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Peter Huebner wrote:
In article ,
says...

Have a project to build a small set of tables. For cost AND ease of
purchase the Beach Vainered MDF 19mm seems the best buy for this work.
Not having used this for any lasting work, only backing, or shelving, so
the fitting was not of any real concern as it did not matter if it was
visible, how should I fix these MDF parts together?

I need fixings for strength, durability, and Cosmetic appearances.

[snippage]

Any help here will be most greatfully received

Cheers Deb

I am afraid I cannot make anything out of your sketch, esp. the top view.

So I'll just sling some thoughts your way and hope you can use them.

Best way by far of joining MDF in my opinion are bisquits. If the loading is
high, every 6-8 inches. In addition, painting the edge of mdf with pva where it
joins on to a flat surface WILL provide extra strength, unlike endgrain in
timber. Round dowels tear out, ordinary woodscrews seem to become slack - I
believe that there are MDF screws available.

For cosmetics, and extra strength, I tend to join real wood to the edge of the
veneered mdf -- you can have an l-shaped leg, for instance, where two strips of
MDF join on to 1 bit of 3/4" square beech from two sides. If you glue a veneer
or ~1/8" thin strip of beech on to the other edge of the MDF, nobody will ever
know what it is, and it will look really nice. Quite a bit of work though, and
the question is if the extra labour won't upset the savings on timber equation
:-)

You'll definitely need rails, and extra rails under your table top, depending
on size. A table 6' long I'd use 3@5" or 4@4" rails. (extras under the centre
of the table). MDF on the flat sags badly, but on edge it's not bad at all.

Be aware also that the pre-veneered MDF veneer tends to be VERY thin. It's
awfully easy to cut through that with a bit of sandpaper. I've done it a couple
of times, fortunately I was able to turn those bits to the inside of a cabinet,
or use them for the underside of a drawer - the latter was done after sanding
off some spider-crap and light damage :-(

-P.

Have posted a very simple design on alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking,
under Joining MDF Help please.

Hope this helps you see what I am trying to achieve.

Thanks Deb