Are you looking for tips for using MDF? This article looks at what you need to know when working with MDF. We look at what is MDF and tips for working with MDF.
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What is MDF?
To put it into simple terms, MDF, also known as medium-density fibreboard, is an incredibly inexpensive and sturdy wooden material. To put it into terms that anyone can understand, MDF is constructed from panel products, made of wood.
These panels are then completely squashed into tiny fibres. The fibres are then heated up, mixed with glue, and pressed into a consistent thickness, dried out and then finally cut to size.
MDF is arguably more environmentally friendly than many other forms of solid lumber because there is a completely inexhaustible supply of the raw material from which MDF is constructed. A supply of material that will never run out for generations and generations to come.
In the woodworking industry, there are three different density grades of MDF to work with. There is the lightweight grade, standard grade, and high-density MDF grade.
The standard grade of MDF is constructed out of wood fibres with a synthetic resin as the adhesive, which forms the actual board.
The lightweight MDF is the same as standard but is much lighter when it comes to weight. You will also find that lightweight MDF is not as strong as standard grade MDF. The heavyweight grade MDF has huge amounts of wood fibres packed into the structure of the material.
Heavyweight MDF also has other perks, such as a higher quality of wood fibres. This means that the MDF can possess a smoother and cleaner finish when compared to standard or lightweight MDF materials.
The wide range of MDF uses
MDF is so popular with people who work with wood around the globe for one main reason, it has a massive range of uses. People who work with MDF have used the material for pretty much everything you can think of. The material has such unique and fascinating properties that people are incredibly enthusiastic about getting creative with MDF.
One of MDF's fantastic uses is for the organisation of your home. There are so many ways that you can use your medium-density fibreboard to create organisation solutions in your home. For example, creating hooks and mounts on your walls for keeping coats, shoes, hats and more.
It gets them out the way and frees up space elsewhere. Another idea is to create modular stacking shelves. This way, you can create shelving bespoke and to your liking. The shelves can be purpose-built to fit whatever you want to keep in them. How about using MDF to build planter boxes? Bring some of the outdoors into your home with MDF planter boxes you can affix to your wall. The possibilities are endless with MDF.
Working With MDF
As MDF becomes more and more popular in the building industry, you may need to start using the material more often. It is known for its ease of use, but if you have never worked with the material before, you may want some tips to get yourself started. Just look below for some tips when working with MDF.
MDF is constructed out of wood fibres, resin and wax. The product is not natural, it is engineered. Because of this, when purchasing MDF, you get a uniform product every time. You will always know and understand what you will be working with. The material is fantastic for cutting; MDF is very straight and is highly unlikely to have any knots within its structure.
Although, you should keep in mind when cutting MDF that due to the way it is constructed, there will be huge amounts of dust billowing out of the material. So always be sure to wear a mask when working with MDF. Medium-density fibreboard will also tend to dull sawblades quicker than plywood, so keep an extra sawblade handy too.
When cutting MDF, you will often create incredibly sharp or open edges. Because of this, it is highly important to sand all the edges down before finishing the project. This is usually done with light-grit sandpaper.
Though MDF can handle being in high humidity environments very well, the material will crack and well if completely saturated in water. Because of this, it is recommended that MDF is not used in environments where it is likely to get wet, such as next to the shower or sink in a bathroom. In these scenarios, materials such as cement boards would be a better fit.
Painters will often work with MDF due to its fantastic property of holding onto paint very well. If you are looking to paint MDF, then try following these steps. First, always use a solvent-based primer, such as alcohol, oil or lacquer.
Any water-based primers will simply cause the wood to swell, crack, and create a type of grain. Any cut edges on MDF will also be more porous, so it is recommended that you use some joint compound and spread it on the cut edge to seal before you attempt to apply the primer. The joint compound should be an incredibly thin layer of material that you can easily apply with just your hand, sand when the material is dry.
Screws will always hold well when entered into MDF. But be careful because MDF can easily chip and crack near its edges. To avoid this from happening, it is recommended that you pre-drill all screw holes into the MDF. Medium-density fibrewood can be pretty tricky to get a nail through, so its recommended that you use screws instead.
Tips For Using MDF
If you are required for a job to create a painted trim, then the best option is always to turn to MDF. Even inexpensive wood will cost four times as much as MDF on average. Instead of spending money on alternatives, simply cut MDF sheets into strips and then shape the edges with a router.
If you are using the right bit, you can create pretty much any trim profile you would want. You should also just check at hardware shops or DIY centres, as many places now sell ready-made MDF wood trims.
Another great trick for cabinets, furniture, and painted trims is to use MDF for the larger and plainer areas of the piece and then use wood mouldings such as base caps and base shoes to dress up the less interesting areas. By using this method, you can gain all the savings of using MDF without having to go through all the laborious and time-consuming tasks of making MDF trim from scratch.
If there is one thing that everybody hates about MDF, it is the powdery dust that emanates from the material whenever you cut it. The dust will get into all the nooks and crannies of your clothes, get in your hair, and stay floating around in the air for hours. If you think cutting MDF is bad, then you should try to route the material.
Whenever possible, you should try to cut and route MDF outdoors. If this is not at all possible, then try placing sheets of plastic over all of the room's shelving and other difficult to clean areas. Also, use a fan to try and direct the dust outdoors. If you are installing a trim into a room, then make sure that you have covered all of the doorways and closed every air vent. You should also expect to have a lot of vacuum cleaning to be done when you are finished. Obviously, a tight-fitting mask is absolutely essential to this work.
MDF can get extremely heavy when purchasing in bulk and getting huge sheets of the material. Sometimes this is absolutely necessary, but oftentimes you will be better off using smaller sheets. We would recommend using half measure or quarter measure sheets instead of full size.
The surface of MDF is incredibly smooth, but you will find that the material's edges are really fuzzy, almost like the skin of a peach. You cannot simply apply paint to these fuzzy edges, it will end up feeling like sandpaper, which no one wants. You need to remove that fuzz.
For most projects, this is the best way to remove the nasty fuzz. First, you must lightly sand the edges with 100-grit paper. You should then follow up on this technique by priming the MDF with a solvent-based primer. Never used a water-based primer with MDF. Once the primer has dried, you should then once again sand down the edges by using 100-grit paper. If you need to, then this process can be repeated multiple times until the edges of the MDF are completely smooth.
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