Is all MDF now crap???

[opps]

I know that Selco are selling cheap MDF- I have the misfortune of painting it and seeing doors made by competent cabinet makers develop hairline cracks where the styls and rails meet.

Recently i have even noticed that even Medite seems to have dropped in quality. More grain raising and visible manufacturing sanding grooves.

Is this something to do with changes in the resins used?

 

[dextrous]

Wouldn't be surprised if elf n safety have put a stop to the chemicals being used.

 

[opps]

Wouldn't be surprised if elf n safety have put a stop to the chemicals being used.

I was wondering if that might be the case- eg less formaldehyde

 

[dextrous]

Unless the main country of manufacture has changed (China, perhaps? ) Pure guess though

 

[Deleted member 105431]

was mdf ever good?

 

[wotan]

Regurgitated cardboard, of course it's crap.

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

its ok if you want to bodge something, i never use it

 

[opps]

I can only imagine that the animosity to MDF stems from its missuse on programs such as Changing Rooms.

When used properly and under the right atmospheric conditions, it is by far the most stable cabinet making material. No shakes or compressions and a fraction of the cost of real timber.

With regard to being recycled cardboard, I believe that the main constituent of most mdf is freshly chopped trees. However unlike real timber you dont have to wait dozens of years for the timber to cure. Perhaps one could argue that all new timber is crap since the advent of kiln drying.

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

I am sitting on a chair that is over a 100 years old and will still be around a lot longer, most things made from MDF will be in a land fill site in a few years time. my cottage is held together cow dung and will still be around when modern houses will have fallen down. proper wood will last for a lifetime and a lot longer

 

[geraint]

i dont believe modern wood will last a lifetime. it is mainly starting to rot when it leaves the mill.

 

[opps]

I agree with geraint that modern timber is inferior to the naturally dried timber of yester year.

The advent of kiln drying means you no longer wait dozens of years but the wood is more prone to compressions and shakes etc.

There are 1000 years old churches in Russia made from timber, I doubt that mass produced modern timber will last that long.

MDF might well be more likely to end up in landfill sites but that is more a function of the amount of it in use and the fact that it's overall costs are lower and thus owners no longer keep the same built in wardrobe for 50 years.

How long do those Eastern European cheap pine dining suites last?