Laminate Backing Sheet?

[rjrl101]

I've just resumed planning/construction of my router table and have just been on the phone to a shop asking about laminate. The girl who I spoke to was only able to tell me that they have 0.8 mm laminate sheets from £31+VAT or laminate backing sheets for £12+VAT. She didn't know anything about the properties of the backing sheets.

Would the cheaper backing sheet be suitable for a router table top or do I need to fork out the extra for the proper laminate sheet?

thanks,
Richard

 

[George_N]

Richard, the backing laminate is usually used for areas that won't be seen, to balance the laminated surface. I'm not sure if it's as durable as the regular laminate. It will probably also be only available in gray or a darker off-white. I'd go for the regular laminate in white as I like my table top to be as light as possible so that pencil marks for start/stop positions, fence adjustments etc. show up clearly. One sheet of laminate will be enough to do both sides of your top and enough left over for Mk. II.

 

[brianhabby]

Hi Richard,

I once got hold of (for free) a pile of material that laminate flooring is packed with. It varied between 5-10mm thick mdf and was laminated on both sides. Some of it was patterned but some was plain cream colour.

It has proved useful for pattern and jig making over the years.

If you can find something like this you could use it to line the top of your table and get a good smooth surface.

Try local laminate flooring suppliers, they may be glad to get rid of what for them is simply old packing materials

Just a thought

regards

Brian

 

[chippy1970]

I bought a huge 10ft x 4ft sheet of thin laminate for £20 I covered the router top I was making with this and it was crap.

Its too thin buy the thicker stuff, you can feel the slightest bump in the evostik thru it because it is so thin.

 

[jonny boy]

Hi, I use a lot of formica/laminate at work and can say that the backing sheets are quite suitable for the table top as long as you get get a nice smooth and even spread of contact adhesive. You must ensure that there is no foreign matter on either the top or laminate sheet as this will project through and ruin the surface. If your budget alows you, stick another sheet over the first one for a more durable finish.

jonathan.

 

[chippy1970]

Hi, I use a lot of formica/laminate at work and can say that the backing sheets are quite suitable for the table top as long as you get get a nice smooth and even spread of contact adhesive. You must ensure that there is no foreign matter on either the top or laminate sheet as this will project through and ruin the surface. If your budget alows you, stick another sheet over the first one for a more durable finish.

jonathan.

Why bother just get the decent thick laminate.

I spread the glue as flat as possible but it still felt bumpy through the laminate some people would be quiet happy with that but I wasnt.

 

[jonny boy]

The thicker laminate is a lot dearer and we use a spray contact adhesive that comes in a gas bottle like cylinder but it's not worth buying one of those for your application so you reall need to use a spreadable contact adhesive. Before the spray was available, you had to spread the adhesive and you can get the surface you need if you take your time. I've just replaced the laminate faces on a beisemeyer fence with two layers of standard thickness laminate and it's as good as the origional one, nice and flat and smooth. Best of luck with it!.

jon.

 

[rjrl101]

Thanks for the replies, I've taken the plunge and bought a sheet of the cheaper laminate backing. It's white (maybe slightly off-white) and finish feels suitably hard and smooth for what I want.

I'm not looking forward to the glueing process but I've got a few less critical bits to laminate first which will be good practice for the big tabletop/laminate glue-up. I might ditch the knobbly Evostick applicator though in light of your comments about getting the glue surface absolutely flat.

thanks again,
Richard

 

[chippy1970]

You can get a cheap tin of spray contact glue from people like screwfix but I don't know what its like.

Professional laminate fabricators don't use contact glue they have a machine that uses hot melt glue and is automated. There is a company near me in weybridge that will do it for you they laminate formica etc to mdf, ply etc etc.

I think your wrong getting the cheap one but thats your choice I can only advise on my mistakes.

 

[David C]

I used to have good sucess gluing laminate with rolled out Cascamite.

Contact adhesive is not a good way of getting a flat surface.

David C

 

[jonny boy]

Hello, We are are all having different experiences with laminate sheet, I think this might be due to the sheets being available in varying thicknesses. I can honestly say that the stuff I use to make trade counters and shop display's is about 1-1.5mm thick and a 10x4 sheet is flexible but quite ridgid. I can't understand why chipp doesn't recommend it because i've used it for all sorts of jigs and stuff and have no trouble with it not being flat or any glue causing ripples. I have even done 8x4 mdf sheets totally covered with nothing at all showing through. I think the thing to get right is the glueing at the start.

cheers,
jon.

 

[David C]

Jon,

Delighted to hear you can still get 1.5mm thick.

I thought that was a thing of the past...dark ages? I love that sort of thickness.

Could I get some offcuts from you?

David

 

[jonny boy]

David, Tell me the size you want and the colour (red, blue, green, black, orange, yellow, grey, or white) and i'll get some and try to package it to send to you.

jonathan.

 

[David C]

Jonathan,

Thank you. PM sent.

David

 

[NeilO]

Richard,
any thoughts on making the top of solid "tufnol" or its counterparts??
if so check these people out, their prices seems pretty good, by the time you have bought MDF, Laminate and adhesive plus the hassle of actually getting them all together right...

http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/home.php

HTH..

 

[chippy1970]

Jonny boy,

I cant recommend the one I used supplied by Stantons plastics they called it lining laminate used for out of the way areas it sounds like yours but not sure how thick it was.

In the past I have used thicker stuff and it was great thats why I said get thicker stuff