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1 X 3 Mdf Home Depot
Medium-density agenda is the best able architecture actual I apperceive of. Because it’s bargain and adequately durable, it’s a acceptable best for applied projects like shelving and accumulator cabinets. But MDF copse is abundant for adorning projects too. The bland apparent is absolute for painting, and a router leaves brittle profiles with no splintering, afire or tear-out.
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Over the accomplished 15 years, I’ve acclimated MDF to body aggregate from awkward shelving in my boutique to adorned trim in flush homes. I’ve alike acclimated it for appliance and adorned millwork like the trim lath apparent in the advance photo. In fact, my own home is absolutely akin out with MDF moldings fabricated from about 50 bedding of MDF. Yes, I’m a fan of the stuff. This commodity will awning the best important things I’ve abstruse about alive with MDF—and advice you abstain some of the arresting mistakes I’ve made.
MDF is basically sawdust and glue, alloyed calm beneath burden and heat. It varies in blush from tan to amber brown. Common thicknesses ambit from 1/4 in. to 1 in., but best home centers backpack alone 1/2-in. and 3/4-in. Abounding bedding are colossal by 1 in., so a “4 x 8” area is absolutely 49 x 97 in. A abounding area of 3/4-in. MDF costs about $30 (as of 2010). Some home centers additionally backpack MDF boards in assorted lengths and widths. Alive with MDF is no altered from alive with copse or plywood; you use the aforementioned accoutrement to cut and appearance it.
When a job calls for corrective trim, I about consistently cut costs with MDF. Alike bargain wood, like this poplar baseboard, costs four times as much. To accomplish trim, I cut MDF bedding into strips and appearance the edges with a router or router table. With the appropriate bit, I can actualize aloof about any trim profile, simple or fancy. (Check woodworking food or online for a ample alternative of bits.) Some home centers backpack banal MDF copse trim for beneath than the amount of solid wood.
Here’s one of my admired tricks for corrective trim, cabinets or alike furniture: Use MDF for the large, apparent genitalia and dress them up with copse moldings like abject cap, coves or abject shoe. That gives you the money accumulation of MDF afterwards the time-consuming assignment of authoritative MDF trim from scratch. The wainscoting apparent here, for example, is artlessly panels and strips of 1/2-in. MDF akin with inexpensive, small-profile ache moldings. The cap abuse is acceptable to booty a assault from chairs, so I accomplish that from copse instead of MDF. Once coated with album and paint, the copse and MDF copse genitalia will attending absolutely the same.
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There’s one affair you’ll absolutely abhorrence about MDF: the fine, arenaceous dust that invades your clothes, hangs in the air for hours and clings to every apparent like a covering of frost. Cutting MDF is a arenaceous job, but acquisition it is alike worse.
Whenever possible, I cut and beating MDF outside. Aback that’s not possible, I array bedding of artificial over shelving and added hard-to-clean areas in my boutique and use a fan to draft dust outside. Aback installing trim in a room, awning doorways, abutting air vents and apprehend to exhaustion every apparent aback you’re done, alike the walls. Clean your exhaustion clarify often—the accomplished dust plugs filters quickly. And a tight-fitting dust affectation is essential.
MDF is affectionate of like an Oreo cookie: two adamantine faces with a softer amount amid them. That bendable amount splits calmly aback you drive a spiral into the edge. The adamantine face presents altered problems for screws. If you don’t assignment a auger recess, the spiral arch may breeze off afore it sinks into the MDF. Or, if the arch does sink, it ability advance up chips. The cure for both problems is to use a countersinking assignment bit.
A auger bit gives you a pilot aperture and a alcove for the spiral arch in one step. They’re accessible at any accouterments abundance or home center.
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I accusation my breach on MDF. A abounding area of 3/4-in. MDF weighs about 100 lbs., and I’ve lugged lots of them from my auto to my shop. But there are agency to abstain breach surgery:
The face of MDF is smooth, but the edges are down-covered like the bark of a peach. If you aloof bang acrylic on the fuzz, it will attending and feel like sandpaper. So you accept to get rid of the acceptable bottomward afore you paint. I accept two recipes for bland edges: one for “good-enough” edges and the added for edges that will get a high-gloss finish.
Here’s the good-enough action I administer to best projects, including trim: First, agilely beach the edges with 100-grit paper. Foam-backed sanding pads assignment abundant on baffled profiles. Again prime the MDF. Use a solvent-based album only. Water-based album can accession baby blisters. My admired MDF primers are KILZ and Awning Stain because they’re accessible to sand. Aback the album dries, beach off the bottomward with 100-grit pads. A brace of ablaze passes is all it takes. You can beach KILZ or Awning Stain afterwards a brace of hours, but let the album dry brief for smoother results. Afterwards sanding, clean abroad the arenaceous dust with a clammy bolt and you’re accessible to paint.
For projects that will get a covering of high-gloss paint, I prime twice: First I prime the edges only. After I prime the accomplished activity (as declared above). Aback applying the edge-only coat, be abiding to calamus out any album on the face of the MDF so besom marks won’t appearance up later. Again sand, prime afresh and beach afresh to accomplish smooth-as-glass edges.
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The face of MDF is harder than best woods, but the close layers are soft. So edges, and abnormally corners, are accessible to crush. That agency you accept to handle it with added affliction than barge or plywood. Also, abstain abrading the face. Ablaze scratches angle out like a abscessed deride on the ultra-smooth surface, so you accept to beach them out absolutely afore priming. And abrasion gloves aback administration MDF wood, abnormally aback accustomed abundant sheets. MDF edges can be aciculate abundant to cut skin—I’ve got the scars to prove it.
MDF stands up to damp about as able-bodied as graham crackers. A few baptize drops will accession baby bumps on the surface. A continued assimilation will accomplish it cool to alert its aboriginal thickness. So MDF is a chancy best for baseboards in entryways and trim abreast tubs or sinks. My best greatest MDF aberration was application it for windowsills in my own home. Condensation from the windows fabricated them cool aloof like the baseboard apparent here. If you use MDF as baseboard, be abiding to acrylic the lower angle afore installation. That will accommodate concise aegis adjoin casual spills. Additionally install the baseboard about 1/4 in. aloft the attic and again awning the gap with copse abject shoe molding. There are moisture-resistant versions of MDF, but they’re adamantine to find. To acquisition manufacturers and dealers, chase online for “moisture aggressive MDF.”
MDF is frequently acclimated for shelving in closets and cabinets because it’s bargain and smooth. But MDF isn’t as annealed as plywood and will sag over time. So aback I use MDF shelving for abundant loads, I artlessly beef it up with wood. First, I rip a 1×4 appropriate bottomward the average to get two strips about 1-5/8 in. wide. I cement one band collapsed adjoin the base of the shelf to anneal the aback edge. Again I cement the added band (nosing) to the advanced edge. The MDF angle will blot a lot of glue, so advance on a ablaze coat, accord it a minute to absorb in, and administer addition bean afore you add the copse nosing.
Unless you’re accommodating to assignment a aperture for every distinct nail, don’t plan on application a hammer. Afterwards a hole, the attach will apparently angle in adamantine MDF. And alike if it goes in afterwards bending, the attach will advance up a bank of cilia that looks like a mini volcano. A trim nailer, on the added hand, shoots nails through MDF every time. The angular nails will accession tiny pimples, but you can calmly scrape them off with a aciculate adjustable knife afore you ample the attach holes.
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Have the all-important accoutrement for this DIY activity lined up afore you start—you’ll save time and frustration.
Avoid last-minute arcade trips by accepting all your abstracts accessible advanced of time. Here’s a list.
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