Replacing the Galley's Countertop (Tugger Vol. 63)

Cutting new laminate to fit perfectly on the galley countertop is tough. John Mackie, John William 37VT68, found a good way to do it. First he removed the fiddle and old laminate. Both came off easily. Then, as the picture shows, he temporarily nailed 1/2" wide wood strips as router guides around the refrigerator's openings. With a piece of laminate laying over the guides and clamped in place, a router mounted trim bit perfectly cut out the countertop's two openings. The wood guides were then removed and the router, using the side of the cabinet as a guide, cut almost all of the rest of the laminate to its finished dimensions. The radius nearest the liquor cabinet, where the router couldn't fit, John used the old laminate as a template.