Good projects for Melamine

[CalledtoCreate88]

I could be off on my terms here as I'm new to woodworking. But I work at an auto shop as a mechanic, and we share a building with a cabinet shop that regularly throws away what seem to be good, usable off cuts of melamine. They use it to make cabinets and dressers for a dormitory. It's essentially 1/2" - 3/4" thick particle board with a hard plastic laminate, and the off cuts are often 2' x 3-4'.

I've worked here over a year, and they've thrown away so much of it. Having just gotten into woodworking, I'm trying to think of some good uses for it. 

Off the top of my head I'm thinking about extending the surface of my table saw for a router table. Anything else come to mind? Just looking for inspiration.

Also, would the general purpose blade that came with my table saw work well enough to work with the material?

[drzaius]

That stuff would be fine for shop projects. If you use it for a router table, be sure to have sufficient bracing underneath so the table doesn't sage over time. Use it for building shelves, table saw out feed table or anything that needs stable, flat, smooth sheet goods. It doesn't have the strength of plywood, but with the right construction techniques it will work fine.

[wtnhighlander]

You might want a higher tooth count saw blade for the melamine. That stuff tends to chip at the edges. I am a big fan of using a dedicated ripping blade for cuts along the grain in solid wood. Less burning, faster feed, and less strain on the saw motor.

[rodger.]

Jigs!

[davewyo]

Yes, I use it for jigs, table saw sleds, stop blocks, and supplemental fences. It is usually flat and stable.

It's always good to have some around to bang together a quick jig, or whatever.

Pre-drill for screws.

[Bmac]

I used it for my outfeed table for the tablesaw, like you were thinking and it worked out great. I like that it's surface is slick and boards slide right over it. I also do most of my glueups on that table, very easy to clean up any glue drips after the fact. 

Jigs are another great use along with shelving. 

[Dave H]

17 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

You might want a higher tooth count saw blade for the melamine. That stuff tends to chip at the edges. I am a big fan of using a dedicated ripping blade for cuts along the grain in solid wood. Less burning, faster feed, and less strain on the saw motor.

When cutting something that chips or is splintery on the table saw  I lower the blade so only a 1/16" to about 1/8" is above the table run the blade through making a scouring cut. Then I raise the blade to the normal height and run it through again it works every time for me and no splinters or chipping.

 

[Robby W]

I made the cabinets in my shop out of grey melamine coated particle board. Works like a champ. The sizes you can get are perfect for most shop cabinet projects. If you hunt down Comfirmat screws to fasten them together instead of drywall screws, you will get rock solid cabinets. 

Sounds like you hit a gold mine!

[CalledtoCreate88]

19 hours ago, Robby W said:

I made the cabinets in my shop out of grey melamine coated particle board. Works like a champ. The sizes you can get are perfect for most shop cabinet projects. If you hunt down Comfirmat screws to fasten them together instead of drywall screws, you will get rock solid cabinets. 

Sounds like you hit a gold mine!

Yeah, for sure. I'm excited to put it to good use!

 

Thanks for all the ideas.

[elrodk]

20 hours ago, Robby W said:

If you hunt down Comfirmat screws to fasten them together instead of drywall screws, you will get rock solid cabinets. 

Confirmat screws are great for partical board, mdf, and plywood. You will need a step drill for the screws to work right. Woodcraft has a kit with screws, bit, and drill, #149261. It's on clearance. They also have boxes of screws. I hope they don't stop carrying these items. 

[Robby W]

You can get the screws in many cabinet hardware outlets and at McFeeley's. You definitely need the step drill, but with this it is easy to drill the holes and put the screw in. They really clamp down and hold. Far better then anything else I have used.

[BillyJack]

23 hours ago, Robby W said:

I made the cabinets in my shop out of grey melamine coated particle board. Works like a champ. The sizes you can get are perfect for most shop cabinet projects. If you hunt down Comfirmat screws to fasten them together instead of drywall screws, you will get rock solid cabinets. 

Sounds like you hit a gold mine!

All we used in commercial cabinets was sheet rock screws. Work pretty good and cheap.

[Coop]

I didn’t know of the Confirmat screws. Thanks.