Carpentry and Woodworking - Never used MDF, any warnings?
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Jim Stockwell
08-19-05, 03:46 PM
About to go get a sheet of 3/4 mdf to put together a desk hutch. Read a post below about painting. Sounds reasonable. What about fastening? Any problems coutersinking? Is it so dense as to worry about the quality of the screws?
TIA
Jim
TIA
Jim
Sawdustguy
08-19-05, 04:14 PM
You must countersink in order to prevent splitting. Stay at least 2" away from the end or you'll end up splitting the board a bit. Use bondo to fill your holes.
Hellrazor
08-19-05, 04:15 PM
Beware of the dust.. its fine and a PITA.
Jim Stockwell
08-19-05, 04:30 PM
You said go at least 2 inches or it may split it 'a bit'. What do you do about corners - think of the top of a hutch. This is for my son's college dorm room - more function than looks. Do you think particle board may be a better choice?
TIA
Jim
TIA
Jim
mako
08-19-05, 05:13 PM
Several ways to handle the 2" gap between edges and screws (and 2" is good advice). Also keep in mind that MDF actually does have a grain to it. It's not unlike 300 layers of toilet tissue glued together, so there is a horizontal grain (play with some scraps with a chisel, you'll see this grain behavior very quickly).
To help with the gap, use Titebond II or similar yellow wood glue and a clamp. MDF takes wood glue well. Also, if you have a nail gun, shoot a nail an inch from the edge, a skinny nail won't blow out anywhere like the screw will. You can try driving a nail with a hammer, but don't use one with a wide head b/c you'll need to completely sink the nail.
And bondo is the perfect filler for MDF, as Sawdustguy said.
To help with the gap, use Titebond II or similar yellow wood glue and a clamp. MDF takes wood glue well. Also, if you have a nail gun, shoot a nail an inch from the edge, a skinny nail won't blow out anywhere like the screw will. You can try driving a nail with a hammer, but don't use one with a wide head b/c you'll need to completely sink the nail.
And bondo is the perfect filler for MDF, as Sawdustguy said.
larryg9651
08-20-05, 07:34 AM
I have also found that course thread screws work the best for MDF, and as stated above, pre-drilling is a MUST, or you'll have blowout upon blowout. Also, if you're using a bag style dust collector empty it and shake the bags out well after you're done, the fine dust from the MDF can plug up the bag pretty quickly.