Melamine Tips
Woodworkers have a huge variety of products to choose from for their work, with hundreds of species of wood and some manufactured materials available at hardware and home improvement stores. One such manufactured material is melamine. This material is similar to laminate products, and requires no sanding or finishing when the project is completely. There are a number of tips and techniques that you can master to make working with melamine even easier. Does this Spark an idea?
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Safety First
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Melamine can come in large, thick sheets and can require a lot of trimming and drilling to complete your woodworking project, so taking proper safety precautions is necessary.
The edges of melamine sheets are often rough, and the laminate-like surface can be extremely slippery. This combination of roughness and slickness can be dangerous, resulting in sliding cuts and splinters for the handler.
A good pair of work gloves can help protect you from the melamine dangers. Wear these gloves whenever you handle, carry or cut melamine boards. Keep an extra pair handy in case you ever need a helper when loading, unloading or working with melamine.
Like all woodworking projects, you should also wear protective goggles whenever cutting or drilling melamine, to protect your eyes from sawdust and shrapnel.
Careful Cutting
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According to woodworker Dave Munkittrick, a common problem when working with melamine is “chipping out.” This occurs when a general purpose saw blade cuts into the melamine surface; the laminated edge ends up with numerous small and unsightly chips across the surface.
There are a number of ways to prevent chipping on your melamine. Stat the cutting by making a scoring cut that extends 1/16 inch into the bottom of the melamine sheet. When you perform the ultimate cut, the blade will face less resistance going into the surface, resulting in a clean cut and no chipping.
You can also purchase or rent saw blades specifically designed to cut laminate surfaces. These blades will make cleaner cuts on the slippery melamine surface.
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Melamine Products
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Melamine may look a lot like wood, but it has different qualities. Therefore, some common wood products will not work on melamine.
When joining joints or pieces of melamine, you may be tempted to use regular wood glue. However, wood glue will not adhere to the melamine effectively, and using this glue can result in weak joints. Instead, using melamine-specific adhesives, which are available alongside the wood glue in most hardware and home improvement stores.
Similarly, wood filler will not adhere to melamine surface, and could result in messy repair work. Use a product designed to fill in plastic or laminate instead for a smooth, even repair finish on your melamine.
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