Replies

1. 
   JDorn | Jun 17, 2003 06:19pm | #1

   Here' are some pics to see if they help you get the gist of what i'm talking about.

   Oh, and ignore the crappy tablesaw pictured to the left, i mean to replace it this year with a new Xacta from Jet if i can find a way to fit one in my shop.

   
   

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   Edited 6/17/2003 11:20:55 AM ET by JDorn

   
2. 
   forestgirl | Jun 17, 2003 07:20pm | #2

   JD, Melamine is simply a coating on the main stock.  I don't know what it might do to the planer blades, but the melamine itself will be a mess if you plane it, and it will be gone.  For shim stock, go to your local Ace or whatever and find the area where they sell brass tubing and small brass sheets for hobbyists.  You will find a variety of thicknesses, and should be able to get a piece that will fit your fence. 

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

   
   

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   Edited 6/17/2003 12:20:48 PM ET by forestgirl

3. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 17, 2003 08:07pm | #3

   JD

      Option two is to make the out-feed side 1/16 thicker. If the infeed side is 3/4", use a piece of 3/4" MDF on the out-feed side and laminate a piece of 1/16" formica to the face. Or if you have a removable fence face as I do, you can just slip the piece of 1/16" formica between the out-feed fence base and the front sub-base.

      I just bough a jointer about a year ago. Guess how I jointed till that time? Works like a charm for edge jointing.. ha..ha..

   sarge..jt

   
1. 
   JDorn | Jun 17, 2003 09:11pm | #4

   Sarge, that option #2 is the one i'm thinking about now i guess.  Yes the faces on my fence are removable, they just ride on some bolts that engage a piece of aluminium T-Track on the other face of the fence.  I guess i could just get some laminate or formica and stick it to the inside face of a spare fence block, then i could just interchange the faces when i need to joint.

   but yes, edge jointing does work quite well with a router table, much better than i'd anticipated, even with my even faces i'm able to get very good joint lines, though the uneven face does cause me to snipe on the end of the cut every time that's why i'm trying to figure out how to make a jointing face.

   JD

1. 
   Andrew | Jun 17, 2003 09:39pm | #5

   Sarge is right, just shim the outfeed side and you'll be much better off. I've never planed melamine, but I've sawn a lot of melamin on my bandsaw, and it's murder on blades. Between the actual melamine coating and glue in the particle board it destroys blades.

2. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 18, 2003 02:47am | #8

   JD

      You could make a separtate fence, but it's easier as you've figured out from my an other post to just loosen the bolts on the out-feed and drop in the shims. That way you don't even have to remove the fence.

      Sometimes, simplier is better....

   sarge..jt

4. 
   wop | Jun 17, 2003 11:14pm | #6

       Shims are the way to go(as already said). If you want cheap ones that are thickness adjustable . First  beer can aluminun and then sheets of typing paper for thin ones .  It works you can get any thickness necessary with minute tolerances.

                           Philip

     P.S. I learned this from a guy who deals in used woodworking machinery.

1. 
   JDorn | Jun 17, 2003 11:24pm | #7

   hmm, me thinks i could probably find a rogue beer can or two in my shop.

   JD

5. 
   SCFrankland | Jun 18, 2003 03:25am | #9

   I would strongly not recommend running Melamine through anything with rotating knives.  If you need to thickness melamine and the other ideas already mentioned than find somebody with a thickness sander and go that route.

   I only wish I took a picture of my buddies thickness planer after he tried the same thing.

   Scott C. Frankland

   "This all could have been prevented if their parents had just used birth control"

6. 
   paxtonm | Jun 18, 2003 04:44am | #10

   JDorn,

   I'm glad to see that there is at least one other guy with a weed wacker hanging proudly next to his woodworking equipment!!