Giving up MDF

[LancsRick]

Like most things, it's always better to have never meddled with them than have to give them up, but I want to make a conscious effort to stop using MDF in my tinkering - I'm re-doing the workshop at the moment so it's getting a damn good clean in the process, and much improved dust collection. I'm also consigning my MDF to be used only for jig creation (since I have to admit that the fine texture and dimensional stability really does make it very good for jigs), and looking to move to birch ply for all future projects having found somewhere near me that stocks it.

So are there any other things that people find they still use MDF for as a good material choice? Or are jigs just about it? Other than painting I do find it a good material to work with, but as I've become more aware of the health aspects over time, even with sensible dust precautions, it's just something I'd rather not have around to be honest.

Discuss...

 

[MatthewRedStars]

It's a persistent urban myth that MDF dust is bad, and normal wood dust is ok.

MDF has very little unpolymerised formaldehyde in it (the usual quoted bogeyman), and is essentially no more dangerous than wood dust. Both are bad. All fine dusts are bad.

Wear a mask!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/faq-mdf.htm

 

[doctor Bob]

load of rubbish if you ask me, hardwood dust is very dangerous for nasal cancers.
Use good extraction and filters and you will be fine.

 

[AJB Temple]

My understanding is that the concerns around MDF related to the fine dust particles emanating from machining and sanding, together with formaldehyde, which is naturally occurring and present in many other things as well. It is only free formaldehyde that is dangerous (as it is otherwise inert) and my understanding is that under EU regulations it is manufactured at minimal or negligible levels. MDF has softwood and hardwood dust particles and we can get those from all woodworking raw materials that we use, with particle size depending on the process. If we wish to reduce exposure then we should adopt good working practices whether we work with MDF or anything else. So this means extraction, face masks and ventilation. I din;t use MDF a great deal, but that is only because I don;t need to and prefer working with solid woods. I do use high pressure low volume extraction for any process with any wood that will produce very fine dust, and this is pretty effective. As life long asthmatic I tend to wear a face mask anyway and I also have an extraction and ventilation system that vents to outside if required. I think it is well worth going down the cyclonic dust separator route for anyone who is concerned about this area. As I am not in trade production I don't get obsessive about it and for the hobbyist I suspect exposures are low enough that fairly basic sensible precautions are enough.

 

[JohnPW]

Metal polish on mdf for stropping.

 

[blackrodd]

As I understand it, Sawing and working MDF and variants which is made from particles, produces more fine dust
than timber, examine a handful of either from you're saw bench, or router/spindle moulder.
We all should really add a top extraction point from our riving knife saw guard, where I believe the finest of all dust
escapes.
I cut mine outside as much as possible, which is far from ideal but what my little sucker can't handle then gets sucked up
from the board by hand outside and not in my workshop.
Rodders

 

[deema]

Like most things, both materials have their benefits and uses where they execel. For cabinets with a painted finish, MDF gets my vote every time. It's IMO far more stable that ply so again in centrally heated homes and where there is extremes of temperature change (bathrooms, kitchens etc) and you need a substrate for paint or a veneered finish I don't think you can beat it. Regardless of the ply quality you can always get voids / missing glue which is a real pain, High quality MDF does not in my experience suffer the same issues. The best thing is that with all these attributes it's far cheaper than ply as well.

As said already, there is no such thing as safe dust, and hardwoods I feel are far more likely to give you health problems