Need advice for new tablesàw extension surface

[Bill Ryall]

Formica is almost indestructible after it is glued on. Lowes will sell their sheets of formica that have been mulled over and have broken edges at a good discount.

I use acres of Formica in the technical cabinetry I build, as well as on shop work surfaces. It holds up remarkably well if installed properly. Both the orange and blue BORGs offer significant discounts on chipped and cracked pieces.

[roger wiegand]

another vote for formica. Tough, wood slides on it, easy to scrape off drops of glue or finish. Scraps are cheap or free at your local cabinet shop, full sheets with chipped edges can be had at deep discount at the borg. You can put it on a plywood top and avoid particle board or MDF.

[Pete Janke]

G0691 Outfeed Table 3.jpgG0691 Outfeed Table 1.jpgI got an old unused drafting table for next to nothing. Its surface is slippery and glue drops scrape off easily. You could build storage beneath it.

[Brian Henderson]

Another vote here for melamine, I dropped a router table into the extension of one of my saws with a melamine top and it's been golden for a long time.

[Jim Becker]

Interestingly, I've used multiple materials for surfaces like this. For the extension table on the cabinet saw I used to own, I went the full laminate route. An old router table used Melamine. My miter saw stand table surface is just MDF that had BLO applied...over 12 years ago...and it's held up fine. The new, shorter right side table on my slider has a hard-board top. In all cases, these surfaces have performed well. I do believe that the laminate was the most durable, but in the end, it almost didn't matter.

I say this related back to the original question posed...if laminate isn't available MDF or Melamine will suffice. And if you make that top separate from the underlying cabinet, it can be replaceable in the future if need be. Don't over-think this!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Raymond, I have an outfeed table on my assembly table as I type this. I bought Formica from a local laminate/tile/granite supply company. They ordered the size I wanted so I didn't have to buy a full sheet. They did have cutoffs from previous jobs but nothing big enough for the top I'm building.

[Alan Lightstone]

That's exactly what I did, but with Home Depot.

Only 1 HD in my area (out of about 6) sold laminate in large sheets, though. Might have to check around or do some driving.

[Rick Potter]

I got lucky one day. There used to be a hardware store chain called Eagle. Lowes came in and bought the store, consequently selling off a lot of stock they didn't want. I happened by one day and everything was outside in the parking lot. It had rained and a lot of boxes were wet, but over on the side was a small stack of Formica sheets. Most were 24 X 96 for cabinets, some were 36, a few were 48.

No one seemed to know how much they were. I finally got a manager and he told me to make an offer. Various colors, some chipped on the edges, but some were Delta grey, and I wanted a couple. I told him I would take the stack for $50 and he took it.

Turns out there were over 30 sheets there, mostly unchipped. At least 10 were Delta grey, some black, butcher block, and only a few in oddball colors. I still have about 20 sheets left after 15 years. I have half a dozen shop projects that I need to build....someday.

[Dave Cav]

I used phenolic coated 3/4" plywood. Tough, low-friction, looks nice, easy to work with. No lamination needed. (Save that for the top of your torsion box assembly table, which will be MDF, and which will be laminated.) :-)

Not easy to find phenolic plywood, though. I had to call around some building supply warehouses until I found some.

-JS3

Also known as MDO board or sign board. Very flat, slick and durable. I agree, it would make an excellent outfeed table. My current one is plastic laminate, though, and the one before that was varnished plywood. Just about anything will work as long as it is flat, and some sanding, varnish and wax will make it slick. Don't over analyze it.

[Tom Howarth]

On my old table saw, I made extensions from an old kitchen table. It was a dense particle board with a Formica laminate.
it looked pretty good as the pattern of the laminate was "Butcher Block"...
i had the leaf for the table for years, it made for an easy to clean glueing and painting surface.

[Christopher Cook]

I would hit up a cabinet shop in your area. I have done that and got several 40"x30" scraps. I also just picked up several bigger pieces of Corian to try and make some router plates with.