April 13, 20197 yr MDF... Low on strength: Particle board anything is quite weak compared to other kinds of engineered woods such as plywood. It is less dense and can easily get damaged while handling. It's important to note that their particle board anything just doesn't survive much of anything. Low life, low durability: Apart from being low on strength, particle boards are also prone to getting damaged because of moisture and humidity. This means that items made from MDF will not last very long. This is without doubt the major drawback... Experienced sources and even some shopkeepers selling these particle board furniture clearly inform the customer that they can expect the particle board furniture to last for around 2 to 3 years (and there are others who will say the lifetime is 5 years). Now compare this with plywood which lasts easily for 15-20 years, or with good quality solid wood furniture that lasts for several decades and is handed over from one generation to the next. Finally the choice of wood depends on the needs of the customers, whether they want cheaper furniture that they are willing to dispose off in the next few years or they want furniture that want to buy once and that which will last a lifetime. Cannot support heavy loads: Particle boards are almost never used in applications where the boards will be subjected to heavy weights. Being low on strength, particle boards are only suitable for holding low weights, or as forming the walls of cabinets and the like. Not as Eco-friendly as solid wood furniture: Particle boards are made from small particles of wood such as sawdust and small chips which are glued and pressed together to form a sheet. The glue used is a plastic resin (phenolic resin), the same that is used in the making of decorative laminates. This is not as eco-friendly as using good quality solid wood furniture that is 100% natural. So, to summarize the discussion, I would say that the only major advantage of particle boards is that its cost is very low compared to all the other types wood available in the market, and the major disadvantages are its low strength and low durability. Best to avoid damaging or removing the surface, as the surface is quite different to the inside and it contributes to the strength... MDF is basically glorified particle board. Basic MDF is not very good at handling high moisture levels. Water begins to degrade MDF into fine particles, think wet cardboard. Because it consists of such fine particles, MDF doesn’t hold screws very well, and it’s very easy to strip the screw holes. Humidity alone can cause it to puff and crack. MDF is not a long term product. MDF crumbles easily, so finding pieces that have a clean edge are hard to find. MDF is not as strong as plywood. It is not suitable for most joints MDF dust from working it is horrible and it contains toxic VOCs (urea-formaldehyde). so wear a mask. Cutting this material will cause faster blunting of bits and blades as compared to wood MDF is rarely the best material. MDF is a pain to work with if you have to remodel later or install hardware several times, as the more you drill it, the less sturdy it becomes and begins to flake. MDF prematurely dulls tooling. Verdict: Use anything else, seriously. MDF is cheaper, but you will pay for it in the long run. Especially true for cabinets, as weight of the wood will decrease the amount your cabinet can hold, plus MDF will begin to sag from stress. Hey!!! it is initially cheaper than plywood... More: Medium density fiberboard is weak compared to wood. This means that when you install the medium density fiberboard, there is a good chance that it could split or crack. It is not very durable when compared to the real thing. When you are installing it, you need to be very careful and make sure that you don't break it. Since the medium density fiberboard is not as dense as real wood, you will have to use more nails when installing it. If you do not place nails at close intervals, the board can droop in the middle leaving you with what looks like an amateur installation. Another problem with medium density fiberboard is that it does not take nails very well. When you hammer a nail into real wood, the wood will move out of the way and then come back around the nail. When you nail into medium density fiberboard, this will not happen. You will get a "volcano" effect on the outside of the medium density fiberboard. When this happens, you will need to sand down the outside of the MDF. This will result in you having to do a lot more work than you would have had to do if you purchased real wood. EOS... Edited April 13, 20197 yr by Stick486
April 13, 20197 yr Author Popular Post 9 hours ago, Dadio said: Is there any other kind of wood? Just saying, Herb Yes, the kind HD sells.
