Joining white press board, Luan?

[jason lambert]

I forget what they call the stuff but it is the white press board with Formica on both sides used for closets etc. Anyhow I am making some built in closet shelves etc, trouble is this need to be assembled in the closet itself it will not fit easily otherwise. I would normally use dominos and glue but in this case I may want something a little less permanent. I don't think screws will hold in the particle board well. How do I join this stuff or is long screws the answer?

[Dan Rude]

The board is melamine coated particle board. From experience the Particle board screw or Kreg pocket course screws work great. The board will fail first. I have also done rabbets, dados and biscuits. Out of all of them the butt joint with screws seems to work the best. If it needs to be hidden, do pocket screws underneath. For shelves I prefer the shelf pins, but have used the shelf strips in a dado. To keep the shelfs from sagging I used a 1" strip of hardwood on the back side screwed to the bottom. Instead of buying the sheet goods, I have made mine mostly using the shelf stock at home centers and rip it to width needed.

[Kevin Stricker]

The best screw for butt joints in melamine are called conformat screws. You have to predrill with a special stepped drill bit as they are a bit like a screw and a bit like a dowel. I also see no reason you could not use some dominos and #8 gold screws w/o glue for a strong bond (just predrill the screws and don't use anything longer than 1 5/8" as longer screws tend to split the melamine). Pocket screws and dominos would be a good combination, just set your driver to a lower than normal setting until you get a feel for the material.