Laminate surface finish (texture) for outfeed table

[John Stankus]

I'm thinking about finally building a small outfeed table for my tablesaw. I noticed that on the borg websites the laminate sheets can have different surface finishes (matte, etchings, gloss etc). Which finish would be best for an outfeed table? (I'm thinking the one from Woodsmith a while back). I'm probably going to go by the Habitat restore and see what they have in small pieces, but want to have a notion for what would be best. I've also thought about having the top just plywood or hardboard that is extremely well waxed.

Thanks

John

[Bruce Page]

John, I made my outfeed from off the shelf melamine from the borg, with added reinforcements underneath. I guess you would say it has a matt, non-glossy finish. It’s been in hobbyist use for almost 20 years and shows little ware.

[Frank Pratt]

I've used HPL with a bit of a fine pebbled texture, with a matte finish, and the glossy stuff. The textured surface show wear earlier and is harder to clean, the shiney looks terrible pretty quickly & seems like it's higher friction with some materials. The sweet spot was the matte finish. I do keep the surface waxed both for the low friction & for glue release, cause I do some assembly there as well. When it's waxed, boards just glide over it. Sexy stuff.

[Jim Becker]

I'm with Frank's logic...

[Andrew Seemann]

Any of the laminates will be fine. Plywood would or hardboard would also be fine. My outfeed/assembly table is a laminate; it probably started out as a matte one. To transition from the saw, I have a hinged plywood torsion box that rests on a ledge on the outfeed/assembly table, so I can easily separate the outfeed/assembly table from the saw. My right hand extension is baltic birch plywood with just urathane varnish on it, no wax. I don't have any friction issues on either the laminate or the plywood. The only thing that gets wax is the cast iron top, which I hit with the side of a candle and a rag every once in a while.

[Rick Potter]

I have one made from the top of a thrift store desk I got cheap. The desk top was formica covered particle board, and has worked well for years.

I also use it for some assembly work, and dried glue pops right off with a putty knife.

[Robert Engel]

I've had a polyurethane coated outfeed table for several years now and it holds up well. I probably should re-coat it but honestly it looks ok 5 years down the line. I wax it once in a blue moon. It gets used a lot.

My other table saw I used the actual extension table top w/ laminate that came with the other saw.

Truthfully I can't tell the difference & personally I'd save the laminate for an assembly table. Its not exactly cheap anyway.

[Erik Loza]

The most common I see in the DIY outfeed tables among local shops seems to be the same texture as what you get for commercial countertops at BORGs. Never thought much about it beyond that. If you wanted to be really trick, you could clad the tabletop with some 1/8" ABS hair-cell sheet.

Erik

[Frank Pratt]

I'll add that waxed, unfinished plywood isn't that great. The surface seems to have an infinite thirst for wax & doesn't stay slick for as long as the laminate.

[William A Johnston]

I have a laminate tip with a slight grained texture on it. The only reason I went with it is because we had some leftover panels at work so I didn't have to pay anything for it. The panels are cold pressed. If I had to do it and have costs associated with it I'd go with a matt finish.

I've never thought about waxing it but that sounds like a great idea.

I do all my glue ups on an HDP top. I let the glue dry and then it pops off easy.

Bill420566420567

[Jeff Duncan]

I like white matte finish laminate in my shop. My outfield table is quite large and gets used a LOT. The laminate holds up the best out of the materials I've tried, and also works great as a sketch pad when you need to jot something down quick and don't have a pad of paper handy. Pencil marks wipe right off when your done. Another benefit for a small shop is it reflects a lot of light which keeps that area a bit brighter. Dark colors will absorb light and make the area seem a bit darker.

good luck,
JeffD

[jack duren]

I have waxed MDO on mine at home and use laminate at work which always waxed...