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Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/Superior Laminate Finish

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Expert: - 11/28/2011


Question
I am in the process to creating a home office. In shopping for office furniture I have been seeing the term "Superior Laminate Finish" used in the description of the furniture's construction.

Can you shed any light on what is meant by "Superior Laminate Finish?"

Thanks

Answer
Hi Jack, usually this means some type of plastic, Melamine...thermofoil or other high tech material on an MDF or HDF  substrate, or other engineered panel. These techniques are quite technical and yield a very tough, durable finish, but one that's difficult to impossible to repair if damaged....but that's an open ended term that could mean a lot of things....laminate usually means an applied layer to inner core, and in the Office furniture world, it means vinyl, Melamine, Thermofoil, and/or other similar technologies. I have a large "Cherry wood" office desk like this, and it recently sat in the flooded basement studio after Irene for 2 days before i could get it off the ground on some plastic milk crates...I was sure it was ruined, and would swell, etc...but the darned thing survived, did not mold, or swell, and I'm typing to you now on it....heavy as heck, but exceeded my expectations for sure...hope that helps- please feel free to post back and good luck on your hunt- regards- Greg

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Greg Scholl

Expertise

Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects, Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings, wood species recognition and usage,tool recommendations, blade types and recommendation,techniques and methods for many Woodworking related issues, etc.

Experience

Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.) Sold, built, serviced, setup Home, Industrial, and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools , provided knowledge, parts replacement, service, and on site service, Trade show Demo, and training as well.

Publications
Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how")

Education/Credentials
Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field. Seminars from major Tool manufacturers, Skil/Bosch, Delta, Powermatic, Ritter, Porter cable, Milwaukee, Dewalt/B&Decker, Performax.

Past/Present Clients
Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT. (the Antiques capital of CT.), Golden Age of Trucking Museum, Wilton Historical Society.

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