Worktop material MDF vs PLY
- Thread starter witox4
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Hawkeye0001
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- Aug 8, 2018
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Considering your worktop is going to get used and abused anyway I'd go with MDF. It's dirt cheap in comparison and every bit as durable and suitable for the job.
I'm not convinced that either is ideal.
If you were going to use this for track saw work and repeatedly putting kerfs into the surface, the ply would eventually splinter away from the top layer; laminated MDF - presumably melamine or similar - will leave unpleasantly sharp edges and potentially dull the blade more quickly. And a melamine surface would be more slippery than I'd want.
But, hey, depends very much on your planned use!
I'm using Valchromat.
If you were going to use this for track saw work and repeatedly putting kerfs into the surface, the ply would eventually splinter away from the top layer; laminated MDF - presumably melamine or similar - will leave unpleasantly sharp edges and potentially dull the blade more quickly. And a melamine surface would be more slippery than I'd want.
But, hey, depends very much on your planned use!
I'm using Valchromat.
MDF and HDF tend to sag over time with humidity cycling, but ply has a softer and more easily damaged surface.
I recommend Valchromat (Axminster sell tops made of this) which doesn’t sag and has a durable surface.
Festool on their roadshows use phenolic faced (black) ply, if I’m not mistaken; alas they don’t sell them.
Andrew
I recommend Valchromat (Axminster sell tops made of this) which doesn’t sag and has a durable surface.
Festool on their roadshows use phenolic faced (black) ply, if I’m not mistaken; alas they don’t sell them.
Andrew
I have made tops from MDF, veneered 2 sides MDF and melamine coated MDF. We use what the supplier calls door grade MDF I think the last brand name was Plum Creek.
The melamine coating makes for very sharp edges on the holes and edges I did not care for it. The veneered panels work well and are a little stiffer than standard MDF but mostly we just use plain MDF.
I made some MFT replacement tops for Festool MFTs. They were identical to store bought in dimensions and drilling. I weighed the Festool top and the Plum Creek version thinking the higher density Festool version would weigh more than the medium density but the Plum Creek version weighed slightly more.
The melamine coating makes for very sharp edges on the holes and edges I did not care for it. The veneered panels work well and are a little stiffer than standard MDF but mostly we just use plain MDF.
I made some MFT replacement tops for Festool MFTs. They were identical to store bought in dimensions and drilling. I weighed the Festool top and the Plum Creek version thinking the higher density Festool version would weigh more than the medium density but the Plum Creek version weighed slightly more.
