Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There is a lot of talk about what product to use but I think you guys are missing a real important point.

NO WOODEN PRODUCT WILL WORK WELL UNDER WATER!!!!

All of these products have their qualities and the problems. If you understand a little about that and use the product correctly, you will be sucessful with any one of them.

For the people below who say "melamine is crap" I might suggest that you used it in some way it was not intended to be used or treated it improperly.

I own a cabinet shop and use approx 1000 sheets of melamine each month. It is the standard of the kitchen industry and any quality cabinet will use it for the interior of the cabinet.

Fused Melamine (different than cheap cold rolled melamine) is the same plastic that formica is made of. It is highly abrasion resistant and nearly water proof. That is the surface of the board. The core of the board is particle board. This is simply sawdust compressed and glued together. The quality of the board depends on the compression. Industrial grade or 45 pound board is the best grade, construction grade is less.

MDF stands for medium density fiberboard. It is different from partical board in that it is not sawdust but rather wood fibers compressed and glued together. Neither MDF or particle board is water proof in any way!! If you use either of these products you need to treat it in some way to protect the board for water or even high humidity.

With melamine, the surface of the board is all ready protected from moisture. MDF will need to have the surface treated. Both need to have the edges coated with paint, varnish, silicone, or some water proofing agent.

MDF's main use in the cabinet industry is for paint grade cabinets and furniture. It is also used as a substraight under various hardwood veneers. It's main quality is that the surface is very smooth. Good for painting.

Both particle board and MDF are very stable and resist warping.

Plywood is generally not smooth on the surface. It is not water proof in any way, it needs to be painted or sealed. It warps like a bugger no matter how you treat it and for that reason is rarely used in cabinets any more. It is much lighter and easer to handle than mdf or pt. bd.

All three of these products need to be glued when assembling. When using screws, they need to be predrilled to prevent splittling. None of these products hold nails very well. Nails go in easy and look good at first but loosen with time in all three products.

If you have to tools ability to work with it, Melamine will be the best material for most snake cages and racks. I have melamine cages that are 20 years old and show no sign of wear.

Wade:

I've read that there are different "grades" of melamine. Are you familiar with the type that is sold at Home Depot? some people say it's the cheap stuff, some way its the good stuff.

If not Home Depot, where would I find the "good" melamine?

Also, can you cut melamine like a "standard" peice of wood?
I would think the coating would splinter.

thanks

Dj

The best source for good quality melamine would be a Hardwood distributor that sells to cabinet shops. They are like lumber yards but only sell cabinet grade materials.

Another source would be from a cabinet shop in your area. If you call around and then take them a cut list, you may find one that is willing to cut the sheets down to size for you.

You can cut melamine just like any other plywood type material. The malamine surface does have a tendency to chip. If you can find it, melamine with a pine core chips less than melamine with a fir core. It is not always avaliable.

I have a large expensive saw that has two blades, one cutting from the top down and the other cutting from the bottom up. It's called a scoring blade. It prevents the chipping. This is not the kind of thing the average guy is going to have in his garage. If you can find a cabinet shop that will cut it for you that may solve that problem.

If you have to cut it yourself, use a good quality sharp carbide tiped blade. If you are using a 10" table saw, I would suggest that your blade have at least 60 teeth. Makeing you cuts slowly will also help.

The chips will be small. Much less than 1/8". Probably closer to 1/16". If you use white silicone to caulk all the interior corners, the silicone will cover all of these chips.

I have seen people cut the melamine 1/16" oversize on the saw and then use a router with a straight cutting bit and a straight edge to trim the piece down to finish size. The router will not chip the board and this works well. It's a little extra work but you will get very good results.

Hope that helps
Wade