frame 1" melamine particle board with 1x3

[Christopher Glaeser]

What is an ideal method to frame a simple workshop table made from 1" melamine particle board and 1x3? Screws/glue?

Best, Christopher

[dadiOH]

Either or both. Nails would work too. Ditto biscuits. Rubber bands wouldn't be so good.

[Christopher Glaeser]

Thanks for the quick response. Can screws potentially pull loose and ream out the particle board? Any suggestions to minimize this possibility? (e.g. recommended screw length and size)?

Best, Christopher

[Leon]

I would rabbet the 1x3, glue and screw it to the melamine.

[StephenM]

Mitigate that possibility with more screw and less torque. Use a 2.5" screw, into a pilot hole. You don't want the melamine to deform. If you have a cordless drill with a clutch, use it with just enough clutch to fully set the screw.

And yes to glue.

-Steve

[Christopher Glaeser]

What size rabbet? 1/2"? Or just a shallow 1/4" to create an alignment lip and leave more wood for the screws?

Best, Christopher

[dadiOH]

How are the screws going to pull out? All they are doing is holding on the edging, you going to be beating or prying on it?

If it were me, I'd put a bead of yellow glue on the particle board edge then screw in enough 1 1/2"X8 screws (counterbored 1/4-3/8) to hold the edging until the glue dries. Be sure to drill pilot holes so the screws don't wedge and break the particle board...it isn't very strong.

[Leon]

It would not really matter, if you are concerned with strength of the 1x3 I certainly would not go any deeper than 3/8" but the rabbet would be more for indexing and a little extra glue surface. TB III will stick to the melamine. I found that out the hard way and when I pried the wood away from the melamine the melamine chipped loose and now I see the underlying MDF.

[Artemus]

[Christopher Glaeser]

Nothing abusive. I wanted to build a folding outfeed table described in another thread, and the 1x3 need only be strong enough to lift the table into position.

Best, Christopher

[Leon]

LOL... This is real scientific what I am about to tell you.

I was doing a glue up on top of my Melamine TS extension table and I used a clamp to hold the pieces down to the table top. This sat over night and apparently there was some TBIII ooze out between the wood and the melamine surface. Removing the clamp the next morning did not release the work from the Melamine surface. Twisting the wood resulted in a "pop" and small pieces of Melamine stuck to the wood. No, I did nothing special to the surface but probably should have put some paper under the joint.

[Gordon Shumway]

Been there, done that!

Gordon Shumway

One positive thing about 'Cash for Clunkers' is that it took thousands of Obama bumper stickers off the road.

[Robatoy]

ve to try TB3.

There are lacquer based adhesives formulated to stick to melamine. One of the surfaces must be porous... such as regular wood. Melamine comes in many different grades as well. It is measure in grams per square area. Cheap stuff is 80 gram, good stuff is 12 gram. A very noticeable difference. Also, the PB cores vary greatly from one manufacturer to another. So, on one end of the spectrum you have crap PB with 80 gram melamine, on the other end a quality core with 120 gram melamine. Completely different beasts. Ask your suppliers.

[Artemus]

[Joe]

Your question implies that you want more of your edging wood for your screws to bite into. you don't want *any* of the screw threads to engage the edging. It can cause bridging and weaken your joint. Drill appropriate pilot holes and use wood screws, not drywall screws.

[Christopher Glaeser]

Thanks! A king must know these things.

I just crawled under my exsiting Delta contractors saw and I noticed three features regarding the melamine right extension table.

1) the 1x3 support lattice is under the melamine (not framed around the melamine). 2) there does not appear to be any screws, unless they applied the melamine to the mdf after the mdf was screwed to the support lattice. Do you suppose the 1x3 support lattice is attached to the underside of the mdf with glue only, or did I miss a construction detail? 3) the melamine top is extremely flush with the 1x3 support lattice at the edges. Did they cut or reduce the melamine table top after it was secured to the support lattice? The MDF is very smooth at the edges. How was that accomplished?

Best, Christopher

[StephenM]

:

Ditto.

My outfeed is melamine w/ a 2x3 (milled flat to about 1.25") apron.

I too use it for assembly. Some day I will thicken the aprons for more clamping surface at the perimeter.

-Steve

[StephenM]

I think you are over-thinking this.

Just because a product is commercialy built does not bmean that it is well built. In fact the best way would be high-pressure laminate (e.g., formica) rather than melamine.

IMHO, a perimeter aprom would be a better design to protect the brittle melamine edge.

Ther are fancy melamine-specific glues. Yes, they probably just glued on the lattice.

Smooth edges are made with with good quality blades on good quality machines. Sanding can get you there too.

Flush edges could be done with a piloted bit but I doubt it. They probably just have a well-designed fixture for clamping the assembly together.

-STeve

[Christopher Glaeser]

Guilty as charged. I filed the original patent on over-thinking. :)

Thanks.

Best, Christopher

[-MIKE-]

You got a good one, then. Mine was definitely built on a Friday afternoon, as it's one of the worst built things I've ever seen. Nothing about the 1x3 frame is square or flush. I almost rebuilt the thing, but then I figured I don't really care, because it's underneath and just there to hold up the melamine top, but I certainly would expect more from.... wait a sec. No, I don't expect more from "American" tool companies, anymore.