Sheet Laminate for Small Job

[Dennis Putnam]

I have been trying to find someone that will sell me some laminate scrap for a small job to no avail. I hate to buy a full sheet but I found this a Lowes online. It seems like a pretty good deal. I need it for a router table I'm building. Do you think this will work or will the quality/thickness be insufficient? Thanks.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=136583-76323-136583&lpage=none

[Alan Schaffter]

Most laminates are the same thickness- what can differ is the colored top (wear) layer. I used Lowes stuff for my router table and it is still good a few years later. Since the substrate is dark, scratches through the white wear layer really show.

I got my router table piece really cheap- a cracked sheet. Look through Lowes' laminate stack and see if they have any cracked or broken sheets- then talk to the manager. They will often sell it for a fraction of the cost of an unbroken sheet.

The other option is go to a counter fabricator. That is where I get smaller pieces of laminate for jigs, blast gates, etc. They throw out lots of scraps. They may charge for cutoffs but may let you take the scraps with adhesive on them already for free. That is what I get. The adhesive cleans off easily and completely with acetone.