On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 16:39:20 -0500, Jack Fearnley
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I am interested in making a new fence for my router table. When I went to
>my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in Montreal) I found that Birch was
>roughly half the price of maple. Is there any downside to making jigs,
>fences etc. out of birch?
>
>Best Regards,
> Jack Fearnley
birch has a reputation for being a bit unstable- tending to warp-tist
etc with the seasons.
MDO stands for Medium Density Overlay. It has a paper like covering on
it. Sign makers use it for painted signs. MDO is more of a specialty
product and usually not sold in DIY type big box stores. MDF is Medium
Density Fiberboard, no covering just compressed fibers and binder. MDF
is sold at most places that sell any type of sheet good. It is very
stable but only suitable for interior applications- when exposed to
water it will soak it up like a sponge. I use it for fences, jigs,
sleds, bending forms, etc. and occasionally for a painted project. It
machines well but is a dusty SOB and will soak up paint like crazy. I
usually prime it with a pigment shellac if I'm going to paint it. Heavy
too. Heaving around 3/4" 49" X 97" sheets is no fun. I try to have it
cut down into more manageable pieces at the store if I can. DAGS for
Medex and you should be able to find info on it.
Dale
In article <[email protected]>,
Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:19:19 -0600, Patriarch
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
>>news:[email protected]:
>>
>><snip>
>>> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
>>> long as the grain is reasonably straight <snip>
>>
>>Where do you buy that straight grain MDF? ;-)
>
>You ever seen any with a figured grain?
As best I can _figure_ it, it's end-grain on all 6 faces.
In article <[email protected]>,
Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:40:05 -0000, [email protected]
>(Robert Bonomi) wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>,
>>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:19:19 -0600, Patriarch
>>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
>>>>news:[email protected]:
>>>>
>>>><snip>
>>>>> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
>>>>> long as the grain is reasonably straight <snip>
>>>>
>>>>Where do you buy that straight grain MDF? ;-)
>>>
>>>You ever seen any with a figured grain?
>>
>>As best I can _figure_ it, it's end-grain on all 6 faces.
>
>I want to see one of those trees.
MDF doesn't grow on trees, you know.
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:19:19 -0600, Patriarch
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>
><snip>
>> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
>> long as the grain is reasonably straight <snip>
>
>Where do you buy that straight grain MDF? ;-)
You ever seen any with a figured grain?
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, Jack Fearnley
> <[email protected]> wrote: >I am interested in making a new fence for my
> router table. When I went to >my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in
> Montreal) I found that Birch was >roughly half the price of maple. Is
> there any downside to making jigs, >fences etc. out of birch?
>
> Not necessarily... but you may find there's a downside to making jigs, fences,
> etc. out of *any* plywood that comes from a big box home center. IME such
> plywood is rarely, if ever, flat, and unlikely to remain that way long even if
> you're lucky enough to find a sheet that is.
>
> Look for Baltic birch plywood; I'm sure a city the size of Montreal *must*
> have a few specialty woodworking supply shops that carry it, or can order it
> for you. Hardwood lumber dealers usually have it, too, or can get it. Or you
> could call a few local cabinet shops and ask where they get theirs.
I think the OP wasn't talking about birch *plywood* but about solid
birch.
The best lumberyard in Montréal is on Pie IX in the east side of town.
Langevin et Forest ltée
9995, boul. Pie IX
Montréal (Québec)
tél. (514) 322-9330
They have a lot so it can be intimidating at first. But they are
generally helpful and speak English as well for us anglophones.
--
mare
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Is there any downside to making jigs,
> >fences etc. out of birch?
>
> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
> long as the grain is reasonably straight and the piece is square and
> flat.
>
MDO is also an option, especially if you'd like to make markings on the
jig.
--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description
"Jack Fearnley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am interested in making a new fence for my router table. When I went to
> my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in Montreal) I found that Birch
was
> roughly half the price of maple. Is there any downside to making jigs,
> fences etc. out of birch?
