baltic birch or MDF

[Richard A. Rivera, M.D.]

I am planning a sideboard for my daughter. I plan to fame it all in with 3in x3in cherry built up from 1x3 stock and planed to size. It will have a 60in x 24 in top and 24x24 sides with six sets of drawers.

My question for you knowledgeable craftsman...can I make the top and sides of 3/4 MDF and veener or use 3/4 in Baltic Birch ply and veener?? or just spend the bucks and build up panels of cherry for the top and sides. my lunch box planer is only 13in wide.

I had planed to us contrasting vener for the top and sides with cherry for the drawer fronts.

MDF or Baltic Birch???

Richard

[Tony Bilello]

For nice piece of furniture, I would use Baltic Birch or even cabinet grade birch.
MDF has limited use. If it gets wet long enough or often enough it will bloat like oatmeal. In addition, it is exceptionally heavy for its size and doesnt hold nails or screws very well. I use it strictly on laminated furniture or counter tops.

[Rob Price]

I agree with above. When I first started woodworking I liked MDF because it was cheap, and usually pretty flat. But over time, those projects do absorb moisture and it does swell. It can be REAL heavy if you use a lot of it in the project. Plus I've heard it's hard on your tools, and the fine dust it creates is a nuisance.

Veneer is a way to go. I've had good luck by contacting a local custom cabinet shop, and ordering plywood through them. I got some very nice Walnut ply at a decent price, and it's a higher quality ply than the stuff you get at the big retail stores. you may score some Cherry plywood that way and save a step.

Another thought, I've read when you veneer MDF it's a good idea to do both sides (a cheaper veneer for the underside) for stability. I can't say I've ever done veneer though.

[Jim Kountz]

Are you setup to do veneering properly? Vacuum setup for example? If so then its a great way to get more mileage out of your lumber but I wouldnt use MDF either for the substrate.

[Tim Malyszko]

Are you setup to do veneering properly? Vacuum setup for example? If so then its a great way to get more mileage out of your lumber but I wouldnt use MDF either for the substrate.


I would have to agree. Veneering really changed my capabilities and allows me to be more creative with very expensive woods.

I too agree with the others - stay away from MDF and go with Baltic Birch. I used MDF as a substrate for some storage I built for the basement and after 2 years, it was worthless - the thing soaked up every bit of moisture in the basement and started to sag terribly. That was a lesson for me not to use MDF as a substrate.

[John Stevens]

can I make the top and sides of 3/4 MDF and veener or use 3/4 in Baltic Birch ply and veener?? or just spend the bucks and build up panels of cherry for the top and sides. my lunch box planer is only 13in wide.

Hello, Dr. Rivera. You might remember me as the guy who advocated using BB ply for the drawers of the chest of drawers you were making. On this thread, I'll go the other way and strongly advocate solid wood for the top. BB will work fine for the sides, but the top of a side-server is going to see quite a lot of use, and inevitably, some abuse. Solid wood will be much more forgiving when someone puts something with a rough bottom (like a ceramic tray or vase) on it. Or when some knucklehead uses a Scotch-brite scouring pad to wipe it off after a minor food spill. (That just happened to my kitchen table during our Super Bowl party.) Same goes for that day in the future when your daughter has teen-aged kids and one or more hops up to sit on top of the side-server while mom and dad aren't around. Hopefully, it won't be a boy with a screwdriver in the back pocket of his jeans, but we know these things happen. If the finish gets scuffed or the wood itself gets gouged or nicked, it can be refinished or repaired much more easily if it's made of solid wood.

My late stepfather was a great furniture repairman who worked on everything from antique clocks to high-end Scandinavian furniture. He was trained in the fine arts, and would actually paint the grain back onto a veneer repair after patching it, meticulously matching hue and texture until the repair was invisible. His clients who bought the very expensive modern furniture were always amazed and disappointed to find how easy it was to scratch right through the veneer and into the substrate, yet how difficult it was to find someone who could do a good job of repairing it.

My planer is also only a 13" lunchbox, and I've used a lot of BB when making carcase sides and drawers, but in light of what I saw while working with my step-dad, I have never put a veneered top on a carcase. Maybe for a high chest of drawers to be used in a bedroom--a piece not likely to have things placed on top--but definitely not for a side server to be used in a dining room.

Regards,

John

[Russ Boyd]

If you want contrasting colors, why not go with cab grade birch ply (1/2" or 3/4") for the sides and cherry for the frame and drawers fronts. I'd go solid cherry (as mentioned above) for the top and definitely baltic birch for the drawer boxes. Birch ply is not that different than cherry in grain pattern and is MUCH less expensive. As far as mdf...I've read (not practical experience) that mdf is a preferred substrate for veneering but veneering requires both sides be done, and if the edges are enclosed or sealed, there shouldn't be a moisture problem.

[Richard A. Rivera, M.D.]

Thanks for all the info. I will try and post some photos as the project gets going...my daughter has already made changes to MY plans. Well at least no saw dus has started flying yet.

Thanks Again...Richard.

[Chip Lindley]

GO FOR BROKE! USE All solid wood for an heirloom piece in your own family! For contrast, use nice hard maple! Nobody can say you did the piece *half-fast* on down the line. Go with solid wood and you can be as proud of the piece as those who inherit it. Learn to work within your machinery limitations by joining two 12" pieces to make a 24" panel. Sand and scrape until it is FLAT!