Router Table Sub-Fences - What Material

[George Bokros]

What do you use for sub-fences on your router table? I have so melamine board but discovered it is not flat. I also have some MDF but it is not faced with laminate, would it be slippery enough or would it be slippery enough if I applied some poly. Water based would raise the surface so It would have to solvent borne.

Another alternative would be Baltic Birch?

Suggestions?

[Mike Ontko]

If you've got MDF, and don't want the hassle (and expense) of laminating it with Formica or some similar veneer material, you can always just wax it or give it a couple coats of shellac or poly to provide a smooth, low-friction surface. I do this for the zero-clearance inserts that I make for my tablesaw--I start with 1/2" MDO or MDF, spray paint that a bright day-glow orange, and then spray on a layer of poly for durability. It does wear eventually, but the method is easy enough to repair (sand lightly and reapply the top coats) or cheap enough that I don't mind replacing.

[Ted Derryberry]

In my experience water based poly doesn't raise the surface of MDF. I have two 4' x 8' MDF tables in my shop with water based poly on them.

When I need a sub-fence I usually just grab whatever piece of scrap MDF is handy. If it gets dinged up or rough I grab another scrap.

[Mike Wilkins]

For reasons of weight, I would use 2 layers of MDF glued together with a solid wood edge. Shellac the whole thing and go to work. One layer of 3/4" thick material would sag under the weight of a router; commercial router top makers use a similar set-up with laminate on both top and bottom.
The router guru, Pat Warner (RIP) illustrated a similar material in making a router table and was OK with it.