Oh, there is this stuff that is only plastic but cuttable. What’s the name again… Argh. It’s used in restrooms etc. for backdrops etc.
With an epoxy finish?
I’ve had good luck with UV cure epoxy and a heat gun (on thin layers at least). Pour the epoxy on, use the heat gun to make it less viscous and let it run. Bubbles pop in the process and you have all of the time in the world to make sure its all smooth. Use the UV lamp to cure it for 30 seconds, sand it down, then repeat on the off chance any bubbles made it through.
The downside of UV is if you pigment it. Then you need thinner layers otherwise the UV doesn’t make it through. Shouldn’t be an issue in this case though.
Trespa! (HPL)
Yes, that! Thanks. 
I was going to recommend Formica but I think that’s the same thing as HPL.
This moment when you just feel dumb…
What if, instead of trying to cover the MDF with some palstic, I would just cut a material with this plasticy film already on it?
Well.. turns out this material exists, and it’s just plain melamine board… like..
I have a lot of tearout though…
I need to work through my settings and see if I get better results with a downcut bit…
This one was with an upcut bit but finishing pass on each contour
The tabs are problematic too, will need another hold-down solution…
Not sure about glueing some veneer on top of the melamine too…
The sides should be fine, but not sure it will stick to the white surface
Anyone already tried?
Melamine is often used as a glue surface because a lot of glues don’t make a good bond with it. You would have to scratch it up and the use a specialized melamine glue to put a veneer on top.
The last one was made with oak, but where I live, I can only buy shitty glued-up boards -_-
It bowed and cracked after only a couple monthes
Sure I could buy from a specialty store but they’re pricey and there’s none in my immediate area, so shipping costs a lot too -_-
Only way to get easy access to exotic wood is to buy terrace boards, and I’d need to joint them…
Well.. paint it is…
Thanks for sharing lovely to see your creativity! Inspires me to try more things!
Just saw this - and love it.
Might be too late to chime in but if you’re still looking for a material for the top my local big box hardware stores both carry a thin PVC sheet material that cuts beautifully. Last time I bought some it was really cheap but it’s a nice smooth white surface and machines very well.
I used it for a “temporary” faceplate on my midi sequencer about 9 years ago and it’s still holding up well:
The end mill I used was dull so it’s not the cleanest cut…but this stuff cuts so easily it didn’t really seem to care that the mill could barely cut MDF anymore other than leaving a few bits of plastic to sand off on the edges.
Is that “expansed pvc” ?
I saw that at the hardware store, but found it a bit too flexible
Could be - it is flexible for sure. I wasn’t thinking it would be the entire top surface - just it could give you a good tough but easy to clean surface on top of the wood that may hold up a bit better than paint. Though I think it comes in thicker sheets - just only from speciality providers.
I had originally bought it to try making a quadcopter frame - I knew it was too flexible but I thought in a sandwich type of setup maybe it could work:
It did not 
It wasn’t stiff enough even when doubled like that.
I tried pairing it with lexan instead but that didn’t work any better (ignore the terrible cuts on the lexan my feedrate was all wrong and my old machine was not nearly stiff enough for some of the things I tried to make it do)
I did some other tests with using PVC cement to weld stiffening ribs to it which showed some promise:
But to do it right I’d have had to cut slots for them and at that point it was just feeling like too much work to make the wrong material work just because it was cheap and locally available.
But as a front panel it’s worked great and is very durable so seemed like it might be useful for a protective top over a pet feeder.
That looks really good!
Come visit me, I’ve got an oak dealer that only trades in oak, a 65ish year old lady, really nice and friendly. Prices vary based on her mood and how nice you are, don’t ask for a receipt. Best wood I’ve ever gotten. Also no website and only a very run-down sign that you won’t really make out as still an active shop at the street. Best hidden find in years. 