| Project by gtpreacher | posted 04-09-2016 08:25 PM | 1274 views | 0 times favorited | 2 comments |  |
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My wife needed a multipurpose cabinet for her sewing room. Her specifications called for bookshelves, drawers, and a worktop to use for cutting out her quilt patterns. All the other furniture in the room is melamine, so that’s what we chose. This is my first casework project using melamine, and I’ve decided that it will also be my last. The stuff is just too hard to work with and keep the edged clean and chip free. I think it turned out OK, but I just don’t want to work with the stuff again.
-- Phil, North Carolina
2 comments so far
Roger
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#1 posted 04-10-2016 12:42 PM
Very nicely done Phil. I like the idea of bookshelves on each side. Nice design and nice build.
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. [email protected]
Calmudgeon
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266 posts in 1789 days
#2 posted 04-20-2019 01:26 PM
Melamine can be nasty stuff, all right. I particularly don’t enjoy the little shards that fly everywhere while breaking it down on the table saw.
The secret to minimizing chipping is, sad to say, to spend $150-$200 on a blade specifically manufactured for the purpose, but that’s just not practical for an occasional user. Then you need to spend some time dialing in blade height to the point that the top surface is just threatening to chip out. Even with all of that, under close inspection, there will always be an “A” side and a “B” side to the cut. I always keep track of these and turn the “B” side in the direction where it’s least likely to be seen.
Nice job. It’s a clean, attractive storage solution.
-- "As are the things we make, so are we ourselves." - Lin Yutang
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