Thread: Large Storage Room Cabinets - Suggestions Appreciated

Good Morning Barry

I think you have been getting some excellent advice from Ian; as usual.

I have melamine shelves/cupboards up to 25 years old, and I have had sagging problems with spans greater than 900 mm. Usually I use 18 mm HMR rather than 16 mm - thicker is only marginally dearer and HMR does not increase price - extra 2 mm gives more room for the occasional errant screw. The shelves do not sag instantly, but very slowly over time and its irreversible; in some ways the particle board in melamine acts like glass - you think it is a solid but it is really a liquid and very slowly sags!

Ian's advice on battens front and rear seems sound. A rule of thumb is that stiffness increases with the square of thickness - with 32 mm batten on 16 mm melamine you are trippling the apparent thickness - triple thickness increases stiffness nine-fold. Sounds good.

Virtually nothing sticks to melamine - that's why it exists - and I have had no success gluing it reliably. Suggest that you glue and screw battens.


Good Luck

Graeme

Cant see any need to edge strip the sides unless you are going to load the shelf so high that it can't be supported by shelf pins.

Hi Graeme,
The 18mm was not worth the extra expense.
16mm is the norm. 18mm has to be special ordered.
Could have sworn they wanted another $50 for it.

-----

Had to get my mind off it for a while and escaped to the shed to add some safety features to the cross cut sled.

Got lucky. Bunnings has the 3mm x 900mm x 600mm on sale.
So took it as a sign to purchase it.

3mm was a bit flimsy for me.
so just doubled it by stacking 2 x 3mm.

I think we're catching all the saw dust coming out the kerf opening now.
But still leaves a lot (some) on the top.

One of the YouTube vids shows someone drilled a hole at the top of the kerf cut on the back fence. I'll try that next.

IMG_1110.jpg IMG_1109.jpg IMG_1107.jpg IMG_1106.jpg IMG_1105.jpg


For the shelf,
I can glue particle board to melamine with special melamine to porous surface glue.
Otherwise, to use Titebond,
I can dado off the 16mm of melamine on the bottom back and bottom front to fit the 16mm x 1200mm x 32mm edge support strips.
Leaving a bit of melamine maybe 5mm on the bottom front to protect the melamine side edging.

Would there be a reason they used 90mm instead of 30/32mm in the closet edge strip supports?
i.e. Will 16mm x 1200mm x 32mm edge strip supports sag as well?
Or perhaps 90mm is a standard size?

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

Hi Graeme,
The 18mm was not worth the extra expense.
16mm is the norm. 18mm has to be special ordered.
Could have sworn they wanted another $50 for it.
................

Not my experience, Barry.

I have always bought 18 mm HMR off the shelf for about 10% more than the 16 mm normal stuff.


Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by Lappa

Cant see any need to edge strip the sides unless you are going to load the shelf so high that it can't be supported by shelf pins.

My experience, Lappa, is that wide spans of melamine sag very slowly (over years) with quite low loads. eg a 1500 x 450 mm melamine shelf sagged about 50 mm in five years when storing towells.


Cheers

Graeme

IMG_1111.jpg IMG_1112.jpg

Don't like that very obvious join line.

The lady says don't worry about it.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

My experience, Lappa, is that wide spans of melamine sag very slowly (over years) with quite low loads. eg a 1500 x 450 mm melamine shelf sagged about 50 mm in five years when storing towells.


Cheers

Graeme

So how will SIDE strips stop the shelf from sagging? That was the question asked.

Instead of melamine coated chipboard side supports use a wide solid timber edgebanding strip as this will give far greater support to prevent sagging and will glue to the raw chipboard much better. The wider the better.

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

IMG_1112.jpg

Don't like that very obvious join line.

The lady says don't worry about it.

you need more clamps

5 screws and 5 clamps.

Sure this will suffice.

Will see how they hold up.

Originally Posted by Bohdan

Instead of melamine coated chipboard side supports use a wide solid timber edgebanding strip as this will give far greater support to prevent sagging and will glue to the raw chipboard much better. The wider the better.

Used screws and Melamine Glue on Melamine face and particleboard edging.
(particleboard edging so air can escape while glue cures.

And plan on using two pins on the back.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Not my experience, Barry.

I have always bought 18 mm HMR off the shelf for about 10% more than the 16 mm normal stuff.


Cheers

Graeme

Pre edged 445mm and 595mm?

If so, where?

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

IMG_1111.jpg IMG_1112.jpg

Don't like that very obvious join line.

The lady says don't worry about it.

Hi Barry

Place the batten about 20 mm back from the front edge and it, and the join, will be far less obvious but just as effective.


Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

Pre edged 445mm and 595mm?

If so, where?

Nope; 1200 x 2400 and 1200 x 3600 sheets only. Get joiner mate to cut it on his Altendorf and to edge band it.


Cheers

Graeme