Where to buy white melamine laminate sheet - Woodworking Talk

txgrizzly · 08-03-2007, 09:57 AM

All,
i am in a quandry, i went to my local Home Depot (sorry guys, i had to) to buy some Melamine covered MDF and the stuff looked like junk, the Melamine was very thin and the MDF looked more like plain fiber board. so what i did was buy some regular 3/4 MDF that actually looked like MDF in the thought of just buying some Laminate to put on it. the problem is the smallest piece i can find is 8x10 and they have to special order it and its going to cost me $60. anyone know of an online source or a chain store that in might have here in the Dallas area where i can get some of this stuff? thanks in advance...

mdlbldrmatt135 · 08-03-2007, 10:07 AM

the Melamine @ the HD's in the NE are on Particle board not MDF hense the texture. I've made cabinets and Work benches out of it without a problem.

Melamine in general is thin......

cabinetman · 08-03-2007, 11:15 AM

Most melamine sheets are made with an industrial particle board (denser than chip board). The melamine finish is a low pressure laminated process, much different than Formica type high pressure laminate.

The big box stores used to carry it in 5/8" and 3/4". I don't know what they carry now. If you go to a good lumber yard that sells sheet goods, they should have both thicknesses. The last time I bought any the sheets were 49" x 97".

You might try looking in your local Yellow pages under "plywoods" or call some local cabinet shops to see where they get it. They might even sell you some of the good stuff.

mdlbldrmatt135 · 08-03-2007, 12:19 PM

Yeah the HD stuff is 49" x 97"

txgrizzly · 08-03-2007, 01:52 PM

thanks Guys...guess i can stay with just the MDF with some poly on it for protection and then if that fails or starts wearing out i will go get some of the other stuff....

jacksimpk · 08-03-2007, 03:25 PM

If you looking for Laminate I use wilson art laminate. You can look for a local distributor from their website http://www.wilsonart.com/. Its not the same as melamine sheets but its the source I use for laminate. As stated above usually melamine sheets are laid up on particle board not MDF. Big box stores usually do a horrible job of transporting and handling the material so it usually looks like crap. Try to find the supplier for the local cabinet shops in the area. I go to a local hardwood store and they stock melamine and hardwood plywood as well as solid stock. The wilsonart laminate is great for doing desktops or worktables. I built a huge sewing table for my wife and put wilsonart laminate on the top. The biggest problem I've had is most of the suppliers are 8-5 operations. I've got to take off work a bit early if I need something.

johnep · 08-04-2007, 03:33 AM

What a candy store! nothing like this in the UK.
johnep

jacksimpk · 08-06-2007, 09:30 PM

Haha - I'm sure they have distributors in UK - you just have to find them. They deal through commercial people. Once you start to unlock commercial suppliers you have a whole new world of materials to work from. Call some places that do laminate countertops and ask about suppliers. I'm sure you can find someone laminate is too popular in Europe to there not to be.

Dansbell · 08-07-2007, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnep

What a candy store! nothing like this in the UK.
johnep

http://www.wilsonart.co.uk/