The first time I was asked to fabricate a table for an office it was by a gentleman that was over six feet tall and close to three hundred pounds. He had two brothers in the business that worked in the office with him. The three of them were equivalent to one third of a professional football team, big men. When we initially met, read Office Conference Room Table Fabrication
If you are wondering how long it will take for the countertop company to build templates for your kitchen cabinets it depends upon the size of the kitchen and the degree of the cabinetry’s customization. The templating process generally takes a while because the granite countertop manufactures do not want to have any mistakes during this stage of the manufacturing process. read Grainte Countertop Templating
There is a proper way of making a seam in Formica so that your plastic laminate joint comes together tight on the countertop surface. Once you learn how to make the joining of the two pieces fit together nicely, you can apply this method to any areas of cabinet making where a seam is required. read How to Make a Seam in Plastic Laminate
You could use a jig saw, belt sander and speed square, but if you make a template of the size radius that you need to put on the countertop, the edge cut will be square. Here’s how we have made round corners on our Formica or plastic laminate tops for many years. This method will apply to just about any type of material that can be shaped (or, “cut”) using a router. By making a template to follow your final product will be perfect. read How to Make a Radius Corner on a Countertop
There are several methods that I am going to explore with you for making a raised bar area out of Formica for your kitchen countertop. Fabricating solid and sturdy high breakfast bar plastic laminate tops, without cheater supports underneath, are my specialty. Let’s first start with a couple of brief discussions concerning overhangs and wall heights before we explore various fabrication possibilities
- Tip: Consider how you will finish the bottom-side of the countertop. Some fabricators use mica and other recommend painting it.
What’s the standard overhang for a raised bar top?
Generally, anywhere between ten to twelve inches is sufficient for the area of the top that overhangs the high stub frame wall. These are standard parameters in the cabinet design and manufacturing industry.
How high should the stub wall be for a raised kitchen countertop?
read Making a Raised Bar Formica Countertop
I am a professional cabinet maker but I learned how to make a sink cut out in a Formica (or, “plastic laminate”) countertop through trial and error. Cutting a sink hole in a kitchen or vanity bathroom counter is a critical step in the installation process of your new cabinetry. Laminate tops are expensive and if you do not use the right techniques and tools for cutting out the hole, you can easily ruin your top. The methods that I will be discussing will apply to bathroom vanity and kitchen counter top cutouts. The only difference will be the shape of the cuts and the saws that are used to form them. You will need some type of saw horses or if you’re installing cabinets you may use a couple of cabinets to place to counter on while making the cuts. Read the instructions that are provided with the kitchen or bathroom sink.
- Tip: Always make your mica top sink hole cuts from the underside of the counter. So this means you will trace the template on the raw side or bottom of the wood.
read more Sink Cut Out in Formica
Diagram Attaching Wood Edge To Plastic Laminate Counter
Do you want to enhance your kitchen by adhering a wood edge to a Formica countertop? Will you be attaching it to an existing top or will you be building one? I will be discussing several methods of how to attach a decorative wood edge to your plastic laminate counters. There is really not one set method of how to apply a piece of oak or maple edging to a mica top. I am going to share with you the easiest way to adhere the molding using the most common tools that a person may have in their shop or tool box at home. Primarily, I will be discussing how to build a new plastic laminate counter top that has a real wood edge. At the end of this article you will find two methods that can be used on existing tops that are already installed. read article Wood Edge Formica Counter
