router table top

[stacey martin]

I'm going to make a router table. For the top I was thinking about using pergo glued to MDF. Do you think pergo would work for this? I'm got some samples of pergo glued back to back one I sanded with 80 grit paper first the other just glued to see if it will hold. The glue was contact cement.
Thanks Stacey

[Allan Froehlich]

That is a neat idea to use pergo.

What I am wondering about is the flatness of Pergo and how easily you can cut it to install t-track.

You should place a very strong emphasis on making sure your table is perfectly smooth. I had some major issues with my MDF table because the oak perimeter was raised about the thickness of a sheet of paper. Any small ledge left by the pergo will catch your work and cause major headaches.

I have a Jessem Rout-r-lift which is worth its weight in gold, but I eventually plan on buying that combo setup with the hand crank on the side and the fence.

[Prashun Patel]

If yr gonna go to that trouble, why not just laminate it with melamine? It'll be cheaper and seamless.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Interesting idea, but why use Pergo? A laminate like Formica works really well glued to MDF.

[stacey martin]

I have some pergo left from another project.
Stacey

[glenn bradley]

I have some pergo left from another project.
Stacey

I'll echo the concerns over flatness. Lay a few boards down and set some weight on them to hold them as if glued. Check the surface with a straight edge. My gut tells me plain MDF will be flatter than the pergo but I would check it out at least.

[Joe Chritz]

You can get off cuts of laminate dirt cheap in sizes suitable for a router table top.

Two sheets of MDF glued face to face and laminated both sides is probably the best route (pun intended) to take.

If the pergo is dead flat it should work fine. I would use it for a bench top or a work surface with no problem at all.

Joe

[Jim O'Dell]

Aren't most Pergo and other laminate floors designed to "float" because they expand and contract? What happens if it does this glued to a substructure? I've heard of problems with torsion boxes when the top and bottom were of 2 types of material, ie the top out of MDF and the bottom out of plywood. Each wood moves at different rates, and the torsion box would warp. I'd be afraid with the Pergo glued down that it would cause the top warp at certain times of the year. Now if you would put the Pergo on the bottom too, then that should mediate the warpage problem, but if the 2 materials move at different rates, it might cause the structure to delaminate. I guess this could also happen with laminate glued to MDF, though I've never heard of that being a problem. Just something to think about. May be a moot point, as the movement may not be enough to cause any problems. Jim.

[Matthew Barrett]

I would stick with melamine. I have had a router table made of this for 2 years. Still great shape and flat. A lot easier and cheaper as well.

[Jim Becker]

I'll echo the concerns over flatness. Lay a few boards down and set some weight on them to hold them as if glued. Check the surface with a straight edge. My gut tells me plain MDF will be flatter than the pergo but I would check it out at least.

Agree...and do the glue-up with the "good surface" down on a known flat area, like a table saw cast iron top. (cover the top with wax paper to protect it) I've seen far to many variations in laminate thickness to be overly comfortable with using it for this purpose.

I've always built my router table tops with two layers of MDF surfaced both sides with plastic laminate.

[Prashun Patel]

New material for a table top will run you about $10 max. Sure you don't just wanna save the pergo for something another application that isn't so demanding?

[Bill Huber]

I will have to agree with everyone, I just don't think that would make a very good table. You want it to be FLAT, and smooth and no joints on the table.
I really think I would go the MDF route and use the Pergo for some other project.