Are bathroom dividers sometimes made of phenolic

[Roger Feeley]

So I'm in a public restroom doing my thing and I don't have anything better to do but look at the divider between the urinals. Sometimes, it looks like that stuff is phenolic. I have two questions:

1. could it be? would they use 3/4" phenolic?
2. Places go out of business and I wonder if that stuff gets scrapped. Are there businesses out there that specialize in gutting commercial buildings? I belong to a WW guild and if there are a couple of businesses I could contact to see if I could slip in and save some of that material from the scrap heap, it would be a great source for jigs and stuff.

[HANK METZ]

So I'm in a public restroom doing my thing and I don't have anything better to do but look at the divider between the urinals. Sometimes, it looks like that stuff is phenolic. I have two questions:

1. could it be? would they use 3/4" phenolic?
2. Places go out of business and I wonder if that stuff gets scrapped. Are there businesses out there that specialize in gutting commercial buildings? I belong to a WW guild and if there are a couple of businesses I could contact to see if I could slip in and save some of that material from the scrap heap, it would be a great source for jigs and stuff.

1) I'd been in a Chinese restaurant once and I swear the dividers were made from Tempura Shrimp packing cartons. 2) I usually spot the places undergoing reno in the strip malls and dumpster dive, lots of goodies there.

- Beachside Hank

[johnny means]

Yes it is solid phenolic. Its used in all sorts of commercial and medical applications.

[Mike Wilkins]

I have a neighbor that has a side profession of a door installation company. He makes and installs institutional doors for schools, hospitals, businesses, etc. I got one of these divider panels from him with the intention of someday making a router table top out of it. From the looks of it, you can use normal woodworking tools (tablesaw, router) to work this material. It looks to be very hard, stable, and a slick surface that would make a great router table top. I think this would be a great material for woodworking purposes.

[Brett Bobo]

+1 for what Johnny and Mike said for the applications of phenolic panels. Typically, phenolic panels are used in high-traffic areas due to it's ability to resist bacteria and be anti-graffiti so you'll find it in restrooms, hospitals, airports, etc. One of the primary manufacturers of phenolic panels for these applications is Trespa, which is located in The Netherlands. Trespa even manufactures panels for exterior use too. Your best bet may to find a local, commercial millwork company who may be willing to part with the remnants from a job. If I recall correctly, the sheets sizes are primarily 4'x10' and 4'x12'.

[Steve Ryan]

Like Brett said, most likely Trespa. Some of the domestic p-lam manf's also produce it, almost always as a custom order, and in any color. Pionite will make it for you with just a 2 sheet min. Forget about working it with HSS cutters, only carbide will last. Best tool life is at lower RPMs and a decent chip load. Phenolic is very abrasive and hard. Low speed and high chip load will put more heat into the chips and less into the tooling. Carbide dulls with both abrasive wear and chemical erosion of the binders. Heat speeds up the chemical part.

[Bruce Wrenn]

You can order phenolic toilet partitions from HD.