Durability of MDF for door and drawer fronts

[Kevin Stafford]

I'm getting into veneering and am looking at using MDF as a substrate for door and drawer fronts on cabinets I'm building. I'm curious if durability is an issue with MDF for this purpose. A specific concern I have is for the drawer fronts. For shop cabinets I've built I just screw the drawer fronts on to the drawer box. If I do the same with MDF do I have to worry about the screws pulling out over time?

I plan on using hardwood edge banding under the veneer, so the edges/corners should be fine from a durability concern. The issue would be more about the hardware attachment points and getting dents on the surface over time.

Thanks.

[Erik Loza]

We've had MDF drawer fronts in both master and guest bathrooms since a remodel about 10 years ago. No specific complaints but I would probably NOT want them for kitchen cabinets, due to the possibility of moisture exposure, more frequent cleaning with damp towels, etc.

Erik

[Jamie Buxton]

You can inlay pieces of hardwood in the back of the drawer front where screws are going to be.

[John TenEyck]

My opinion is that veneered MDF works really well, at least with the shop sawn veneer I use. There's no real concern about moisture once you put hardwood edging all around. I've never had a drawer front come loose or the screw strip out, although that certainly could happen if you horse the screws. But if I did strip out a screw, I'd fill the hole with 5 minute epoxy and sawdust and move on.

For non-structural applications MDF is an ideal substrate for veneer.

John

[Kevin Jenness]

Screw holding in the face is ok for your application. For better moisture resistance use Medex. Yes, it can be dented, on the order of yellow poplar.

[Howard Rosenberg]

Screw / bolt holding will be perfectly fine. Just break the edges ever slightly (chamfer / round over etc) because MDF's corners are very sharp and if left alone can break off surprisingly easily.

[Kevin Stafford]

Great, thanks everyone.

[Jim Becker]

MDF isn't an issue for what you are concerned with ... if you use appropriate screws. A lot of commercial drawer fronts and cabinet doors are made from MDF and other composites. :) What you don't want is screws optimized for hardwood...you want deeper threading for "more bite". And beware of overtightening them.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Kreg "coarse" screws (for softwoods) work great for MDF.

[Robert Engel]

Kreg "coarse" screws (for softwoods) work great for MDF.

This ^^. I also use a selection of coarse thread washer head screws, for 1/2” drawer boxes, as Kreg is 1 1/4” long.

[Jim Becker]

Kreg "coarse" screws (for softwoods) work great for MDF.

Agree totally...I actually use them for hold-down on my CNC machines MDF spoilboard. Much better than any other format screw I've tried.

[Mark Bolton]

If you want something better than low grade standard MDF (home center level) source some double refined or as suggested Medex if your concerned with water. Double refined/door grade is a major step up. Im with Erik on concerns around moisture for anything other than Medex. How long it would be, who knows, but in a heavy use damp area your going to get dings/breaks in the surface even with veneer everywhere and it will eventually fail.