This stuff changed my mind about MDF projects

This just gave me more reasons not to use it.

My recommendations for using MDF - only use it as a last resort.
It simply will never hold up. I work on a lot of furniture and mdf is always a pain.... people would be surprised though how many big name furniture manufacturers use it and disguise it.

Thinned (with water) PVA glue makes a good job of sealing edges etc.

so its cheapbad quality and mortal

You can drill a 25-30mm hole near the edge, epoxy in a solid wood dowel, cut it flush, and drive your fasteners into that. This way the screws will have something to grip, and won't strip out

My tip for using screws on MDF...is don't use screws. Dowels are by far the best answer. Love your method for smoothing the edges.

What stuff? And what change? You seemed pretty authoritative about everything you were talking about.

- Peter Millard over at the 10 minute workshop channel has been making MDF furniture for 20 or 30 years, and he doesn't think it dulls blades or bits.
- There are MDF specific all-in-1 primers which fill up the edges very nicely.

Meh! REAL woodworkers would never use MDF. They grow a tree in the shape of the furniture they want and only trim the leaves before shipping it to the customer. 😋

My main problem with MDF is the smell. Anyone know any brands of MDF that don't have a factory odor?

MDF is a great choice for building speakers but using screws to fasten speakers cabinets together is generally frowned upon. Those who do opt for screws will soon face the music as they will easily vibrate loose.

I have a use for MDF
Making potash

Dear Sir, this is AGAIN an excellent info and demo video. Lots of info. I have watched maybe four or five of your videos and each one has taught me alot. Question ...planing on using MDF to make a couple shelves and cubicles for closet organizer. CAN you use pocket holes ??? And how does the glue react ? Meaning will it soak and spill over into the next piece of wood? Thank you !

great vid Stumpy!

I hate MDF and everything that have chemichals in it

They make waterproof mdf. Spendy, ($120+ sheet) but if you are doing wet area work. it is nice stuff.

I only use MDF for shop adjuncts like a sled for my table saw or jigs for a project.

As you said, there is no strength to shelving or joints that are critical like heavily used shop drawers.

Great video!!

My tip for using MDF, is simple , don’t…

What is your thoughts about high quality plywood as a product instead of MDF

you can seal mdf to lower the brittleness. water down some pva glue and apply before priming. they also sell mdf sealer, and it looks like a tung or linseed oil. It adds some strength as well

Wow, you just gave me a few more reasons to hate MDF. Thanks.👍

I missed the part about the stuff that made him change his mind about using MDF.

Use a dedicated electric screwdriver that can't go really fast.

I had a recent project where i was installing a kitchen island made with cabinets from Wren, who makes them out of MDF. A couple fascia pieces were made of MDF as well and not really intended to be installed where rhe cut end would be visible but in my case rhey were. I was worried about cutting the mdf and finishing it so it wouldnt look super obvious what i did, so i looked online.

After cutting the MDF and routing it (rounding the edge) i used a 50/50 cut of titebond glue to seal the exposed raw MDF edge. The MDF sucked it right up, turning dark. I applied 2 coats.

Sure enough when dried it was super hard and easy to sand. After some regular prep i painted the edge with some colormatched (greenish) paint from HD and without someone telling you that the edges didnt come factory finished, you wouldn't know the difference.

The comments about using CA glue in pilot holes sound like a good idea. Not being able to disassemble is a small comprise if you must build with MDF IMO.

So what 'stuff' ?

MDF should be use in dry areas and avoided in places with moisture

man this is why I question even doing DIY/Home Improvement stuff. There is so much to know and if you don't know you can royally eff yourself, others or your property right up.

I really liked the small business plug. Quick, clean and to the point. Always great to watch your work !

Any time I’ve used MDF, I’d take the extra time and effort in the joinery. Preferably a dado, but lap or rabbit will suffice, to assist with mechanical and also reduce swelling if any moisture is present. To fasten, I’ve found wood glue and brad nails or pin nails hold quite nicely, as the joinery is doing the bulk of the work. Plus the added benefit of not having to cover screw heads (tedious work 😅).

We might add that MDF makes for outstanding panels for flat-panel rail-and-stile doors that will be painted.

There are a lot of negatives with MDF. Not sure the cost savings are worth it.

My tip for cutting MDF is, when possible, cut it outside (I use the driveway in front of my garage/shop), with a fan behind me to the side blowing past me, then past the project, blowing the dust away from me. I do use a mask, and use compressed air afterward to blow off my clothing, and also my saws/tools before putting them back into the shop. For any dust that has blown back into the open garage door, my small corded leaf blower usually makes for a fast cleanup before closing the door.

For gluing, I prefer a construction adhesive like Liquid Nails, especially if the joint involves at least one cut edge (i.e., not just the manufactured flat to flat surfaces, but like a butt joint of cut edge to flat, or even cut edge to cut edge). Regular PVA-type wood glue seems to get too dry in a cut edge to provide an effective bond (unless I smear on a pre-coat first). However, wood glue is usually my go-to if set-up time is a factor.

For fasteners in a joint, I usually use James' suggestion of a pilot hole sized properly to the screw shank, minus the threads, plus glue. However, I have also used through-dowels and glue effectively, especially drilled at a slight angle to each other (one leaning left, one leaning right, etc., where the oval appearance of the flush-cut dowel ends is acceptable). The angled dowels provide a bit of extra grip, should the glue fail.

