MDF Question

[Ronald Blue]

I am going to be building a ladder shelf for my daughter. It will be painted so there is no point in using a hardwood and covering it with paint. I was considering using MDF for some of it. Can it be edge glued with good results just like conventional wood? The deepest shelf will be about 20" so I will need to do some edge gluing. Does anyone have experience using it in this manner? I have never tried it on anything before. Is it suitable to use for the legs as well? Face gluing to achieve a thickness of an inch and one half. Thanks in advance.

[Bill White]

I can't visualize a ladder shelf, and why do you need to edge glue when mdf is available in 4' x 8' sheets? Face glued legs will be fine. What thickness are ya gonna use? Help me help you.
Bill

[Ronald Blue]

I wasn't aware of the MDF being available in 4x8 sheets. That would definitely save time. Here is a photo of what a ladder shelf is.186394

[Jerome Hanby]

Actually the sheets I buy are a little wider than 48" and a little longer than 96". I thinks that's pretty standard for big sheets of MDF. I always assumed that was because the edges were fragile and likely to be dinged...

[Mike Heidrick]

I am confused on how you bought it in anything smaller than 24X48? Sure you are thinking of MDF (think wood fibers and resin and wax). Were you thinking poplar?

[Don Morris]

To answer your question about edge gluing MDF. Yes it can be edge glued with excellent results. Have done it a number of times. For instance, I edge glued one of the router tables I made. The surface was several thickness' of MDF.

[Ronald Blue]

Menards has it advertised in their current flyer in lengths to 16' and widths up to 12". So it can be bought as boards as well. Here is the link to that page of their ad if it works.
http://menards.inserts2online.com/customer_Frame.jsp?drpStoreID=1&event=Menards%20Dazzling%20Deals%20Sale%20I&pageNumber=3

[Jeff Duncan]

You could use mdf to build that, but be aware it's not the best material for structural parts. Also edge gluing mdf may work, but again don't expect any structural integrity.
Or are you talking about face gluing to make up the uprights? If so that should work fine. And you are gong to use mechanical fasteners with it too right? Hard to tell from your question how you are attempting to build this?

FWIW I would use poplar for the structural parts as it will hold up much longer than mdf. Actually come to think of it, I'd use poplar (or even soft maple) for the whole thing. I just don't like building things in that manner. Oaint has nothing to do with it really, there's a lot of nice painted woodwork out there that's painted.

good luck,
JeffD

[Chris Fournier]

MDF is actually 49" X 97" and of course you can get it in even larger sizes but it is tough to handle.

I would not edge glue MDF unless I absolutely had to as even a perfect joint is gonna show up under finish. If you must edge join the MDF I would fortify the glue joint with a spline or biscuits.

[Ronald Blue]

Thanks for the feedback. If I use MDF it will only be for the side and back pieces of the shelves. Nothing structural certainly. Again thanks for the input. That's what I like about this forum, a great knowledge base to draw from.

[Joe Angrisani]

To answer your question about edge gluing MDF. Yes it can be edge glued with excellent results. Have done it a number of times. For instance, I edge glued one of the router tables I made. The surface was several thickness' of MDF.

This is face gluing. Edge gluing would be side-by-side strips (like a solid wood tabletop), or end-to-end (butt joints).

Ronald....Why not poplar?

[Myk Rian]

Probably be better off using ply, or MDO (outdoor signboard).
But for a ladder shelf like pictured, I would use real wood.

[Jay Jeffery]

You could use mdf to build that, but be aware it's not the best material for structural parts. Also edge gluing mdf may work, but again don't expect any structural integrity.
Or are you talking about face gluing to make up the uprights? If so that should work fine. And you are gong to use mechanical fasteners with it too right? Hard to tell from your question how you are attempting to build this?

FWIW I would use poplar for the structural parts as it will hold up much longer than mdf. Actually come to think of it, I'd use poplar (or even soft maple) for the whole thing. I just don't like building things in that manner. Oaint has nothing to do with it really, there's a lot of nice painted woodwork out there that's painted.

good luck,
JeffD

I agree, MDF is not an ideal choice for this kind of project. The reason I dislike it, though is that the sawdust has the consistency of flour. Without good dust collection, it makes a mess. It is insidious stuff that is not good for your lungs.

[David Thompson 27577]

.............................It will be painted so there is no point in using a hardwood and covering it with paint. ..........................

I'll not spend the time it might take to tell you all the reasons I disagree with that.

Yes, MDF takes paint well. Yes, it can be edge glued (but I'd use a spline, or at least some biscuits or loose tenons). Yes, it can be cut and used in shelves that are 20" deep.

As for it's use for legs, I guess it depends on the3 specific design, but I wouldn't. (Of course, I don't like the stuff for most purposes.) The compressive strength of MDF sorta sucks.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

You can assemble it as you say, but I would still use screws of some type.

I will second the other opinions in the thread about using poplar. It is more durable (MDF will get ding'd easily), and it takes paint very well.

[Sean Nagle]

I would use poplar for that project.

[Ken Deckelman]

I would use poplar for that project.

+1. Easy to work with, takes paint well, easier to handle.

[John Sanford]

Is it for a child, or will it be exposed to a child? If so, I'd skip on the MDF.

[scott vroom]

+1 for poplar. MDF creates a huge dust mess when cut/milled. I just finished a dozen MDF raised panel cabinet doors. I used my normal 2" router table dust collection system plus I layed the end of a 4' dust collection hose near the cutter head and still generated billowing clouds of brown dust. Never again.

Also consider that MDF shelves will sag over time. How long do you want your bookcase to last?

[Rob Sack]

MDF is actually 49" X 97" and of course you can get it in even larger sizes but it is tough to handle.

I would not edge glue MDF unless I absolutely had to as even a perfect joint is gonna show up under finish. If you must edge join the MDF I would fortify the glue joint with a spline or biscuits.

I don't recommend biscuits with MDF. When the biscuits are glued, they can swell and they will telgraph through the surface of the MDF and possibly even split the MDF from the force of the expanding biscuit.