Table Top Veneer Help

[Derek Arita]

So I made an MDF work table top that I'd like to cover with a black, water resistant veneer of some sort. Also, its a work table, so I don't want to spend much $ on it. I know nothing about veneers or what's available, so I really need some help. My first thought was some kind of formica, but what do I know. Anyways...help!

[Jim Becker]

Laminate is your friend here as you note and it's easy to work with, IMHO. Formica, Wilsonart, etc., are all good products. Which brand you get is more about where you choose to buy it.

[John TenEyck]

Yep, laminate is what you want.

John

[Richard Coers]

Makes me shiver a bit to consider laminate as veneer. If you do put laminate on the working face, also apply it to the back or at least put a laminate backer sheet on the back. Unbalanced construction applies to laminate the same as with wood veneer.

[Mark Bolton]

Your least expensive option may be to glue down a sheet of 1/8" tempered hardboard. Stick it down with PVA, when it gets beatup you can scuff and apply a fresh one on top. Horizontal grade laminate is somewhat pricey... you may be in the 1.80+ a square foot range just for the material. Hardboard is usually about 12-15 bucks a sheet.

[Jim Becker]

Mark makes a good point. I'll add that if you do a raised border to contain the tempered hardboard, you can let gravity keep it in place, flip it when one side gets messed up and replace it quickly and inexpensively in the future.

[Derek Arita]

Good point. I'm going to have to consider that. I've done a few workpieces like that and they work out well. That said, it's going to be like a hobby desk, inside and visible, so I kinda wanted a furniture look, But the hardboard would be considerably cheaper than formica, adhesive and a roller. Hmmmm...

[Jim Becker]

The hardboard can look pretty darn nice, especially with an attractive border. You can't beat the price, either....and no dealing with contact cement and rollers. You can even put a light coat of your varnish choice on it to slick it up for both practicality and looks.

[Derek Arita]

Only issue I can see is that the top will be exposed to some water drops, that's why I thought about formica. Not sure how a finish would hold up as well.

[Steve Fish]

I got a 50% discount on some cracked and chipped pieces of laminate from the local Ace hardware. Maybe worth asking at your local suppliers.

[Derek Arita]

So assuming I get a sheet of formica, what's the sequence of gluing and trimming for my table top, which is not installed on a base yet?

[Jamie Buxton]

So assuming I get a sheet of formica, what's the sequence of gluing and trimming for my table top, which is not installed on a base yet?

Cut oversize, glue, then trim with a flush bit in a small router.

Are you going to formica the sides too? Do that before the top.

[Derek Arita]

Sorry, in all my years, I always avoided doing this. So, first I glue up the sides, trim the sides and corners, one side at a time? Then glue on the top and trim to size. How do I get all those nice, chamfered edges? Is it just a chamfer bit?

[Jim Becker]

Sorry, in all my years, I always avoided doing this. So, first I glue up the sides, trim the sides and corners, one side at a time? Then glue on the top and trim to size. How do I get all those nice, chamfered edges? Is it just a chamfer bit?

It's usually a special little one flute chamfer bit with a relatively low angle and a brass bushing rather than a bearing. You can use any bearing-bearing chamfer bit you want, but the material is harder on it than wood would be. :)

[Jamie Buxton]

You need two bits: a chamfer bit, and a straight (non-chamfer) flush trim bit. You use the straight bit where the cut edge is going to be covered by another piece of formica -- for instance the top edge of all of the sides.

The bits will leave an edge like a razor. When you've all done, it is nice to use a bit of sandpaper to relieve that edge.

[Robert Engel]

Yes, laminate is not cheap!! And I dont think you need it, either. A dropped chisel, an oversaw with a Japanese saw, amd the slip factor.

I’ve used melamine for outfeed table & was surprised by its durability. There is another product called Panolam maybe that’s available to you.

When I built my first assembly table, I made a base of 3/4 MDF and screwed down a sheet of 1/4” hardboard, then rimmed it with a border. I did replace it once, used the old one as a template.

If you put a couple coats of floor polyurethane on, you’ve got a pretty good surface glue won’t stick.

[Derek Arita]

Again, sorry for sounding dense. So first, I lay on the all four edges and flush trim those. After that, I lay on the top, flush trim to the edge, then chamfer that edge?

[Jim Becker]

Again, sorry for sounding dense. So first, I lay on the all four edges and flush trim those. After that, I lay on the top, flush trim to the edge, then chamfer that edge?

Correct. Edges, trim, top, trim, chamfer

[Alan Lightstone]

I used exactly that laminate approach for my outfeed table, which gets its fair share of abuse. Still looks great, has held up well.

