over a little bit of chip-out, which is what you get when you take no precautions at all.

 

[jonny round boy]

Rod,

Standard MFC (melamine faced chipboard) comes in 1/2" as well as 3/4" (at least here in the UK), and in 8'x4' sheets, as well as a variety of other sizes.

Trouble is, the melamine on pre-made panels is usually very thin (

 

[rodwolfy]

Jonny,

Actually its a brand new saw. I've only used it to do my laminate floor so far. My business agreement with my parents was that they'd pay for half of it, if I'd build my mom a sewing center (giant desks with all sorts of drawers and fold out table space). This isn't some little thing, though. They run around $2500 for what she wants. By the looks of what I've seen so far, I'll use the melamine panels inset into wood frames. Based on what you said about durability, I'll probably get some laminate to bond down over the top of the work surface. She'll be using shears and a fabric cutting knife on the material, which will likely mark up the melamine too much.

Thanks,

Rod

 

[Eli]

You know what would be really trick? If you go to an art store you can get a self-healing mat for cutting with a razor knife. The one my wife uses is green with a grid square printed over it in yellow. Inlay one of those babies into the worksurface w/ contact cement, right where you'd put a placemat if you were setting the table for her to eat. Then she can use a razor knife all over it and it'll never wear out. I bet you could even buy it off the roll if you found the right supplier. Then you could do the whole worktop in it.

If you do use laminate, remember you have to give both sides the same treatment, ie if you laminate one side, do the other as well.

 

[Daviddubya]

There are two types of melamine usually available.  Cold Rolled melamine is the type usually sold in big box stores, like Home Depot and Lowe's.  Thermally Fused melamine is a better grade and is typically found at cabinet suppliers that sell materials for professionals.

I have used both the TS55 standard blade and the TS55 laminate blade on melamine sheets.  I do not see a significant difference in the quality of the cuts myself.  Expect the blades you use on melamine to dull faster than normal.

Melamine is available in numerous colors if you go to a cabinet supplier.  It is available in 4X8 sheets and in various thicknesses.

The primary reasons I use melamine are that it is pre-finished and easy to clean, as in cabinet interiors for example.  Melamine is heavy since most varieties are made with a particle board core.

 

[rodwolfy]

You know what would be really trick? If you go to an art store you can get a self-healing mat for cutting with a razor knife. The one my wife uses is green with a grid square printed over it in yellow. Inlay one of those babies into the worksurface w/ contact cement, right where you'd put a placemat if you were setting the table for her to eat. Then she can use a razor knife all over it and it'll never wear out. I bet you could even buy it off the roll if you found the right supplier. Then you could do the whole worktop in it.

If you do use laminate, remember you have to give both sides the same treatment, ie if you laminate one side, do the other as well.

Eli and Dave,

Thanks for the info. A couple of questions. Eli - you said that I have to laminate both sides. Why is this? If I use MDF as the core, like on a counter top, to I have to?

A great idea about the self healing mat. My mom would really like that.

Dave - I guess I'm confused over the terms. Is melamine only the stuff that comes with the particleboard core, or is it also the thin sheets that come rolled up from Lowes that you use to put down on a counter top. I've been referring to the particleboard core as melamine and the rolled 1/16 sheets as laminate.

Is the Thermally fused melamine available with the particleboard core? Does it cost a lot more? You say that you can get various thicknesses. Is this various for the melamine or the laminate rolls? Is it OK to cut on it with an xacto knife or a fabric rolling cutter?

Sorry, I haven't worked with the stuff before and keep the answers coming!

Cheers,

Rod

 

[Brice Burrell]

Rod, melamine is the thin laminate. However, generally speaking, "melamine" referrs to the melamine laminate attached to a substrate, like particleboard or MDF in 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" or thicker sheets.

 

[Daviddubya]

...Dave - I guess I'm confused over the terms. Is melamine only the stuff that comes with the particleboard core, or is it also the thin sheets that come rolled up from Lowes that you use to put down on a counter top. I've been referring to the particleboard core as melamine and the rolled 1/16 sheets as laminate.

Is the Thermally fused melamine available with the particleboard core? Does it cost a lot more? You say that you can get various thicknesses. Is this various for the melamine or the laminate rolls? Is it OK to cut on it with an xacto knife or a fabric rolling cutter?

Sorry, I haven't worked with the stuff before and keep the answers coming!

Cheers,

Rod

Brice answered your first question.  Melamine is the thin coating applied to a core, typically particle board or MDF.  The sheets I think you are referring to are usually called laminates, like Formica, as an example.

I have purchased thermally fused melamine with a particle board core.  The cost is not much more than the cheap stuff from HD or Lowe's.  Sorry, I don't recall the pricing specifically.

If you cut on melamine with a knife you will easily cut right through the melamine surface into the core.  It is not tough and durable.  If you need something you can cut into, I'd be looking at hardboard applied as a replaceable surface, so you can refresh it when it gets too beat up.  Another option would be Formica laminated onto a core like MDF.

Anyone else, please chime in here.

 

[Eli]

I like the hardboard idea, but the healing mat you wouldn't have to replace. I wouldn't use only melamine OR formica for a cutting surface. If you're laminating sheets yourself, you should laminate both sides, to prevent warping. If you're just laminating a worktop (double-thick though), and it's screwed down to a solid frame, I'm sure it would be fine without. But for doors and drawer fronts, etc. , double-sided treatment. 

Having said that, I buy melamine a lot, and I am planning on laminating one side only of my new house's kitchen cabinet doors, but I'm refinishing them, they already have laminate both sides.