limits of mdf?

[patl]

I have a 300mm deep x 1000mm x 600mm wall hanging tool cupboard that is just 18mm ply with the back glue/screwed to the sides which are comb jointed together with the lot french cleated to the wall, all seems fine and has held together fine for the last few years. I've been meaning to make a couple more, but, as I've just finished cutting huge amounts of veneered mdf for a set of builtin wardrobes, it set me to thinking whether I can get away with making the cabinets from the offcuts. Can someone with more experience of mdf's strengths give me an idea of whether it's up to the task and if so, how I should joint it so it wont end up as a heap of mdf and tools on the floor.

Thanks,

Pat.

 

[twothumbs]

Of course you will get away with it but ply is much better from a fixing point of view. Pull out strength is far greater with ply and any damage done in the future is easier to made good. MDF is the chosen board nowadays as it is smooth and takes 'little' to finsih it compared with ply which is still a natural baord albeit in strips and can be edge finished in various ways. MDF is also very good for veneering. Have seen MDF door frames which whilst good in the early days which are areal headache to repair soemhow. Ply is stilll used for bracing due to its natural raections to screwing. Good luck. Will be interested in your replies.

 

[woodbloke]

Load applied to mdf (and chipboard) will cause it to bow and distort unless adequately braced so I'd stay clear of the stuff for weight bearing applications. I'm just about to replace my 'shop floor to take heavier machinery and have decided to replace the existing 18mm chipboard with some much better quality plywood - Rob

 

[jasonB]

if the unit is 600 wide x 1000 talk it should be fine. If its 1000 wide x 600 tall then you will likely get some sagging a central divider will take care of that. Comb joints will be strong in MDF, as for pull out on teh face really depends on the quality of your ply, there is some rough stuff out there though, good ply will be better if screwing into the edges.

J

 

[Shultzy]

Check out Lord Nibbo's "Another Tool Cabinet FINISHED FINAL PICS" post. It's made from 1/2" veneered mdf and is a lot bigger than you want to build.

 

[patl]

Perfect, it doesn't look like I'll have to stick all the offcuts in the skip after all. Thanks.