Thread: Formply for router table?

I think it would flex enough to cause you problems - depends on the weight of the router?

I've always used offcuts of the thick melamine-coated kitchen benchtop material, which can often be scrounged from kitchen builders. Maybe double thickness on the formply would do the trick?

+1 for laminex over 32mm board

I'd be looking at a min 25mm Birch ply with laminate on both sides, I've found it to be a very stable ply over the local ply offered here in aus.

Other than that, a cheaper way is 32mm particleboard/bench top, laminated on both sides

I am thinking of using form ply laminated on some ordinary ply for a router table top.
I won't be using a lift.

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I have doubts about using formply as in my experience it is rarely flat and smooth

Form ply is not smooth???
What sort of form ply is that?
It has a very smooth veneer. Glue just wipes off.
Must be different types of form ply out there.

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As I said in my original post the actual table top will likely be made from 32mm(?) kitchen countertop material as I have a fair bit kicking around; I just have to decide between the white stone/matt finished pieces or the black shiny marbled ones that unfortunately clash with my eyes... It's mainly the cabinet case and the fence components that I am trying to find a locally available material for and these will be braced to be as solid as possible.

The reason I picked formply as a possibility is because whenever I visit the hardware stores it's the only ply which isn't bent and warped all over the place. And in Bundy if it's not in the hardware stores then the only way to get it is by courier form Brisvegas or similar. I even went to a local chandler's a couple of years ago asking for marine ply and the proprietor looked at me rather perplexed; he'd heard of marine ply but didn't think he'd ever get to see any in his lifetime ...

So; will the formply be ok? Looking at the fence design the largest pieces of unsupported or unbraced ply would only be the two faces, so probably only about 12" long by 8" high each. Will formply bend appreciably in this size?

I know what you mean about the ply.....

I normally stock up on decent birch ply from Yates at Ingleburn (Sydney), but came up short just a small amount on a recent project. Went to Bunnies in desperation, only to find their "superior" ply is a disgrace. Full of voids, rough faces, not flat, and warps before your eyes once cut. I get your point that formply might be the "best of a bad bunch" as far as mainstream hardware stores are concerned!

Just note that form ply is heavy.

I can't do a comparison between the flex of form ply and normal ply until next week. However if you doubled it to be 2 x 17mm thick it then it would take a lot of force to bend a 300mm piece.


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Originally Posted by DaveVman

Form ply is not smooth???
What sort of form ply is that?
It has a very smooth veneer. Glue just wipes off.
Must be different types of form ply out there.

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The formply I wanted to use for a project wasn't uniformly flat across the whole surface - smooth yes but had bumps and ridges which I'd suggest would make it unsuitable for a router table top

The formply I have used on both my table saw and router table tops is black and dead smooth. It has a hard "plastic" coating who's shards are like razors.
The edges of the 17mm panels come painted grey.
Maybe there are different types/grades?
I used two 17mm layers, heavily roughed up, cleaned with acetone, screwed and glued together with quick set liquid nails.

If form ply is cut the ends are supposed to be sealed.
Perhaps unsealed ends let moisure in and caused the bumps SM encountered? I'm no expert.

The form ply I used for a top on my assembly table is smooth. Except where I have damaged the form ply surface.
It is screwed onto the solid timber top as a strong smooth work surface. I sealed the ends with polyurethane. I was going to fix trim around it too but I decided that was overkill. The form ply is eventually sacrifical.

As for flat, my table frame wracks a little, is on casters and the floor is not flat so it can bend the top out of flat. But that's not the fault of the form ply.

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My experience using formply as cladding on banquette seating is that it's smooth, but uneven. As the name implies, it's made for concrete formwork, so the best it needs to be is flat-ish.

I used two layers of 17mm formply on my last router table. Even with two layers I found that it bowed under the weight of the router lift. Not a lot but enough to me off. I screwed a couple of pieces of 50mm HD angle iron underneath. It didn't bow then. The surface of the formply is tough and pretty good to work on for a router table. It's a good, cheap and convenient option if you need a router table in a hurry. If I had the time I would use something more substantial (kitchen bench type material) and cover it in laminate.