Expert: Jamie Yocono - 7/31/2007

Question
I want to make a quilting table for my quilting machine.  I cannot find a banquet table long enough and I know that I could make a table cheaper than purchasing from the manufacturer.  My problem is that I can not find where to purchase the panels, I would like to have the melamine panel 10 ft long and 1 inch thick.  Am I not looking for the right thing?  I am going to mount banquet legs on the bottom.  This machine is pretty light, I just want the 10 length without a joint, that causes a bump in the quilting.

Thanks for your direction on this.  I am in Columbus OH

Answer
Hi Mary,

Great minds think alike- I built a table similar to what you're talking about. It had 2 x 4's for the base, and it was 10 feet square. I used 2 - 5 x 10 panels, side by side. Very handy for gluing up furniture, it was only 24" tall.  I left it in my woodshop when I moved, it was too heavy to take with me!  Heck, it took 4 people just to get those panels out of my cargo van.

I'm so glad you mentioned that you're in Ohio, as that helps tremendously. I used to live in Akron, so I'm somewhat familiar with the state and can possibly help you locate that panel.  I used to buy my melamine stock from a place (Independent Wholesale Distributors, Inc.) in Canton, OH. Their Ohio toll free number is 1-800-876-8048.  If it comes to that, you might want to give them a call and see if they have a location in the Columbus area. It's possible they do, or might even deliver to your area. I am pretty sure they will only sell wholesale, so you may have to do some juggling to buy from them. Do you know someone who owns a business and would be willing to buy it for you?

First- I need to tell you that that 1" panel measuring 4' x 10' is going to be extremely heavy. I used to buy 1" MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) panels in that size and they were so heavy, I would actually have to take my circular saw inside my van and cut them down a little. So if I needed a 2' x 10' piece, I would rip the panel in half and then muscle it into my woodshop. It's incredibly heavy stuff.

If the company above can't help you out, you need to locate a panel supplier, and the best way to do that is look up in the phone book under lumber products. Another thing to search for is a company that sells plastic laminates and or countertop material.  See, that melamine product you need is probably going to be found in a place that supplies MDF panels for making kitchen countertops. So a place that sells Formica or Corian will also sell the MDF product, and will probably sell the melamine product.

These sort of cabinet material companies are like little treasures to woodworkers like me. For example, they sell 25" wide stock, perfect for making countertops. Normally, you would have to buy a 4 x 8 sheet, rip it to 25". But that creates a lot of waste. So these countertop companies sell material that's not only VERY reasonably priced, but already CUT TO SIZE.  Sweet.

That said, there are ways to cut your price down a bit. Many of these suppliers have odd colors of melamine- sometimes they're damaged products, sometimes they just have some left over from a special order. My old supplier in Canton actually sold me a van full of melamine panels for $2 a sheet. Yes, two dollars. I had to take 50. And it was sort of a weird gray color. But I used that stuff for years, for woodshop table tops, jigs in the woodshop, anything I wanted. It was so cheap, I could do anything I wanted with it and not feel wasteful. So ask if they have some overstock available, and if you can, be flexible about the color you want.

OK, I hope the supplier I listed above is helpful, but if not, try the yellow pages for counter top supplies. Good luck, write back if you need more advice.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com