Jeff Dege
10-30-2009, 11:54 PM
I'm building a router table. I'd intended to make the top out of a layer of 3/4" melamine laminated with a layer of 3/4" MDF. The thing is, I managed to mess up my first attempt at routing out the mortise for the insert, so now I have a piece of melamine scrap the same size as my router table top, with a insert-sized hole cut through the middle.
Which got me to thinking. The primary danger of laminating different types of materials is that they will swell or contract at different rates, when exposed to humidity changes. Now, it was my understanding that both melamine and MDF were pretty stable, but to me that means that they don't change size very much, not that they don't change size at all.
So, my question: Could there be a problem, laminating melamine to MDF? Would there be less of a problem, laminating melamine to melamine?
Which got me to thinking. The primary danger of laminating different types of materials is that they will swell or contract at different rates, when exposed to humidity changes. Now, it was my understanding that both melamine and MDF were pretty stable, but to me that means that they don't change size very much, not that they don't change size at all.
So, my question: Could there be a problem, laminating melamine to MDF? Would there be less of a problem, laminating melamine to melamine?