has anyone used MDF as a material for building lighting fixtures out of?
I was thinking of using it instead of plywood because:
plywood's top and bottom look nice, but the sides look nasty, which means you'd need trim, which is extra work
unless I wanted to get a good workout, sifting through 4x8 sheets of plywood at HD to find one without big knots is too much work
every time I try to screw something into plywood, it likes to splinter on one side, and have a 'bullet hole' like exit wound on the other
so, I was feeling up a piece of mdf (next to the plywood), and found it's surface remarkably smooth, uniform and free of warping, crowning or bowing ... I also read that in California, mdf will give you cancer and or reproductive harm ... I'm not sure if it's equally harmfull in Michigan, but it can't be worse than being a second hand smoker for a good 22 years
so, back to my question ... has anyone worked with this stuff, either hobby related or otherwise? Can I use regular saw blades, drill bits, screws, glue ... or does it need an arsenal of custom made propritary tools and fasteners? How does it take paint? Latex or Oil?
I know since it's a particle board, it's probably not a big fan of getting wet, but how about just the humidity of a tank ... (my current hood has a particle board (the old fashioned rough kind) lid, which is painted white/black, and hasn't shown any problems related to moisture
I was thinking of using it instead of plywood because:
plywood's top and bottom look nice, but the sides look nasty, which means you'd need trim, which is extra work
unless I wanted to get a good workout, sifting through 4x8 sheets of plywood at HD to find one without big knots is too much work
every time I try to screw something into plywood, it likes to splinter on one side, and have a 'bullet hole' like exit wound on the other
so, I was feeling up a piece of mdf (next to the plywood), and found it's surface remarkably smooth, uniform and free of warping, crowning or bowing ... I also read that in California, mdf will give you cancer and or reproductive harm ... I'm not sure if it's equally harmfull in Michigan, but it can't be worse than being a second hand smoker for a good 22 years
so, back to my question ... has anyone worked with this stuff, either hobby related or otherwise? Can I use regular saw blades, drill bits, screws, glue ... or does it need an arsenal of custom made propritary tools and fasteners? How does it take paint? Latex or Oil?
I know since it's a particle board, it's probably not a big fan of getting wet, but how about just the humidity of a tank ... (my current hood has a particle board (the old fashioned rough kind) lid, which is painted white/black, and hasn't shown any problems related to moisture