What the hell is wrong with MDF ?

[Vormulac]

Hi V

What about one of these? :wink:

http://www.empireswords.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=334

Cheers
Neil

Sweeeeeet..... 8)

V.

 

[Alf]

Do you have any idea how hard it is to sharpen those darn things?

Bloomin' thing can't be sharp - you can see light along the edge...

 

[Dewy]

What the hell is wrong with MDF ?

Nothing at all.
It's good for !! and !! also !! plus of course !!
And it's very good for !!
I'm sure something will come to be in 20 years or so when I am in my MDF box with no need of formaldehyde in my veins because the box has enough for both of us.

I will admit to using it for making router jigs because it can be cut and filed clean.

History shows us what is happening with MDF.
Birch ply was the normal ply in the 50s-60s then along came cheaper eastern sourced ply that became the norm and caused birch ply to increase in price.
Next came melamine coated chipboard which soon replaced ply in 'whitewood' furniture.
This could be easily coated so it looked as if there were mouldings where needed.
Now there is MDF replacing it because it finishes smooth so can be either coated or painted.
Health risks from MDF?
I suppose doctors will need something to do when medicine advances put a stop to the diseases that have been the scourge of mankind for centuries.
I wonder what they will foist on us next because it can be made a lot cheaper?

 

[cambournepete]

I bought the airace from Mackays in Cambridge for £24.95 on Saturday (I just can't justify buying the airshield or powercap yet) and wore it for most of the day yesterday in the garage. It's reasonably comfortable, although the bridge of my nose got a bit sore (and still is), and there's a slight leak under my right eye (but that's the odd shape of my face ).

One thing I found was that there was a lot of condensation that almost poured out of it when I took it off to swill a mug of cool coffee - is this normal, and what do people do to clean the filter? Currently it's sat in a large plastic box in the garage, hiding from the dust...

Cheers,

Pete

 

[Vormulac]

Good point about the condensation, I found that too after prolonged use, can't say I ended up with a sore schnozz though. Must be my cute little button nose...

Yeah right! :lol:

Normally I just put it straight back in the box when I'm done and give it a cursory blow when I take it back out to keep it relatively free from dust in my low-tech workshop environment. I have no idea how long before changing filters; I guess when you notice impeded airflow and take it apart to junk the pad, run the whole thing under the tap?

V.

 

[smiffy]

I use a pretty good quality mask from 3M. I think they are around £40(I got mine from a car boot sale for £5) and has a breath out valve. If I am wearing it all day, I will probably tip out the collected water in the mask about 4 times.
Also, everybody knows I have been wearing it for about 6 hours afterwards as it leaves an ugly mark around the bridge of my nose and the mask shaped dark mark around the rest of my face.
Although it seems to be a very good mask, I still blow out very fine MDF dust for a day afterwards, which is a bit worrying.

I think that these battery powered full face masks from Triton, e.t.c are probably an essential when working with MDF. Even at around £150.

Merry Christmas,
Raymond.

 

[Vormulac]

Smiffy, I don't know if it's a common feature to masks of around that price range, but the Airace pads are electrostatically charged, supposedly to grab the ultrafine stuff that you seem to be having trouble with. I have to admit, I've not used any MDF since procuring my Airace, but I certainly have not noticed anything at all getting through it - not even ultrafine plaster dust.

V.

 

[tim]

I sadly use MDF a lot and I don't notice any dust coming through on the Airace - nor does any seem to collect in the bit around the face. I change the filter normally at the end of each job or every 10 full size sheets or so.

T

 

[Philly]

Hi Folks
I've been building a bed out of mdf (no, not including the matress :roll: )
The darn stuff leaves its fine dust everywhere-even worse than some of the exotics I use. Spent 20 minutes vaccuuming all accessible surfaces, and efore you know it youre back to square one. And yes, dust extractors were used at all times, as well as my Microclene air cleaner running constantly. 'Orrible stuff, the dust.
Biscuit jointer and a sheet of mdf-you can make pretty much anything quickly with those two.
looking foward to getting back to the solid though,
Philly :ho2

 

[cambournepete]

I think that these battery powered full face masks from Triton, e.t.c are probably an essential when working with MDF. Even at around £150.

I spoke to the Triton bods last week and they said they don't sell the Triton mask as it fails UK standards - apparently the test changed from 20 minutes to an hour in extreme conditions and the Triton stopped after 40 minutes... Still probably perfrectly OK for DIY use though, just can't buy it in the UK.

I'll probably buy a full powered respiator sometime, but at the moment £150 is just too much...

 

[Keith Smith]

It is a very good idea for everyone to make something from MDF occasionally anyway.

Alf ...gets up off the floor, still shaken by the thought :wink:

If you use MDF with your extraction on and after there is a lot of dust about , then it is time to tune up the dust extraction system. Unless it is catching the very fine dust it is worthless and this will show up the problems.


Apologies to all

Keith

 

[Anonymous]

I am approaching the completion of our new family bathroom (which is taking far too long as I'm away all week consulting and only have the weekends to work on it ). New white suite, chrome fittings including the towel warmer etc., cherry cabinetry (I've got quite a stock of those boards!) and so on. Last weekend's job was to put in the counter-top with cut-out for the semi-recessed sink. Problem is we're using grey granite. Not one piece (far too heavy) but blocks. Of course they're too big and all had to be cut -- out with the diamond blade ($75 in the US 8) ) onto the tablesaw. The saw made short work of the cuts, but the amount of dust was incredible! When I took off the glasses and mask I had a lovely pinkish area within the grey-white boundary on the rest of my face.

Problem -- the rubber seal around my facemask is getting a little old now and I could see a trail of dust leading from each side of the nose along the crease towards the mouth. The lines stopped at the 'tache -- my own built-in filter perhaps? :!:

Incidentally, wall tiles produce not quite as much dust -- I don't have a cutter, so the saw was put to use again, plus the tiles are really thick porcelain anyway... Lazy!

I didn't use any MDF - just veneered blockboard for the cabinet linings. Everything else is solid cherry face frames and cherry ply with solid surrounds (bathtap and shower diverter mount, toilet and bath panels, cabinet doors). Can't find the right hinges for the doors, so they're not mounted yet...