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Melamine
CitznFish:
anyone have pics of what melamine looks like?
shmokes:
Go to www.1uparcade.com
His cabinet is made of black melamine. The sides are covered with yellow laminate, but just browse through his pictures. Any part of his cabinet that is black (aside from things like the monitor bezel and coin door ;) ) is melamine, unaltered from the way it was when he bought it. Melamine comes prelaminated in a variety of colors. I believe it is generally particle board, but I suppose it could be MDF or Plywood as well with a melamine laminate. The nice thing about it is it comes laminated on both sides. The most common place you may have seen it is in entertainment centers. If they are black instead of wood-grain, you are likely looking at melamine.
_Iz-:
You'd be surprised how much a layer of laminate on each side of a board can increase the rigidity!
One thing to be aware of is laminate will shrink over time. If you laminate only one side of a board it *WILL* cup and warp. This would be especially apparent on a control panel top that was only attached on one side (say with a hinge). Your side panels should be OK because they are firmly attached to a framework which will keep them mostly straight.
At work we *always* laminate both sides of a board because of this. If the back is not exposed/seen we use a "liner" grade laminate - basically just laminate without a nice finish (cheaper) - keeps both sides of the board in balance.
(PS: I'm a cabinetmaker by trade)
shmokes:
Wow...I was unaware of this. How long does it take for this warping you speak of to be visible?
_Iz-:
I've seen it happen as quickly as a day or two.
Once it happens you can't straighten it back, it's way too strong.