>
> Best Regards,
> Jack Fearnley
>
This from a guy who joints whatever scrap is on hand and uses it for a
fence, but no difference it the world what you bump another piece of wood up
against.
Jack Fearnley wrote:
> Thanks to all who replied. Could someone please explain to this novice
> what
> is MDO and how it differs from MDF. I also saw Medex mentioned on another
> post and I don't know what that is either.
Since nobody answered you, I didn't know, and I was curious, I went
googling.
"The Medium Density Overlay is a fiber sheet which has been treated with a
resin formula for optimal paint adhesion."
(http://www.simpson-plywood.com/sign_making/signal.php)
"Medex is an SCS certified, no-added formaldehyde, moisture resistant MDF
panel engineered for interior high moisture areas. Used in place of sanded
plywood and solid wood in non-structural applications, Medex gives you the
versatility of a composite panel with the emissions of solid wood."
(http://www.sierrapine.com/products/mdf/medex/default.asp)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/
Larry Blanchard wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> Is there any downside to making jigs,
>> >fences etc. out of birch?
>>
>> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
>> long as the grain is reasonably straight and the piece is square and
>> flat.
>>
> MDO is also an option, especially if you'd like to make markings on the
> jig.
>
Thanks to all who replied. Could someone please explain to this novice what
is MDO and how it differs from MDF. I also saw Medex mentioned on another
post and I don't know what that is either.
Best Regards,
Jack Fearnley
"Thomas Bunetta" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> <snip>
>
>
>> >
>> >As best I can _figure_ it, it's end-grain on all 6 faces.
>>
>> I want to see one of those trees.
>>
>> Tim Douglass
>
> They're spherical!
> Tom
MDF trees are grown right on the equator, thus the forces of gravity don't
affect the grain like other woods. (sort of like the water down the drain
thing) In order to make a linear grain, you can run a few coils of wire
along the board and with electrical indcution, make it a straight grain.
There's birch and there's birch. Did you test the hardness? i.e.
Thumbnail indent test. If it is _hard_ birch I'd do that. :-)
Jack Fearnley wrote:
> I am interested in making a new fence for my router table. When I went to
> my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in Montreal) I found that Birch was
> roughly half the price of maple. Is there any downside to making jigs,
> fences etc. out of birch?
>
> Best Regards,
> Jack Fearnley
>
--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek
Mark Howell wrote:
>
> "Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> In article
>
<1gsn1d2.18t5lvk1fz1tl0N%mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invali
> d.com>, mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invalid.com (mare)
> wrote:
>> >Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >
>> >> In article <[email protected]>, Jack
> Fearnley
>> >> <[email protected]> wrote: >I am interested in making a new fence
>> >> for
> my
>> >> router table. When I went to >my local big box store (Reno-Depot here
> in
>> >> Montreal) I found that Birch was >roughly half the price of maple. Is
>> >> there any downside to making jigs, >fences etc. out of birch?
>> >>
>> >> Not necessarily... but you may find there's a downside to making jigs,
>> > fences,
>> >> etc. out of *any* plywood that comes from a big box home center. IME
> such
>> >> plywood is rarely, if ever, flat, and unlikely to remain that way long
> even
>> > if
>> >> you're lucky enough to find a sheet that is.
>> >>
>> >> Look for Baltic birch plywood; I'm sure a city the size of Montreal
> *must*
>> >> have a few specialty woodworking supply shops that carry it, or can
> order it
>> >> for you. Hardwood lumber dealers usually have it, too, or can get it.
> Or you
>> >> could call a few local cabinet shops and ask where they get theirs.
>> >
>> >I think the OP wasn't talking about birch *plywood* but about solid
>> >birch.
>>
>> Maybe... I guess I assumed he was talking about plywood, because the big
> box
>> stores around here don't sell solid birch, but they do sell birch ply.
