Lamenting the laminate

[Tim A.]

Tim (good name),

You have received a lot of good advice, both with regard to using a router and trimming that edge by hand. I have trimmed a lot of formica using a bit with a bearing guide and an enormous old router and have not had the problem you have encountered. It is probable that your edge is not square to the top surface or you are slightly tilting the router when you get close to that corner where your problem occurs. The latter can happen very, very easily because the router is vibrating and the area of the support surface is getting progressively less as you approach the corner.

For such a small countertop, doing the job by hand is a snap. You can trim the surface formica very close to the edging with a block plane (careful not to chip the corners) and then do the rest with a fine mill-cut file. I suggest "draw filing" which means using two hands (one on each end of the file) and pulling the file towards you. That way you can easily see and control the angle of the file.

[Wabbiteer]

Second the hand file turned 45 degrees from most agressive tooth-cut angle and two-hand strokes and take your time...

[Safari Tim]

Finally got it after four tries . Never give up, never surrender.

I tried a number of things different.

1. Made an entriely new counter top
2. Used my skill saw to cut the edges straight after I added the 1/2" edge molding
3. Sanded the edges of the laminate as each piece was applied
4. Put two layers of tape across the edges before trimiming the top.
5. Moved the router more quickly and in a back and forth manner
6. Went wide around the corner then back toward it, instead of hugging it around

Who know which if these helped, but this one's done finally! Should be a few more to do. Thanks everyone for the help.

[Fyrzowt]

Looks great, whatever worked!

[SaabLover]

Originally Posted by Safari Tim

Finally got it after four tries . Never give up, never surrender.

I tried a number of things different.

1. Made an entriely new counter top
2. Used my skill saw to cut the edges straight after I added the 1/2" edge molding
3. Sanded the edges of the laminate as each piece was applied
4. Put two layers of tape across the edges before trimiming the top.
5. Moved the router more quickly and in a back and forth manner
6. Went wide around the corner then back toward it, instead of hugging it around

Who know which if these helped, but this one's done finally! Should be a few more to do. Thanks everyone for the help.

I know that you could do it as long as you did everything that everyone here advised. WOW!!

As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship, this fine crew. Never give up... and never surrender.

[vswingfield]

Congrats! I am just getting ready to do some countertops. I got a lot of good advice here that will help me. Thanks SaabLover for the suggestion about using a 2x4 rather than buying a roller for one project.