[Steve Fish]

Apologies for the delay Derek. I don’t do much work with formica. But since nobody else has replied, I set my substrate on painters triangles and glue the top and bottom at the same time which helps prevent a taco effect. Two coats of wilsonart on the substrate and one on the laminate. Then trim and do the edges. I’ve seen some YouTube guys pushing it down with a block of wood but I think a j-roller working from the center out gets better results. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Gordon Stump]

All my work benches are skinned with 1/8" tempered Masonite. That is a brand, hard board it what I call it. The "temper" is basically oil so it is water resistant. The backside is textured and not flat so you cannot really flip it. The finishing table is looking pretty bad. I will pry up a corner and spray in acetone to pull it up. Then copy it with a flush trump bit and glue it. Probably spray 3m spray adhesive. This is nothing new really. Lots of shops use Masonite or tempered hardboard. I do use white 3/4" melamine sheeting for out feed tables.

[Derek Arita]

Just wanted to follow up. Thank you for all your help. I finally got the table top done. It's not perfect, but it was a learning experience. Now I know how hard formica really is. If I ever do formica work again, I'll buy one of those expensive formica strip cutters for sure. Also, when I got to trimming, I realized I didn't have a bottom bearing flush bit, so now I do and it worked great. I've only got 1 small chip on one side, which I can hopefully patch. Too bad they don't make formica table saw blades. Thanks again!

https://i.imgur.com/rMXx427.jpg

[Mark Bolton]

Just wanted to follow up. Thank you for all your help. I finally got the table top done. It's not perfect, but it was a learning experience. Now I know how hard formica really is. If I ever do formica work again, I'll buy one of those expensive formica strip cutters for sure. Also, when I got to trimming, I realized I didn't have a bottom bearing flush bit, so now I do and it worked great. I've only got 1 small chip on one side, which I can hopefully patch. Too bad they don't make formica table saw blades. Thanks again!



Look up seam-fil, you can get it on amazon if you need to fill a chip. It will never be perfect but its your best bet for a solid fill/chip repair

Nice work. Looks a hell of a lot better than tempered hardboard lol. Far from the top I thought you were trying for.

[Alan Lightstone]

Too bad they don't make formica table saw blades.

https://i.imgur.com/rMXx427.jpg

They do. I have a Freud one, but other manufacturers make them too.

[Derek Arita]

Look up seam-fil, you can get it on amazon if you need to fill a chip. It will never be perfect but its your best bet for a solid fill/chip repair

Nice work. Looks a hell of a lot better than tempered hardboard lol. Far from the top I thought you were trying for.

Thanks Mark. It's a small chip and Seamfil should work perfectly, so I'll order some.

[andrew whicker]

hardboard for $15, ha!


Without a good press, I don't see how you are going to get the hardboard to lay flat. I've attached a hardboard with screws in an attempt for flatness.... it never really works as well as you think it will. I've done it twice now.. once as a newb and once as more experienced and it didn't seem that more knowledge did a lot of good. I would use my vacuum press at this point.

I haven't messed w/ laminate yet, but the videos don't look hard to apply and I see people applying w/o a press. If you were able to start over, I'd say buy a non textured left over / end of run sheet of particle board melamine from a cabinet shop.

Edit:

Just saw you laminated already. This website forums are hard to decipher sometimes. Looks good, cheers!

[Jim Becker]

Any formica I've used, I've cut with the table saw without any kind of special blade... :)

[Derek Arita]

Any formica I've used, I've cut with the table saw without any kind of special blade... :)

Thanks Jim. I actually deleted the question here and started a new thread. Wish I knew that before I cut the formica the hard way. Live and learn...

[Mark Bolton]

hardboard for $15, ha!


Without a good press, I don't see how you are going to get the hardboard to lay flat. I've attached a hardboard with screws in an attempt for flatness.... it never really works as well as you think it will. I've done it twice now.. once as a newb and once as more experienced and it didn't seem that more knowledge did a lot of good. I would use my vacuum press at this point.

I haven't messed w/ laminate yet, but the videos don't look hard to apply and I see people applying w/o a press. If you were able to start over, I'd say buy a non textured left over / end of run sheet of particle board melamine from a cabinet shop.

Edit:

Just saw you laminated already. This website forums are hard to decipher sometimes. Looks good, cheers!

Ive used hardboard a million times and its $15 here, lays dead flat. If you want an easily removable/refreshable surface stick it down with Fastedge double stick tape. Its just glue, no thickness, holds well, can peel it up at will.