>>
> I'm getting corn-fused here. Both big box orange and blue stores sell
> birch veneer
> plywood. The core is, well I don't know what it is, but its certainly not
> birch or even
> another hardwood for that matter. Since the prices for the birch-oak-maple
> veneer
> plywoods at the borgs are pretty close together, and the original post
> said that the
> maple ply cost twice as much as the birch ply, are we talking about the
> exact same
> plywood here? I mean, are they selling solid birch plywood and solid maple
> plywood
> in CAN?
>
>> My advice to look for Baltic birch plywood still stands, though. That's
>> probably a better choice than solid maple *or* solid birch.
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
>>
>> Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
>> And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
Just a word from the originator of this thread:
I was talking about solid birch 1X6 stock compared to solid maple 1X6 stock.
I agree with everything you say about big box plywood versus baltic birch
plywood but that was not what I was asking about. Neverless it's all very
informative and I appreciate all your responses.
Best Regards,
Jack Fearnley
Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
<snip>
> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
> long as the grain is reasonably straight <snip>
Where do you buy that straight grain MDF? ;-)
Patriarch
"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
>
> "Thomas Bunetta" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> <snip>
>>
>>
>>> >
>>> >As best I can _figure_ it, it's end-grain on all 6 faces.
>>>
>>> I want to see one of those trees.
>>>
>>> Tim Douglass
>>
>> They're spherical!
>> Tom
>
> MDF trees are grown right on the equator, thus the forces of gravity
> don't affect the grain like other woods. (sort of like the water down
> the drain thing) In order to make a linear grain, you can run a few
> coils of wire along the board and with electrical indcution, make it a
> straight grain.
>
I'm sorry folks. I _really_ didn't mean to start an electrical thread.
Patriarch
In article <1gsn1d2.18t5lvk1fz1tl0N%mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invalid.com>, mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invalid.com (mare) wrote:
>Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>, Jack Fearnley
>> <[email protected]> wrote: >I am interested in making a new fence for my
>> router table. When I went to >my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in
>> Montreal) I found that Birch was >roughly half the price of maple. Is
>> there any downside to making jigs, >fences etc. out of birch?
>>
>> Not necessarily... but you may find there's a downside to making jigs,
> fences,
>> etc. out of *any* plywood that comes from a big box home center. IME such
>> plywood is rarely, if ever, flat, and unlikely to remain that way long even
> if
>> you're lucky enough to find a sheet that is.
>>
>> Look for Baltic birch plywood; I'm sure a city the size of Montreal *must*
>> have a few specialty woodworking supply shops that carry it, or can order it
>> for you. Hardwood lumber dealers usually have it, too, or can get it. Or you
>> could call a few local cabinet shops and ask where they get theirs.
>
>I think the OP wasn't talking about birch *plywood* but about solid
>birch.
Maybe... I guess I assumed he was talking about plywood, because the big box
stores around here don't sell solid birch, but they do sell birch ply.
My advice to look for Baltic birch plywood still stands, though. That's
probably a better choice than solid maple *or* solid birch.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
Jack Fearnley wrote:
> Just a word from the originator of this thread:
>
> I was talking about solid birch 1X6 stock compared to solid maple 1X6 stock.
> I agree with everything you say about big box plywood versus baltic birch
> plywood but that was not what I was asking about. Neverless it's all very
> informative and I appreciate all your responses.
>
> Best Regards,
> Jack Fearnley
>
>
>
You must be talking about s4s all right...
I checked Century Mill on 4/4 and 6/4 Maple vs birch - very close in
price.
So assuming an 8 ft board
6* 5.05 = 30.30
6* 6.89 = 41.34
Birch 6/4 5.05 a bd ft
Hard Maple 6.89 a bd ft.
http://www.centurymill.com/domestic.html
So with a bandsaw to use -- know what I would do -- buy maple or 8 ft of
birch -- depends on how nice the wood is I guess. :-)
I like them both. :-)
--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:40:05 -0000, [email protected]
(Robert Bonomi) wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote:
>>On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:19:19 -0600, Patriarch
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
>>>news:[email protected]:
>>>
>>><snip>
>>>> I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
>>>> long as the grain is reasonably straight <snip>
>>>
>>>Where do you buy that straight grain MDF? ;-)
>>
>>You ever seen any with a figured grain?
