Plywood or MDF For Cabinet?

[Derek Arita]

I'm building a cabinet base to go under a bandsaw that weighs about 200 lbs. Which will support the saw better...3/4" MDF or plywood? I kinda like the weight and the finish of the MDF, but if it's not a good choice, I'll use the plywood.

[Mel Fulks]

I'm building a cabinet base to go under a bandsaw that weighs about 200 lbs. Which will support the saw better...3/4" MDF or plywood? I kinda like the weight and the finish of the MDF, but if it's not a good choice, I'll use the plywood.

If it’s gonna be on wheels I think it’s fine. Use strong corner blocks.

[Lee Schierer]

I wouldn't use MDF for anything that needs to hold substantial weight over time. Plywood is less likely to deform over time due to weight.

[Mel Fulks]

I’m sure Lee’ s caution is good . Cross pieces on bottom could be mdf doubled up with glued blocks at ends with wood blocks on both sides at
the ends . I would keep either material painted .

[Bradley Gray]

plywood for sure

[Jim Dwight]

I do not like MDF because its dust is ultra nasty, it falls apart with slight exposure to moisture, it sags just from it's own weight over time and probably some other things I'm not remembering at the moment. In my mind, particle board is only slightly better and plywood is a significant step above either. MDF does take paint better but I can't really think of another advantage. It is also nasty heavy - and just plain weak. Can you tell I do not like it? I would definitely never use it for anything structural. It is guaranteed to sag from weight unless you way overbuild the base. Plywood is just much better suited to an application where strength and not appearance is the goal. Plywood can look nice and take paint well but I would not normally use that good a grade of plywood for a tool base.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

For a 200 pounder I would be thinking of steel. I have a bench top band saw, bench top jointer and lathe that sit on plywood boxes with the motor inside. They are supposed to be portable. The lathe base is not up to the task at all. I never considered using MDF. Plywood is more durable. For 200 pounds of bandsaw I would use several layers of plywood (if steel was not an option).

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[Gary Petersen]

I built a wheeled bench / cabinet a while back to support a large belt / disc sander with a maple frame clad with MDF. The sander weighs maybe 125 pounds or so. I suspect the MDF skin isn't supporting much weight but the frame has handled it just fine. The bench top, by the way, was two layers of MDF with one layer of plywood on top. Also for what it's worth, I ran horizontal maple boards in the frame to support drawer sliders so they weren't hanging only on MDF.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I try to use MDF for jigs and fixtures only.
Plywood for anything else.

[roger wiegand]

I'm sure either will work. MDF will require a lot more attention so structure at stress points and places where fasteners attach. As other's point out the dust is noxious. It does paint well, but a win-win solution for both structure and paintability is MDO. I do use MDF for router templates and such because it's cheap (and I always then regret it because of the dust). For templates that get more than one-time use I now like plexiglas, as it is currently abundant and cheap as the covid barriers com down all over the place.

[Justin Rapp]

MDF has very little structural ability compared to plywood. The compression rating of MDF for side, back and front panels should hold 200 pounds using 3/4" mdf, assuming your corner joints are done properly. All the force is vertical and the corner joints should improve the structural ability. The top, where the machine sits could be MDF as long as the span of the MDF isn't very wide/deep. But as long as you are building it, just use plywood construction for piece of mind. Around here at say home depot, a 4x8 sheet of 3/4 MDF is about $60, and sanded 3/4 ply is 70ish. Birch is maybe 80-85. The cost difference isn't enough compared to the labor and long term use of the cabinet.

[Derek Arita]

I'll probably use plywood. That said, I like the smooth, no-gaps look of MDF, especially on rounded edges. It looks much like sheet metal.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have seen some real nice plywood with a facing of thin Phenolic. I recommend going heavy with your build. A band saw is benefited by a sturdy base with plenty of mass.

[Jim Becker]

For "this particular project", I'd use plywood for sure for better resiliency, but I'm not adverse to using MDF for some kinds of built-in cabinets, especially when they are not going to get beat up...

[Paul Koenigs]

Definitely plywood.. It's stronger and does not have nasty dusty.
I will say I am biased though. I hate MDF.
Yes, you can make MDF work, but at least in my area, MDF is not that much cheaper, so I fail to see the advantage.
MDF's extra weight is a disadvantage. Makes it harder to move around and the extra weight does not give extra strength.
A sheet of MDF will sag under it's own weight.

[Greg Quenneville]

Where I live a sheet of 3/4” mdf is US$ 24.30, about a third of the price of the cheapest “good” plywood. I have used it many times for shop projects-router tables, mitre saw stands etc.

Yes, you have to engineer away from its weaknesses, but it does work well with adequate corner joints and beam type cleats to prevent the top from sagging. You can round over the edges to mimic an old cast iron base, and it does take paint very well.

