MDF

[paulchapman]

jaco said:

bit of a waste of space really ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

That's what my wife usually says about me and my woodworking.... ;D ;D ;D

[wizer]

I think it also got a bad name because of bad paint jobs. I have seen a lot of MDF pieces which have had paint applied incorrectly and flaked or bubbled. Painted correctly it's brilliant.

[mailee]

toobyefore said:

jake said:

I had to vote for 'Chippendale was an idiot' -which is very unfair

Not really - bloke was flat broke when he died so he couldn't have been the brightest.

Cheers, Alf

Yes but the reason he died broke was that he was on the slippery slope and coudn't stop buying tools.....like me. ;D

[Alf]

jake said:

Like, I've had all my MDF stripped and varnished and it looks like, wow! They'd stuck all this horrid oak veneer over it, funny Elizabethans.

Hah! Love it. ;D

I fear Chipper's trouble wasn't so much the Slope as having the business acumen of a concussed haddock.

Cheers, Alf

[paulchapman]

toobyefore said:

having the business acumen of a concussed haddock.

;D ;D ;D

[mel]

cant help but wonder if MDF will be industrys new asbestos ??

[craigmarshall]

Looks like I'm the first person so far to say Necessary evil forced on my by clients wallets. That is in a finished piece of furniture anyway. If I can help it, I'll use solid wood as much as possible in the furniture I'll make. I understand the use of quality plywood for drawer bottoms and carcase backs. I even agree with the use of MDF for things like jigs, even benches (anything "disposable"). I don't like using it, I don't like the look of it, and I don't much like painted furniture, so there!

Cheers,
Craig

[dom]

Oh, come on Craig, don't hold back, why don't you say what you really think ;D

[mel]

craigmarshall said:

Looks like I'm the first person so far to say Necessary evil forced on my by clients wallets. That is in a finished piece of furniture anyway. If I can help it, I'll use solid wood as much as possible in the furniture I'll make. I understand the use of quality plywood for drawer bottoms and carcase backs. I even agree with the use of MDF for things like jigs, even benches (anything "disposable"). I don't like using it, I don't like the look of it, and I don't much like painted furniture, so there!

Cheers,
Craig

i think he just did dom ;D

[jake]

craigmarshall said:

I understand the use of quality plywood for drawer bottoms and carcase backs.

Interesting to know what you see as the big distinction between those two manmade products? It's a common one, and instinctively I kind of share it, but I'm not sure it is rational at all.

[engineerone]

since we know the egyptians used plywood of a sort, i guess we can convince ourselves that it is a pretty traditional woodworking product.

as for the asbestos analogy, remember it is only blue asbestos that is the lethal one (allegedly) and if you don't break it it can't hurt you look at all those mechanics who used to change brake shoes in the 50's, 60's and so on who did not suffer.

paul

[craigmarshall]

jake said:

Interesting to know what you see as the big distinction between those two manmade products? It's a common one, and instinctively I kind of share it, but I'm not sure it is rational at all.

It's kind of an instinctive boundary for me too, but plywood still has a kind of wood feel to it, where mdf screams VERY THICK CARDBOARD down my ear!

Craig

[Alf]

jake said:

craigmarshall said:

I understand the use of quality plywood for drawer bottoms and carcase backs.

Interesting to know what you see as the big distinction between those two manmade products? It's a common one, and instinctively I kind of share it, but I'm not sure it is rational at all.

Well I suppose ply looks like it's been near a tree at some time - grain and so forth. MDF is just dust and glue.

Cheers, Alf

[jfc]

If your going to paint it then why on earth would you use ply over MDF ?

[craigmarshall]

jfc said:

If your going to paint it then why on earth would you use ply over MDF ?

I'm not really sure whether you're asking me or someone else, but if the former.. I would rather a natural wood finish. I was saying earlier I don't much care for painted furniture finishes, so I wouldn't use ply or mdf, because I wouldn't be making something to be painted in the first place.

Anyway, it seems most people here use mdf for lots of stuff and are very happy with that arrangement, so perhaps I should keep quiet about my controversial thoughts! Maybe I'm just going through that young and idealistic stage that everyone talks about

Craig

[jfc]

so perhaps I should keep quiet about my controversial thoughts

Not at all , thats the point of a forum isnt it



Back to MDF .....
So you wouldnt take on a job if the spec was painted MDF no matter how much it was worth ?

[craigmarshall]

so perhaps I should keep quiet about my controversial thoughts

Not at all , thats the point of a forum isnt it

Only when there's hope of teaching or learning something! Not when it boils down to religious debate. I have limited energy as it is, I need to save the rest of it for my woodwork!

Back to MDF .....
So you wouldnt take on a job if the spec was painted MDF no matter how much it was worth ?

Interesting question. I'm not really that touchy about using or not using MDF, after all I use it all the time currently. Then again I'm just a trainee, and I have very little say which jobs we take. If an MDF job was paying say twice as much as it was really worth, I'd have to take it. But I'd only want to do so as a one off, and I'd hope to put the extra into savings, so that I could retire from the necessary-evil MDF work one day sooner. Or something like that.

I switched to woodworking earlier in the year with the intention of doing a job I love. I think using handtools where it makes sense, traditional joinery techniques and proper woods as much as possible are basic requirements for me to enjoy this stuff. Who knows, this may be wholely unrealistic in the long run. But I'm trying at the moment!

Cheers,
Craig

[engineerone]

another part of the same question.

do you or would you use mdc or other faced panels for making kitchen cabinets or wardorbes?

thing is they enable you to make cupboards which are clean and neat on the inside, and you can easily fit a face frame etc.

why is this any different from using mdf???

paul

[jmk89]

I use it when it is the best product available. One thing is that because it doesn't move, it makes a great shelf or table top (esp when veneered). I also like it if the finish is to be painted 9esp if it is to be high gloss lacquer. All you are doing there is m,aking a form to be covered with something else and it is very good for that.

But I still prefer real wood ...

[jfc]

But I still prefer real wood

I dont think that way , i use the best material for the job as i'm sure you do .

[jmk89]

jfc said:

But I still prefer real wood

I dont think that way , i use the best material for the job as i'm sure you do .

You are right, but I know that I enjoy working with real wood in a way that I don't with mdf, even if mdf is the right material for the job. And since this is a hobby for me, enjoyment counts a lot...

BTW, when I build boats, I use ply happily but it doesn't seem quite right when you are trying to make furniture!