"Cabinet Grade Particle Board"....where can I find it?

[Ken Thompson III]

Terry,
The reason I use 2x4's is not for the extra strength, it's for the ease of 
running in the screws without the concern for being exactly in the center of 
the board.  If you are a little off center with a #6 screw in the edge of a 
1x2, chances are you will split it.  In doubling up the material on your 
corners you use more 1x than 2x product.  Using 1x2's, to support industrial 
grade particle board, the weight of the particle board alone will make it 
sag in the middle, unless of course you add extra support to the center of 
the table, which in turn adds more material, thus more cost.
I use my style of table to build everything from counter tops to cabinets. 
Granted, these items do not have to be anywhere near as accurate as an 
airplane wing, but they are a whole lot heavier and my tables hold their 
flatness and level very well.
Concrete?  Now that's some heavy duty building surface!!
But, I'll bet that it's accurate as heck.

Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry Terrenoire" <amad2terry at juno.com>
To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 7:01 AM
Subject: Re: "Cabinet Grade Particle Board"....where can I find it?


> THE 2X4S ARE OVERKILL!!!!!!!!!
> You do NOT need this extra"strength", expense and weight, as well as
> space loss.
>
> Instead, use 1x2 for all framing and double them in an "L" shape for the
> corners.
> I built my workbenches this way 20 years ago and they are in perfect
> shape today.
> You might be interested to know that I build on concrete. there is over
> 350# on one bench, and nearly 700# on the other.
> When sheeting a wing, another 200# is added.
>
> I started out my tops with hollow core doors that I got cheap from a
> local lumber yard because they had some minor damage. These were sheeted
> with Homosote. This is stiff but pins can be inserted. Now I use a steel
> sheet for magnitic building on the concrete slabs.
>
> Terry T.
>
> On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 00:02:06 -0500 "John Pavlick" <jpavlick at idseng.com>
> writes:
>> I've never tried any of this "high-tech" stuff. Sounds interesting.
>> In case
>> you want to do things the "old-fashioned" way (like me), here's how
>> I built
>> my bench:
>>
>> 1. Standard 2x4 (wood) frame. Build it straight and square, and
>> brace it
>> heavily (especially in the corners). I used the metal brackets made
>> for deck
>> assembly to speed up assembly and help make everything square. You
>> can find
>> these at Home Depot near the pressure treated lumber.
>>
>> 2. 3/4" plywood top. Glued and screwed to the frame.
>>
>> 3. A shelf made the same as the top (2x4's and 3/4" plywood) about
>> 1' off
>> the floor. This strengthens the legs and makes the corner braces
>> effective.
>>
>> 4. Paint it everywhere.
>>
>> 5. Install in final resting place and level and square the top.
>>
>> 6. Get a piece of 1/4 glass for the top. This in itself is not flat
>> - it
>> will conform to the surface it is laying on. Shim until it is as
>> close to
>> perfect as you can make it. You can use the little pads for glass
>> table tops
>> available at a glass shop or Home Depot. Place them at 1' intervals,
>> the
>> glass will not deflect over this short span.
>>
>> 7. To push pins in (they won't go through the glass) use a piece of
>> "Homasote" - this a construction material used between siding and
>> sheathing
>> (Home Depot again). It is gray, about 1/2" thick and fairly light
>> but it
>> holds pins very well.
>>
>>
>> This has worked nicely for me. I check the top surface before
>> building but
>> so far I haven't had to adjust it since I built the bench two years
>> ago. The
>> bench is in my basement but it's fairly dry. The nice part is that
>> even if
>> the wood warps a little bit, I can always correct the top. This is
>> probably
>> overkill but at least I know the reason my maneuvers aren't perfect
>> is NOT
>> because of a twisted wing or fuselage.
>>
>>
>> John Pavlick
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > >
>> > > --- Mark Grabowski <MGrabowski at fmtinv.com> wrote:
>> > >
>> > >> Gents, I've seen references to using cabinet grade
>> > >> particle board for making
>> > >> very flat building surfaces. I'm assuming this isn't
>> > >> something I'll find at
>> > >> my local home depot. Any suggestions? (I'm in the
>> > >> Chicago suburbs)
>> > >>
>> > >> This is a solicitation for business and to be
>> > >> removed from our list please
>> > >> email at:
>> > >> mgrabowski at fmtinv.com <mailto:mgrabowski at fmtinv.com>
>> > >> Mark Grabowski
>> > >> Account Executive
>> > >> Ph: 630-515-4747
>> > >> Fax: 877-316-7401
>> >
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