I have worked with laminate countertops many times, and did my own laminate bar top years ago but I am now looking to build a 10 x 8 (roughly) U shaped desk, so it's only one 5' x 12' sheet of Formica. I am looking to use Formica 180fx as they have some beautiful color choices. The desk will be 24" deep, perhaps 23-15/16" even depending on the 3/4 particle board dimension and saw kerf.
1.) I am undecided right now on what to line the face of the desk with, locally I only have a couple options in terms of pretty wood. I could get 1x6 in oak, and maybe a maple or birch but doubtful. The 3/4" thickness would be too much in my opinion, I think 1/4" thick would look best which I assume would just mean ripping the 3/4" down to 1/4" if I went that route.
2.) If I were to use a wood to face the desk, should I make it hang flush with the top of the laminate or router the laminate first then hang lower? I've considered trying to first router the edge of the laminate with an 1/16 or 1/8" radius bit like this? Or one of these angled bevel bits like this? Or are those only used when you are making both the surface and the face laminate?
I was thinking it would be too difficult to ensure the wood is flush with the laminate top, especially when contact cement and natural wood are the variables that come to play there. Yikes! Is there a way to maybe use a 3/8" or 7/16" radius bit instead that would radius both the wood and the laminate? I've never used a radius bit before especially not on laminate. I am wondering how 'finished' it would look, I envision the cut edge would lack any color and stand out if I cut too deep into the material?
3.) As I think about all of this, I think that laminate on the face would be the most complete and uniform look. I assume people do wood faces on laminate tops to meet a certain aesthetic? Or is it because the seam between two laminates when perpendicular is just hard to pull off? If doing laminate on both surfaces (top and face/edge) which router bit is best? Again sort of inexperienced, afraid if I did much of a radius over 1/16" that it would look like a raw edge or something and not be right?
4.) With this being a U shape, that means two inside miters to deal with. At first I was thinking about building the subframe and installing it once so I can scribe the material and sand it down to fit the drywall perfectly. However that is a lot of extra work and moving up and down sets of stairs. Would it be just as good to laminate the three pieces and assume I can get the miters to line up anyway? With the two miters, I've always used traditional countertop miter kits with the 3 or 4 bolt style clamps. I assume I just need to get crafty with the sub base and make sure I can use those clamp bolts and do some fancy cutting to allow slots for them? Or is there a better way on custom tops dealing with miters?
5.) When dealing with such a large 5x12 roll of formica, is there a 'best' way to cut it down? I am considering a jigsaw or circ saw to the center of the roll that is still tightly taped to get it into 30"ish strips? I don't have a work shop with a large flat surface otherwise and I envision trying to unroll it on the garage or house floor would be comical as it has shape/memory of the shipping roll?
Any suggestions or tips are appreciated. I'm excited to try things out, but I really am not sure what route to go with router bits, and how to best do that.
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Originally Posted by Nicholas Birch
