Using veneered MDF

[would not]

I've used plywood for making up carcasses etc as it takes screws etc without splitting but a customer wants oak finished wardrobes and I'm looking at veneered MDF to get the job within budget.
Does anyone know how to join MDF without it splitting etc while still getting a strong joint.
Any advice will be appreciated - thanks guys.

 

[Oryxdesign]

I like dominos and pocket hole screws, the screws do the clamping whilst the glue goes off

Simon

 

[rileytoolworks]

I like dominos and pocket hole screws, the screws do the clamping whilst the glue goes off

Simon

What he said...

 

[oddsocks]

I've been using dowels with the joint genie jig - fast and accurate but it is a lot easier to assemble if you enlarge the holes slightly.

A good compromise would be joint genie to locate a dowel at each end and then pocket screws. Without good clamping it is possible for pocket screws to move the wood when assembling - the dowels prevent that. This option allows for knockdown assembly as well.

Dave

 

[BTR]

I use pocket holes and the kreg screws and titebond nice strong joints

 

[promhandicam]

If the design allows then use dominos glue and carcase screws rather than pocket screws as it is quicker. I try and hold end panels on by placing the screws behind hinge plates or under shelves where they can't be seen.

Steve

 

[Chems]

Is veneered ply a lot more expensive than veneered MDF? I hate MDF these days and will use ply wherever I can in future so its good to know.

 

[Oryxdesign]

Ply is more expensive and tends not to be as flat.
Simon

 

[jasonB]

You will also find it difficut to get veneered ply over 12mm and even then its likely to be one side & balancer

I tend to use biscuits with pocket screw if they need hiding. If they screws won't show I use carcase screws into 3mm pilot holes, I find they pull up better in MDF than the pocket screws.

Jason

 

[promhandicam]

Is veneered ply a lot more expensive than veneered MDF? I hate MDF these days and will use ply wherever I can in future so its good to know.

I had some 6mm oak veneered ply recently and the balancer side looked more like shuttering ply with large areas of filler. The other problem with ply - at least the poor quality that seems to be generally available is that you can't screw into the edge of a panel which you can with mdf.

Steve

 

[miles_hot]

You will also find it difficut to get veneered ply over 12mm and even then its likely to be one side & balancer

I tend to use biscuits with pocket screw if they need hiding. If they screws won't show I use carcase screws into 3mm pilot holes, I find they pull up better in MDF than the pocket screws.

Jason

I got some 18mm double sided oak faced ply which has been fantastic however the 12mm was only available in one sided oak and the patching on the other side was rather rubbish. Conversely the 6mm oak one side was lovely but very warped (see update around half way down

HTH

Miles

 

[would not]

I'm going to use all the advice in some trials first, I've also seen Spax MDF screws.. anyone used them.

I've got to get this job spot on as if I do I'll get up to 30 meters more wardrobes to make and some other work..

 

[Karl]

Hi WN

Only just caught up on this thread.

I'm assuming you don't have a Domino, but do you have a biscuit joiner?

I made some MDF carcasses recently in this thread. Go to page 3.

Biscuits on the outer edges of the board and in the middle, a couple of screws in-between the biscuits (make sure they're coarse thread #6 or #8 and pilot drilled) - the screws hold everything together while the glue (10min pva) goes off.

Jobs a good 'un.

HTH

Cheers

Karl

 

[jasonB]

I use these

Jason

 

[chippy1970]

I'm going to use all the advice in some trials first, I've also seen Spax MDF screws.. anyone used them.

I've got to get this job spot on as if I do I'll get up to 30 meters more wardrobes to make and some other work..

I just used the SpaxMDF screws recently after years of just using normal gold screws thought I would give em a try. They are good but I still drilled a small pilot hole first even if it says you dont have to. I tried a test peice first without and surprisingly it did not split but it just doesnt seem right to me to just screw straight into the end of a sheet without a pilot hole :lol:

What I like about them is the small neat hole they leave when they sink in.

 

[Calpol]

We use Wurth carcass screws, 3.9 x 55mm which require a 3.5mm pilot. Huge pulling power but they mdf boards split very easily if the pilot is any smaller...

Also they're pug fugly but we use them for kitchens so they're all hidden anyway. Screwfix do them as well...

 

[promhandicam]

I've recently tried the MDF-tite screws from SF, the ones Jason linked to from SF and also the carcase screws that Hafele sell. Not a lot to choose between them although the hafele ones don't appear to be particularly sharp so take a bit of effort to start if no pilot hole is used. If the screw is put in centrally into a piece of 19mm mdf then it isn't necessary to drill a pilot hole but if the screw is a bit off centre then I have noticed slight bulging in the surface of the mdf. It would be interesting to be able to test the strength of a joint with different size pilot holes and also no pilot hole to see what the optimum is as no mention of drilling a pilot hole is mentioned on any of the packaging for the above screws. Something for one of the woodworking magazines to do perhaps?

Steve

 

[TheTiddles]

From what I've observed:

The MDF-tite screws from ScrewFix are good, relatively cheap and easy to use, you can get away without a pilot but they do need it generally, even if it's just a small one.

The carcase screws have more of a tendency to split so defintely need to be piloted in, but the thing that I find suprising that nobody has mentioned that due to that rough black coating they squeel something cronic as they are done up, really bad when installing in an echoing room, cheap though.

Aidan

 

[would not]

Some goods ideas there guys, you just can't beat some good photo's can you?

I think I'll have a practice with some biscuits and the spax screws..