Hi all:
I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
(approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
idea?
Richard Shelson
I have made many MDF raised panels with poplar rails/stiles,
both for cabinet doors for built-ins as well as
panels for our staircase. No problems with
dents etc and the finish is great.
MDF is brutal to your panel cutters and the dust
it kicks out coats everyting in the shop (even with
a dust collector).
Lou
In article <9oCRc.56860$gE.21731@pd7tw3no>, Richard Shelson
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi all:
>
> I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
> (approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
> panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
> had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
> am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
> of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
> idea?
>
> Richard Shelson
>
It depends on how much rum you have foinged.... <grin>
"Richard Shelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9oCRc.56860$gE.21731@pd7tw3no...
> Hi all:
>
> I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
> (approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
> panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
> had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
> am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
> of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
> idea?
>
> Richard Shelson
>
On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 23:19:34 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 00:24:27 -0400, "Mark Hopkins"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>It depends on how much rum you have foinged.... <grin>
>>
>>"Richard Shelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:9oCRc.56860$gE.21731@pd7tw3no...
>>> Hi all:
>>>
>>> I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
>>> (approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
>>> panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
>>> had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
>>> am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
>>> of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
>>> idea?
>>>
>>> Richard Shelson
>>>
>>
>mdf could be OK for the panels, but the rail and stile frames should
>be made out of wood.
I too recommend wood frames with mdf panels. Just be sure to sand
smooth the newly exposed visible panel edges. And, as someone said,
it's hell on your knives/bits.
JP
"Richard Shelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9oCRc.56860$gE.21731@pd7tw3no...
> Hi all:
>
> I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
> (approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
> panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
> had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
> am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
> of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
> idea?
>
> Richard Shelson
>
My only concern would be where the pivot pins go into the top and bottom
edge of the MDF and the weight There will probably be a lot of wear in that
location. You may have to use heavy duty hard ware to handle all that
weight. That said, many full sized rail and stile raised panel doors are
made from totally of MDF. You might consider using a hard wood like maple
for the edges that will receive fasteners and hinges.
"Richard Shelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9oCRc.56860$gE.21731@pd7tw3no...
> Hi all:
>
> I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
> (approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
> panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
> had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
> am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
> of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
> idea?
>
> Richard Shelson
>
In my opinion, MDF is not appropriate for any furniture or item like a door.
I realize they build furniture out of this stuff and I also realize it's
reputed stability (which I question since you have to support it to get any
stability out of it), but the stuff does not hold up to any of the typical
bumps and nudges that something like a door is likely to receive. That they
build furniture out of this stuff does not say much, after all, Staples and
Office Max are both full of "furniture" I would never consider. Again, in
my opinion, use real wood. How much are you talking about spending for the
real McCoy... probably under $20.00 more than the MDF route. Is it really
worth that small of a savings for regurgitated rat ingestion?
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On Mon, 09 Aug 2004 03:41:57 GMT, Richard Shelson <[email protected]>
vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:
remove ns from my header address to reply via email
Apart from the foinged rum........
MDF is very weak and dense. It's not soft, particularly, but would not
like too much belting about, and as I say it is very heavy for its
strength and stiffness.
It is nice and stable as far as warping goes, but does swell and
shrink with moisture IMO more than most woods.
Any reason not to use ply?
>Hi all:
>
>I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
>(approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
>panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
>had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
>am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
>of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
>idea?
>
>Richard Shelson
*****************************************************
It's not the milk and honey we hate. It's having it
rammed down our throats.
On Mon, 9 Aug 2004 00:24:27 -0400, "Mark Hopkins"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>It depends on how much rum you have foinged.... <grin>
>
>"Richard Shelson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:9oCRc.56860$gE.21731@pd7tw3no...
>> Hi all:
>>
>> I am planning to make some raised panel bi-fold doors for our house
>> (approximate dimensions 17 X 79 with the lower half being the raised
>> panel and the upper half a mirror). I am foing the first rum in MDF and
>> had planned to do it ALL in MDF but I am now having second thoughts. I
>> am afraid it will be too soft and not stand up very well for the amount
>> of work I will be putting into them. What do you think? Is MDF a crazy
>> idea?
>>
>> Richard Shelson
>>
>
mdf could be OK for the panels, but the rail and stile frames should
be made out of wood.