Finally, one joint from a project years ago that has remained strong and not 'powdered out' as some MDF joints can do around the screws, is where I did a box joint with 2-inch-wide fingers, which made the screws go in two directions (i.e., through the left finger into the right edge, then through the right finger into the left edge, etc.). This bidirectionality of the mechanical fasteners kept up with the stresses placed on the cabinet over the years (which, really, should never have been made out of MDF, but it's what I had at the time).

As someone who lives in the South, don't use MDF. I have cabinets made commercially made kitchen cabinets with that stuff and the high humidity turned them into junk. Once you're burned by MDF, you really don't want to revisit the stuff ever again.

Learned the hard way about MDF dust. Was a stagehand for 30 years and we didn’t know about the dust being any worse than normal. Now have horrible lung issues. I now insist my workers use tyvek suits when using MDF.

Too many negatives to bother with using MDF.

Am disappointed. 😔 Wish you had ONLY concentrated on the "product(s)" used on MDF as your thumbnail suggested.

Hello donyou have a link to use for buying from taytools so i can support you efforts ?

A few years ago a neighbor was experimenting with MDF for making some garage cabinets. I looked out one day and and saw that it looked almost like there was a fire in his garage, belching white smoke. He walked out of there looking like the Abominable Snowman. Fortunately he had the good sense to wear appropriate PPE. At that point in time, he said he was not too impressed with MDF.

I worked at the Queens Museum of Art in the early 2000's and one show required a lot of specialty vitrines and displays - all made of MDF. They must've gone through 50 sheets of MDF - I kid you not! I was working there renovating the museum gift shop and was "sharing" the shop with the outside crew they brought in to do most of the MDF stuff and I walked into it one afternoon and it was like a London fog in there. Except it was toxic and you could practically touch it! So gnarly. I saw one of the guy NOT wearing a mask! I hope he's still with us!

I’ve used MDF for many loudspeaker builds and some other cabinets. I’ve found that Miller dowels especially when using veneer over the MDF are a good way to add strength to butt joints and add a little visual bling. I’ve also used comformat screws which are made specifically for MDF and then filled over the heads with bondo. This method was used for creating a “wet look” piano finish on some rather large floor speakers. (They save clamping time)

Besides the dust issue an other thing to be aware about MDF is that it does not hold up to moisture, even when treated with a finish on all sides. So outdoor projects, bathroom vanities, kitchen island tops etc are a “no-go” for MDF.

I use MDF because it is stable, flat inexpensive and reasonably acoustically neutral. It’s also my go to for jigs, sleds and fixtures in the shop. If Baltic Birch didn’t require a second mortgage maybe I’d use MDF less often, but I don’t live in that world.

For MDF molding, I have found superglue to be great for joints. I first seal the MDF surfaces I am joining with a liquid super glue then after that dries, I use gel superglue to glue them together. This process works amazingly for crown molding outside corners. I cut the pieces to length then glue the outside corners in a corner jig before attaching them to the wall. The super strong corner combined with the flexibility of the MDF allows the molding to conform perfectly to a wall even if it is not straight or square. You have to do some careful planning but if you glue the outside corners and cope the inside corners, the molding will go up quickly and will look perfect.

Uncommon Common Sense! This chemist can tell you the resins used in making MDF must partially dissolve cellulose (ionic bonds) so burning MDF becomes a no-no, including the smoke as you are playing Mexican with your skillsaw. Mostly, it is just better to buy MDF to size, and other than screwnglue don't try to join it.
Also from an adhesives/coatings chemist: painting this material is expensive because of the density. On the positive side it accepts epoxies without priming, so is better for industrial applications than residential.
If you wish to apply residential coatings on MDF, please know that Sherwin Williams bought Zinnsser, who controls the shellac market in the US. BIN and BullsEye are watered down versions of their previous incarnations. I suggest you use your favorite urethane sanding sealer, wiping with mineral spirits. Do not be afraid of the dryers unless you are staying green.

Great video. These are the reasons I absolutely hate MDF.

Mdf is garbage. I wouldn't use it on any project.

For utility use like workshop furniture MDF finishes very nicely with oil based polyurethane. My router table top is 2 layers of 3/4" MDF and one of my cabinets has 21 drawer fronts of 3/4" MDF. All sharp outside corners except the miter slots on the router table top are rounded over with a 1/8" carbide roundover bit. In both builds oil based gloss Varathane was applied thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits for the first two coats. The MDF will soak it up like a sponge but it penetrates deep. After that the thinner was progressively reduced by about 10% for each subsequent coat but never below 10% thinner. Starting with the second or third coat a light, very quick 180-220 grit sanding to knock off the high spots helps with a nicer finish.

When the poly no longer soaks in apply one more coat, sand lightly and finish off with a final coat of the same product from a spray can. It hardens the MDF into a seemingly different product. My router table is over 2 years old and still looks like new. It can be waxed to make wood glide over it smoothly. The 21 drawer cabinet is under a 10"x26" metal lathe and is exposed to metal shavings and cutting oils. It's a year old and holding up very well.

I dont use it often, but the last time I did I took the portable table saw outside and ripped my pieces in the driveway. That mdf dust is the worst. I make most of my sleds and jigs with it because its so stable and predictable but not for projects. But I dont build furniture so I dont have much else use for MDF.

This video deserves an A++.
I'm prepared to buy a cold beer for Stumpy Nubs.