Chris wrote: >I am building a router table, using 2 3/4" MDF panels for top. I
have
>enought laminate only for one side. Is it sufficient if I use laminate on
>the top surface and seal the bottom with poly? Concern is uneven moisture
>absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
>
Did the same on my router table, except no poly on the bottom, and it's stayed
remarkably flat for a couple years now. . But I live in the Sonoran desert. I'd
go for it, and seal the sides as well. Tom
Someday, it'll all be over....
As the old adage goes, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." I suggest that
you get some more laminate for the bottom and attach it the same way as the top
laminate is attached - if you know. You will have only one time to do it right.
Hoyt W.
Chris Carruth wrote:
> I am building a router table, using 2 3/4" MDF panels for top. I have
> enought laminate only for one side. Is it sufficient if I use laminate on
> the top surface and seal the bottom with poly? Concern is uneven moisture
> absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
I'd laminate the bottom too. Go to HD or some other place that deals in
laminates for the masses. I suspect you can find a piece someone
ordered and didn't pick up or returned for a song. For the bottom it
doesn't matter what it looks like. I've done this several times.
RB
Hoyt Weathers wrote:
> As the old adage goes, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." I suggest that
> you get some more laminate for the bottom and attach it the same way as the top
> laminate is attached - if you know. You will have only one time to do it right.
> Hoyt W.
>
> Chris Carruth wrote:
>
>
>>I am building a router table, using 2 3/4" MDF panels for top. I have
>>enought laminate only for one side. Is it sufficient if I use laminate on
>>the top surface and seal the bottom with poly? Concern is uneven moisture
>>absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
>
>
More than likely, it will warp at least a little. Okay for a table, but not
a router table. With the time and effort you have in the router table and
the fact that you want it flat, why take a chance.
Preston
"Chris Carruth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am building a router table, using 2 3/4" MDF panels for top. I have
> enought laminate only for one side. Is it sufficient if I use laminate on
> the top surface and seal the bottom with poly? Concern is uneven moisture
> absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
>
>
"Chris Carruth" wrote in message ...
> I am building a router table, using 2 3/4" MDF panels for top. I have
> enought laminate only for one side. Is it sufficient if I use laminate on
> the top surface and seal the bottom with poly? Concern is uneven moisture
> absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
Chris,
if you use poly on the bottom you risk getting some on the edges which will
cause them to swell slightly. To avoid this you might shellac or poly the
mdf before you cut it to size. Also, if you fix anything to the edges to
stop them from swelling, consider how you do it carefully. Any fasteners
that are not properly predrilled may cause the edges to raise up where the
fastener sits. Any glue may cause the same effect. Some of the plastic edge
preparations can also cause the edge to raise.
Greg
Chris Carruth wrote:
>Concern is uneven moisture absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
Your concern should shift to that of an unbalanced
construction, the real reason you'll have a potato chip for
a router top should you not laminate both sides.
Actually, with a piece so small you can "maybe" get away
with it depending on how well you secure the top to the base
below. It's hard to say though with the limitations of the
information.
UA100
"Chris Carruth" <[email protected]> wrote in news:b2Znc.26250$nG7.20334
@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com:
> I am building a router table, using 2 3/4" MDF panels for top. I have
> enought laminate only for one side. Is it sufficient if I use laminate on
> the top surface and seal the bottom with poly? Concern is uneven moisture
> absorbtion due to differences in surface finish.
>
>
It'll be fine with or without the poly. The idea behind sandwiched
lamination is that veneers move with changes in humidity. Commercial
laminates are very stable and do not present this problem. Have you ever
seen a kitchen counter with the bottom laminated?
Hope that helps you
Secret Squirrel wrote:
>It'll be fine with or without the poly. The idea behind sandwiched
>lamination is that veneers move with changes in humidity.
Actually the "idea" has to do with balancing the
construction.
>Commercial laminates are very stable and do not present this problem.
Not really so. Using contact adhesive with any laminate (we
are talking plastic laminate and not veneer) will creep with
most any product no matter how commercial they are.
>Have you ever seen a kitchen counter with the bottom laminated?
On a cheaper installation yes. The reason this isn't quite
as big a problem is that the counter is typically secured at
every cabinet and sometimes in between. The weight of the
cabinets does present itself as something the unbalanced
counter can't over come so it stays relatively flat.
UA100