Bruce Seidner
11-14-2010, 9:15 AM
I am building one of those aircraft carrier sized mobile TS/router stations that will need to scoot under a tall garage wall mounted assembly table to allow room for this behemoth to berth when not in use. The Vega Pro 50" TS fence dictates the length and the BenchDog Prolift router plate demands substance. (It is beast.)
I had been looking for phenolic plywood and you would think I was asking for cheese in China. I tried all the advise I previously received on this forum but no one in the concrete forms business or any of the specialty plywood people in East TN had any supplier. We have a Woodcrafters but the phenolic ply they sell is only 24 inches wide and it is about $50 a sheet. It is not especially robust and while I don't doubt the quality of the plywood, the phenolic is more like a veneer. I did not like the Formica I was finding, also around $50 a sheet, so I went to a Piedmont Plastic (national chain) store they have here and found a 4'x8'x 1/8" sheet of HDPE for $60 that I am experimenting with. I had a chance to actually see and touch all manner of material including PVC, LDPE, UHMW, phenolic, Starboard, ABS etc. In terms of cost the HDPE in 1/8" was quite reasonable. And it seems more workable in terms of welding, cutting, and did I mention cost.
I found a few expensive specialty glues that are said to bond to HDPE, but I will be using a thin flat head carriage bolt called an "elevator bolt", countersunk to keep the top in place. If you haven't seen one do check them out. It is just shy of an inch round 31/32" and thin as a dime with a 1/4"-20 thread. The only force on the laminate surface will be the sheer of wood passing over it so I don't think it will need many bolts to keep it in place. Kinda spanky rivet industrial aesthetic rather than a Shaker or Queen Anne. An engineer friend expressed concern that I not cinch the bolts tightly because that might deform the HDPE over time and introduce wrinkles. New material to me but it is really tough and really slick. Should be interesting.
I had been looking for phenolic plywood and you would think I was asking for cheese in China. I tried all the advise I previously received on this forum but no one in the concrete forms business or any of the specialty plywood people in East TN had any supplier. We have a Woodcrafters but the phenolic ply they sell is only 24 inches wide and it is about $50 a sheet. It is not especially robust and while I don't doubt the quality of the plywood, the phenolic is more like a veneer. I did not like the Formica I was finding, also around $50 a sheet, so I went to a Piedmont Plastic (national chain) store they have here and found a 4'x8'x 1/8" sheet of HDPE for $60 that I am experimenting with. I had a chance to actually see and touch all manner of material including PVC, LDPE, UHMW, phenolic, Starboard, ABS etc. In terms of cost the HDPE in 1/8" was quite reasonable. And it seems more workable in terms of welding, cutting, and did I mention cost.
I found a few expensive specialty glues that are said to bond to HDPE, but I will be using a thin flat head carriage bolt called an "elevator bolt", countersunk to keep the top in place. If you haven't seen one do check them out. It is just shy of an inch round 31/32" and thin as a dime with a 1/4"-20 thread. The only force on the laminate surface will be the sheer of wood passing over it so I don't think it will need many bolts to keep it in place. Kinda spanky rivet industrial aesthetic rather than a Shaker or Queen Anne. An engineer friend expressed concern that I not cinch the bolts tightly because that might deform the HDPE over time and introduce wrinkles. New material to me but it is really tough and really slick. Should be interesting.