Need advice on laminate and melamine

[Tahnok]

I have been looking over old posts and multiple websites and am now more confused than ever. There are a few things I would like to clear up.

Can a board be laminated before cutting? How would I go about cutting 5/8" particleboard, laminated on both sides, so that it doesn't chip? Also, how easy is it to drill through the laminate without cracking it? Will I have a problem drilling through it with a 15mm forstner bit?

If I'm using a router and pattern cutting bit, I shouldn't have to worry about chipping, right?

Should I worry about chipping because of small parts? Some of the parts are 1.5" wide.

Is it really worth the jump between melamine and laminate? It looks like I will have to custom order both of them, so that is not an issue. The issues are price and ease of use.

Thanks a ton!

[kingflynn]

It may be difficult to cut without the laminate chipping.  However, there are a few thing you can do to minimize it.  Put masking tape over where you'll be cutting, and make your marks on that.  Put tape on the bottom of the cut as well.  You could also score the cut line with a utility knife and a straight edge.  Use a new saw blade!!  And set the blade so that about 1/8" of the teeth come through the other side.   

[jcrouse]

IMHO laminate give a much more professional appearance. Malamine will also chip when cutting with a saw. Laminate can be cut with a router and will not chip. Sometimes it is a little difficult to use a router on smaller pieces.

For small screw holes I use a center-drill (metal machining item) because there is a very low helix angle on the point which eliminates the laminate from wanting to "pick up".

For large holes (larger then the router bit, like a trackball cutout) you can laminate first then cut a hole in the laminate with a utility knife, stick the router in the hole and route it out.

John

[GoPodular.com]

Can a board be laminated before cutting?
- Yes.

How would I go about cutting 5/8" particleboard, laminated on both sides, so that it doesn't chip?
- You want the blade to pull the laminate towards the surface it is adhered to.  For double laminated pieces, the best way I can think of is to clamp scrap wood to the other side.

Also, how easy is it to drill through the laminate without cracking it?
- Use a piece of scrap behind it.  99% of the time it cracks from flexing.

Will I have a problem drilling through it with a 15mm forstner bit?
- Never tried.

If I'm using a router and pattern cutting bit, I shouldn't have to worry about chipping, right?
- Used properly, routers won't chip laminate.  Go the right way.

Should I worry about chipping because of small parts? Some of the parts are 1.5" wide.
- I regularly laminate 1/2" edges.  You need to worry about safety more than anything.  For a square of 1-1/2"x1-1/2", I'd use a router table and be very careful.

Is it really worth the jump between melamine and laminate? It looks like I will have to custom order both of them, so that is not an issue. The issues are price and ease of use.
- Oh yeah.  Look at your bathroom/kitchen countertop, then look at WalMart furniture.  Huge difference.

[nostrebor]

Very nice for a second post! Welcome gopodular.

I would agree with the info above. One thing to remember if you are new to laminates is that Melamine comes pre-adhered to wood.  Laminate comes as a thin sheet of material that YOU have to adhere to wood. It takes contact cement and a few special tools to install it correctly. Once installed, it is a superior product to Melamine.

[RetroACTIVE]

Will I have a problem drilling through it with a 15mm forstner bit?

I laminated my cab inside and out, I needed to drill 25mm pocket holes for the post-cam locks... I had no problems whatsoever, the forstner bit made nice clean cut!  However, be sure to drill a pilot hole first (I used a 1/16 bit), because the forstner bit will not stay in one place too easily on laminate.  There are different types of forsner bits too... mine was not the kind with the "teeth" that pull into the material, it had straight blades on it.

Is it really worth the jump between melamine and laminate?

Yes!... but keep in mind, black laminate shows oily fingerprints really well... however, it is damn near indestructable and can be cleaned/scrubbed without mucking up the finish.

[Tahnok]

Thanks for the information everybody. I think all my questions have been answered.

[Tahnok]

One more thing I have thought of. What if I cut out all the pieces and then laid them on the sheet of laminate? I could then just run my router along them and trim everything up, right? I don't want to put too much stress on my router and bit by cutting out all the pieces with it. The way I figure it, I can still cut out the pieces with normal tools without having to worry about chipping, and then use my router for cutting the laminate only. Will this raise any problems?

I just want to be sure. This laminate is not cheap I don't want to mess up an entire sheet.

[GoPodular.com]

The best way to do that is to rough cut the laminate first, slightly oversizing it.  Then lay the pieces all out.

I'll sketch out how to do it and post a graphic.

[GoPodular.com]

Applying glue to the whole sheet and positioning the pieces sounds good until you need to flip a 4'x8' piece of laminate with 100 pieces of wood attached to it.  It's very easy to crack the laminate doing it like that.  It can work, but here's how I was taught to do it.  You can rough cut the laminate to the approximate size needed for each piece.  Just make sure to think it through so you ALWAYS have some play room when you put the laminate on the wood.  If you have a "U" shape, you'll need to reposition the laminate part way through, or you'll paint yourself into a corner.

[GoPodular.com]

Here you can see how you'll paint yourself into a corner.  You have to make sure you neve trim opposite sides of the piece:

[GoPodular.com]

Very nice for a second post! Welcome gopodular.

I've been around before under a different user name.  With a product line almost web-ready, I thought I should make it as easy as possible to contact me.  I'll be posting a bunch of pictures in the next couple weeks with all the details.

(sorry to pull the conversation away from the topic)

[Tahnok]

Ah, OK, that seems like a better way of achieving what I need. Thanks for the help!