Kids are wonderful, but they're tough on furniture. So insure those woodshop work hours with an abuse-resistant surface.

Plastic laminates are very useful for children's furniture, particularly on table tops, desk surfaces and the like—and are quite a valuable asset to mother in her attempts to keep a clean, unscuffed appearance around the house. A laminate surface usually can take all the abuse a child will give it, and is completely unaffected fay the crayon and chalk marks that children feel are essential decora­tions. Also, since color is so important in a child's room, the use of plastic laminates gives you an unlimited opportunity for color decoration and harmony, without the extra work of painting and the unfortunate "softness" of paint surfaces.

Plastic laminate sheets come in variety of sizes up to 4x8-ioot sheet, in many patterns and colors.

Fine toothed blade in bayonet saw is used to cut laminate sheet. Hold sheet firmly while sawing il.

Photos by Milton Salamon

This durable and decorative material comes in sheets ranging in size from 2x5 to 4x8 feet and is composed of layers of special materials laminated together be­tween plastic sheets.

In the matter of color and design, you can choose from a wide variety of different patterns and hues. There are solid colors in various pastel shades that have a satin-smooth sheen completely devoid of that "plastic" look. Other colors and textures include fabric designs, mosaic patterns, modern abstract designs, pearl, marble and various wood grains.

In this book, the toy-bin desk project was stained with a reddish-brown Early Amer­ican maple stain, and has an Irish-linen yellow Micarta top. The appearance is striking, and the laminate top has already given excellent service and absorbed a hearty beating without visible sign of wear.

With the development of the new con­tact cements, anyone can do a professional job of applying the laminates to wood sur­faces. The only tools necessary are a fine-toothed, metal-cutting keyhole saw for cutting the laminate, an old brush for ap­plying the cement, and a roller (an ordi­nary kitchen rolling pin will do) for pressing down the laminate. For faster, smoother cutting, a table saw or power handsaw can be used if fitted with a metal-cutting blade. Irregular shapes can be cut out with the keyhole saw, or a coping saw having a fine-tooth metal cutting blade. Recently, a new tool for cutting laminates and clumsy-sized woods as well has ap­peared on the market. Called a bayonet saw and manufactured by Porter-Cable Machine Company, this tool enables you to make any cut on any material without the strain of special setup procedures—you just put the material down and cut it.

Laminated plastic, once veneered to ply­wood or other core stock, is hard, durable and resistant to most abuse. However, before veneering, it must be handled with care to avoid cracking or breaking it. In its original form, it is quite brittle. Special care must be exercised in handling irregu­larly shaped pieces that have weak narrow sections in them.

When cutting the laminate, cut it to a size slightly larger than the surface it is to cover. The slight overhang can later be sanded or filed flush with the surface edges. Hold the saw at a low angle while cutting to avoid chipping the edges of the laminate. If a power saw is used, raise the blade only about a half-inch above the table and feed the laminate very slowly. A little testing will show you just how fast you can feed it past the blade without danger of chipping the edges.

When sawing, be sure to provide sup­ports along the line of the cut. Avoid flex­ing the sheet. Guide lines for cutting can be drawn on the laminate with any pencil.

Spreader got lost so homemade applicator was made from thin ply with fine saw cuts 1/8inch apart.

Newspaper slip sheets are pulled away alter lam inate is in position; wrapping paper is better.

The surface to which the laminate is to be applied must be clean and free of all old finish, grease, oil, etc. Prepare it for the laminate by sanding it down to clean wood. The cement should be stirred well before using. Contact bond cements are highly volatile and inflammable: never use them near an open flame and avoid breathing the vapor for prolonged periods.

Apply the cement to the back of the lami­nate first, laying it down with an old brush and spreading it out evenly with the ap­plicator. Be especially careful to cover the edges well to insure a good bond all around. On back of laminates, hardwood, tempered hardwood and metal, hold the metal ap­plicator at an angle of 45 degrees when spreading the cement. On soft woods, un-tempered hardwoods, and other more por­ous surfaces, hold the applicator at a 90-degree angle. When properly applied, the surface will be covered with a glossy film of cement. Dull spots indicate an in­sufficient spread of cement and more should be added to these areas.

Do not trowel the cement back and forth to make it go farther. The spreader auto­matically determines the proper amount.

Work at a temperature not less than 70 degrees in a well-ventilated room away from fire or flame.

After coating the laminate, repeat the process for the surface to be covered with the laminate and let both surfaces air dry for at least 40 minutes, but not more than two hours. To test the cement for proper dryness press a piece of wrapping paper on the surface. The paper should pull free without picking up any cement. At this point, the laminate is ready to be adhered.

Once set together, the cemented surfaces form an instant and permanent bond that cannot be pried apart. Therefore, it is very important not to make any mistakes when positioning the laminate on the furniture surface, for once the two contact each other the laminate cannot be shifted around for realignment. Follow the procedure shown.

Lay two overlapping sheets of newspaper or wrapping paper over the cemented sur­face of the furniture, making sure to com­pletely cover the surface with the paper. The two sheets should overlap each other only by about an inch. Now, lay the ce­mented laminate sheet down on top of the papers, shift it around until it is properly aligned on the surface, then, pressing down firmly on one end to keep the laminate from shifting, pull out the loose sheet of paper opposite the one being held down under the laminate.

After this sheet is removed, press that end of the laminate down to let the ce­mented surfaces adhere to each other, re­lease the pressure from the other side and pull out the second sheet of paper. The laminate will now be correctly centered on the work and should be firmly pressed down with a roller for perfect bonding. Work the roller back and forth, applying even, heavy pressure downward over every square inch, starting from the center and working out to the edges. A rolling pin will serve for this job, but a hand roller of narrower width will provide more concen­trated pressure. Areas not accessible with a roller should be tapped down by placing a smooth block of wood on the laminate and tapping it with a hammer. Where the use of wrapping paper "slip sheets" is imprac­tical, hold the laminate at a 45-degree angle to the work surface, register it accurately, then carefully lay it down and roll it.

As soon as the laminate has been firmly pressed into place, it is ready to be trimmed. This can be done with a fine-toothed file or a power sander. Work the file across the projecting edge of the laminate at a slanted angle and file away until the laminate is smooth and flush with the surface edge. A fast and easy way to do this job is to use a belt sander. Hold the sander flush with the edge. Be careful not to tilt the sander, for this will cut into the corners and destroy the squareness of the edge.

After trimming, remove excess cement simply by rubbing it off the surface with your fingers. If it clings obstinately, use a cloth moistened with nailpolish remover, being careful not to get any into the bond between the laminate and the wood.

Narrow strips of laminate can be ce­mented around edges to trim them off. When this is done, put the trim on the edges first, sand or file the top edges flush with the table-top surface, then measure and cut the top piece of laminate to cover core edges of the laminate trim. The edges of the top piece should then be sanded or filed to a slight bevel toward the trim in order to remove the sharp edge; if a sharp corner is left, it will be vulnerable to chipping. There is also available now a new router bit designed for edging laminate quickly and easily. •

Kitchen rolling pin or photographer's roller is used to assure thorough bond; use plenty pressure.

Excess laminate is filed and sanded away; new bit on market does this job handsomely, in short time.

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