That said…the dust needs to be collected at the cutting tool, and you will need fasteners appropriate to the material.

When I first used mdf I hated it, but now I see its advantages in certain applications, and I have used a lot of it, but I still dislike the material. Using it is a chore, and not at all how you would sell woodworking as an enjoyable hobby.

[Howard Rosenberg]

MDF can work in for this project. Easily.

I started out building almost EVERYTHING out of MDF. Nothing more than simple housed joints - dadoes/grooves and rabbets - not sliding DTs. And, long-term, nil in the way of sag.

All you have to do is engineer for it properly and you'll be fine -
1 - simple housed joints relying on rabbets and dadoes/grooves
2 - gables (sides) need to be positioned on the cabinet's bottom
3 - the cabinet's top is attached to the gables

As some have pointed out, it can't support its own weight. It has almost zero tensile strength because it doesn't have any grain and sags quickly but it does have considerable beam strength.

You can easily create the same effect as beam strength, though. Just glue pieces vertically (the "edge grain") to the bottom of horizontal surfaces - you'll diminish/eliminate sag (think face-frames).

In my own case, once I found out about torsion box construction, my life changed! I've since built dozens of 8-foot-long bookcases without mid-shelf supports using nothing but dadoes/grooves housing torsion boxes. Holding mountains of books under heavy load. Zero sag.

Seal every surface thoroughly with paint/polyurethane etc and you'll have zero problems with absorbing airborne moisture. It takes YEARS in a humid city like Toronto to change dimensions - and that's in tiny increments you need to measure with calipers.

I'd be interested to see what you decide. Make sure to keep us posted

[Richard Coers]

The only way I would use MDF is if it's a skin over solid hardwood frame. Screws would not carry a lot of load in MDF, so you would need some kind of joinery. Hardwood would be better for the joinery and the MDF skin would reduce any twist in the hardwood frame under load.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

The previous owner if my bandsaw was a life long follower of Fine Wood working Magazine. I have been trying to find the article that led him to bolt several layers of MDF to the inside of the OEM steel cabinet that is the base of the saw. I can't find it. I do admire the trouble he went to to make a good saw even better. I did find several old threads here at SMC.

Bandsaw Stand (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?273112-Bandsaw-Stand)

[Derek Arita]

The previous owner if my bandsaw was a life long follower of Fine Wood working Magazine. I have been trying to find the article that led him to bolt several layers of MDF to the inside of the OEM steel cabinet that is the base of the saw. I can't find it. I do admire the trouble he went to to make a good saw even better. I did find several old threads here at SMC.

Bandsaw Stand (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?273112-Bandsaw-Stand)

And what was the purpose of the MDF layers?

[Maurice Mcmurry]

And what was the purpose of the MDF layers?

To add weight, stiffness, noise and vibration damping to the saws foundation. The guy was excited to tell me about the improvement it made, I am sure he read about it in Fine Woodworking. it was pre internet days. After his passing I bought the saw from his Widow.

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[Derek Arita]

Thanks. That's some of the reasons I was thinking of using MDF.

[Rich Engelhardt]

The previous owner if my bandsaw was a life long follower of Fine Wood working Magazine. I have been trying to find the article that led him to bolt several layers of MDF to the inside of the OEM steel cabinet that is the base of the saw. I can't find it. I do admire the trouble he went to to make a good saw even better. I did find several old threads here at SMC.

Bandsaw Stand (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?273112-Bandsaw-Stand)
It's possible it was from a book written by Michael Fortune. His go-to bandsaw is a Ridgid 14" - yeah - the one everybody says is so bad. I read an article he wrote about how to tune a bandsaw and he went through the steps he took to add weight.
I don't recall if he added DF to the sides like that, but, he did laminate two pieces of 3/4" as a base between the saw and the stand to add weight.

[John Kananis]

I had one of those! I really did everything to it, bearings, balancing, larger motor, more rigid base, tension coil spring, guides, etc, etc. It was a great learning tool tbh. That said, glad I sold it.


It's possible it was from a book written by Michael Fortune. His go-to bandsaw is a Ridgid 14" - yeah - the one everybody says is so bad. I read an article he wrote about how to tune a bandsaw and he went through the steps he took to add weight.
I don't recall if he added DF to the sides like that, but, he did laminate two pieces of 3/4" as a base between the saw and the stand to add weight.

[Jamie Cummins]

Plywood all the way. Much more durable!

[jim gossage]

I agree with plywood for strength but in the attached pic I used two 2x4s connected with 1/2" MDF to hold a stand with a 150# granite block. But the key for me is that the the weight of the stand is on top of the 2x4 stretchers, and the MDF merely acts to connect the 2X4s. No significant sagging after 15 years. If you don't want the 2x4s visible you can put a 1.5" MDF frame around the base.