April 13, 20197 yr 3 hours ago, JIMMIEM said: Yes, the kind HD sells. Yeah, I wonder where they find that stuff? Herb
April 13, 20197 yr Popular Post 4 minutes ago, Dadio said: Yeah, I wonder where they find that stuff? Herb specially grown on special plantations... Edited April 13, 20197 yr by Stick486
April 13, 20197 yr Author Just now, Stick486 said: specially grown on special plantations... Gee, I thought it was from dumpster behind Lowe's.
April 13, 20197 yr Just now, JIMMIEM said: Gee, I thought it was from dumpster behind Lowe's. that too...
April 13, 20197 yr Author 4 hours ago, Stick486 said: specially grown on special plantations... Now that is a wood worker's dream. Have to go to a specialty wood dealer to find stuff like that....no steamer benders need apply.
April 14, 20197 yr I was talking to a person today at the Restore and was saying how (years ago) I had gone to a certain lumberyard looking for "clear pine" to make some KD bookcases (which i later relocated from the apartment to our house). When i got there they had it all up on the 2nd level and the guy told me to just go pick what i wanted but not make a mess (which i fully understood). they had 10', 12', 14', 16' etc. and i found a few 14s that would work just fine...set them down over the side and was ready to go. This was truly clear in the classic sense of the word; no knots, splits, wane, warp, bark, etc. I don't see that any more and most places have no idea what "clear" means.
April 14, 20197 yr Quote This was truly clear in the classic sense of the word; no knots, splits, wane, warp, bark, etc. some just have all the luck.... fell into it and didn't even get dirty... Edited April 14, 20197 yr by Stick486
April 14, 20197 yr Charlie, this an open shop. All are welcome to participate. All view points, opinions and discussions are appreciated. Although we may not always agree we try to do so gently and, often with humor. Life's too short for anything else.
April 14, 20197 yr 3 hours ago, CharlieL said: I think that I''ve built some nice things with it, and it will stand the test of time. I would agree, it can be used and it does work. What has been pointed out is the shortcomings that are inherent in particle board, MDF as well as OSB. Stick shared some good info on that. All my shop cabinets as well as the tops for my twin TS have MDF with Formica covering them. Some are 25 years old and still standing with no issues. Now where I probably went differently than most is I used 3/4 oak to cover the edges. So the MDF is the middle but the corners are stronger because of the oak, less prone to failure or the Formica not sticking to the edges of the MDF. I also doubled the MDF and supported it with a 1 1/2" frame underneath every 18 inches to insure it stays flat. Now particle board can hold up over time, I have one cabinet 8 ft long made of the stuff. It was scrap leftovers someone gave me. It is heavy, but it shows no signs of failing after 25 years of use and abuse. Even the drawers are made of this stuff. Only one failed, bottom blew out. Would I use it again? Nah, I can do better. Also I will never build a 8 ft long bench made of this stuff, and put it on wheels believing I will move it when I need to. 3 hours ago, CharlieL said: Oh thats right, this is your shop, excuse me. No matter where you go not everyone agrees on a single approach. I was told by people I knew where I live and work putting two Tablesaws together would never work. Yeah, it can be done, but it did take some patience. I often wonder what improvements I could have made along the way had I been on this site at the time and asked. Now to show what help can be offered look this thread over. Here I built a cabinet drawer router table combo. LOTS of good advice given. Made a lot of design changes as I went based on recommendations made on this thread. https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/forums/topic/24091-mini-router-table/ @Larry Buskirk had a thread building a PC cabinet that gave me a lot of ideas for a 12 volt power supply.
April 14, 20197 yr Funny how my post / opinion just happened to disappear. I'm sure that I got punished too
April 16, 20197 yr On 4/14/2019 at 7:32 PM, CharlieL said: Funny how my post / opinion just happened to disappear. I'm sure that I got punished too Trust me on this, don't sweat the little things, it don't mean nothing. If it works for you, go for it. It's not like we have a Shop Inspection and someone is going to post about it.
March 4, 20206 yr One good thing about particle board. You don't need to steam it to bend it. Just throw it on the ground for a day or so...
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