John T. Howard wrote:
I am about to build some cabinets for my shop and am leaning toward
using melamine or MDF. I have little experience with either of these
materials. They don't have to look like living room furniture, but I
would like for my shop to reflect my workmanship.

I am mostly wondering about joinery - screw AMD glue, right? Should
melamine be rabbited to provide for particle-to-particle glue joints?
Do I need to use special screws? Are these materials particularly
hard on saw blades and router bits? Do I need special blades and
bits?

What are your experiences with these materials? Are there any web
sites where I can learn more about joinery?

Any comments appreciated.

John
G'day John,
Seing that you're starting from scratch I'd use Melamine with a hard
wood edging. This will protect the edges of the melamine, which are the
only fragile part. The surface is much more durable than paint and is
not suceptable to most solvents. A decent melamine glue and screws
designed for mdf are all you would need to construct the units.
In a workshop environment there is NO WAY I'd use melamine edge strips
to cover the ends as these will invariably chip and look tatty after a
period. If you do not wish to edge with timber my next recommendation is
painted edges as these can be touched up in the event of them becoming
damages or better still a spirit based wood stain which will strike deep
into the timber and a couple of coats of finish on the top.
Hope this helps
regards
John