>
>As best I can _figure_ it, it's end-grain on all 6 faces.
I want to see one of those trees.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
In article <[email protected]>, Jack Fearnley <[email protected]> wrote:
>I am interested in making a new fence for my router table. When I went to
>my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in Montreal) I found that Birch was
>roughly half the price of maple. Is there any downside to making jigs,
>fences etc. out of birch?
Not necessarily... but you may find there's a downside to making jigs, fences,
etc. out of *any* plywood that comes from a big box home center. IME such
plywood is rarely, if ever, flat, and unlikely to remain that way long even if
you're lucky enough to find a sheet that is.
Look for Baltic birch plywood; I'm sure a city the size of Montreal *must*
have a few specialty woodworking supply shops that carry it, or can order it
for you. Hardwood lumber dealers usually have it, too, or can get it. Or you
could call a few local cabinet shops and ask where they get theirs.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
In article <[email protected]>, Jack Fearnley <[email protected]> wrote:
>Just a word from the originator of this thread:
>
>I was talking about solid birch 1X6 stock compared to solid maple 1X6 stock.
>I agree with everything you say about big box plywood versus baltic birch
>plywood but that was not what I was asking about. Neverless it's all very
>informative and I appreciate all your responses.
Thanks for clearing that up, and sorry for my mistaken assumption -- but I
still think you're better off with Baltic birch ply than with solid wood of
either species. :-)
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article
<1gsn1d2.18t5lvk1fz1tl0N%mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invali
d.com>, mare*Remove*All*0f*This*I*Hate*Spammers*@mac.invalid.com (mare)
wrote:
> >Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> In article <[email protected]>, Jack
Fearnley
> >> <[email protected]> wrote: >I am interested in making a new fence for
my
> >> router table. When I went to >my local big box store (Reno-Depot here
in
> >> Montreal) I found that Birch was >roughly half the price of maple. Is
> >> there any downside to making jigs, >fences etc. out of birch?
> >>
> >> Not necessarily... but you may find there's a downside to making jigs,
> > fences,
> >> etc. out of *any* plywood that comes from a big box home center. IME
such
> >> plywood is rarely, if ever, flat, and unlikely to remain that way long
even
> > if
> >> you're lucky enough to find a sheet that is.
> >>
> >> Look for Baltic birch plywood; I'm sure a city the size of Montreal
*must*
> >> have a few specialty woodworking supply shops that carry it, or can
order it
> >> for you. Hardwood lumber dealers usually have it, too, or can get it.
Or you
> >> could call a few local cabinet shops and ask where they get theirs.
> >
> >I think the OP wasn't talking about birch *plywood* but about solid
> >birch.
>
> Maybe... I guess I assumed he was talking about plywood, because the big
box
> stores around here don't sell solid birch, but they do sell birch ply.
>
I'm getting corn-fused here. Both big box orange and blue stores sell birch
veneer
plywood. The core is, well I don't know what it is, but its certainly not
birch or even
another hardwood for that matter. Since the prices for the birch-oak-maple
veneer
plywoods at the borgs are pretty close together, and the original post said
that the
maple ply cost twice as much as the birch ply, are we talking about the
exact same
plywood here? I mean, are they selling solid birch plywood and solid maple
plywood
in CAN?
> My advice to look for Baltic birch plywood still stands, though. That's
> probably a better choice than solid maple *or* solid birch.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
>
> Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
> And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 16:39:20 -0500, Jack Fearnley
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I am interested in making a new fence for my router table. When I went to
>my local big box store (Reno-Depot here in Montreal) I found that Birch was
>roughly half the price of maple. Is there any downside to making jigs,
>fences etc. out of birch?
I dunno - I use MDF. I really can't see any practical difference as
long as the grain is reasonably straight and the piece is square and
flat. Birch isn't quite as hard as maple, but that shouldn't matter on
most jigs and such. Birch cabinet-grade plywood has long been touted
as the best material for jigs and fences, too.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com