Newspapers, rather than dowels, between laminate and substrate allow you to get a more accurate alignment and easier glue-up
I learned this helpful trick in the ’60s when I worked in a cabinet shop. Instead of using wooden dowels between the substrate and laminate to get things lined up, I use several overlapping sheets of newspaper with a narrow piece along one edge. The thinness of the newspaper allows me to align the parts more accurately than dowels, so I don’t have to waste as much laminate around the edges of the substrate. Apply contact cement to both the substrate and laminate surfaces, and let it dry. Lay the paper in place. Now position the laminate, pull the narrow strip out and press the laminate down. Then slide the rest of the paper out and roll the laminate as usual.
