ATM MDF Junk Construction material

[astrojoe@erols.com]

I had the fortune or miss fortune to use this material ( MDF ) just last
week. It is no replacement for plywood. As Steve Tonkin has said " USE A
MASK " We went through standard dust masks after just 1 sheet of MDF. We
then switched to respirators. After construction of the base counter
that had to be Formica'ed we decided that this was the last time we
would use a wood substitute. We are now waterproofing the material since
it has the chance of coming in contact with water on a daily basis as a
countertop. It is extremely heavy ( almost twice the weight of birchply
of the same dimensions ). I cannot understand why this is offered as a
construction alternative to plywood. We are considering re doing the
countertop in Birchply. Wood screws pull out of MDF very easy. The
surface dimples and raises the surrounding cardboard. You can glue and
air nail it with brads we found out for best adhesion.

Joe Castoro













Stephen Tonkin wrote:
> 
> Tony Dunlap <tdunlap@odot.dot.ohio.gov> wrote:
> >Medium Density Fiberboard
> 
> Probably worth posting this caveat again:
> 
> The dust from this stuff is nasty -- wear a mask when working it.
> 
> Also, it tends to dimple up when a screw is driven into a pilot hole in
> MDF -- counter this by countersinking the drill-hole.
> 
> --
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