Glu'ing MDF Sheets

Re: Glu'ing MDF Sheets

Grant Smith(remove 1 for email)

>Probably the best way to do it would be to use a vacuum clamp or giant press... but absent those methods:

First I'd like to know what the part will be for. That will determine which methods are acceptable and which glues to use.

1. Make sure your sheets are held FLAT while you do the glueup. A large table would be ideal, but some sawhorses and framing lumber on edge would also suffice. Note that any bend in the parts as they are glued up will be there forever afterwards. If you just put the pieces between two sawhorses you are likely to end up with a giant potato chip shaped part due to sagging.

2. Depending on the purpose of the project, you might elect to use a glue that doesn't need clamped as aggressively, such as epoxy or contact adhesive. If it would be OK to have fasteners in the finished sheet, then simply use yello glue and lay it out on the floor (check it for flatness first) and simply drive some brads in for holding power while the glue dries.

3. Spread the glue quickly. Maybe use a small paint roller to spread the glue and then put the sheets together and get on top (assuming it is on the floor) to act as a clamp while you drive brads every 8" square or so. Ought to do the trick.

If you do this on a concrete floor, lay down some plastic sheeting first to prevent the parts from warping due to moisture or temperature variances.

HTH,

Grant in Iowa

Re: Glu'ing MDF Sheets

trainer3

>Once the sheets are together they will be used for a table top. I will still need to cut it down to the finish size, 10'x 3'with a beveled edge. Thanks

Depends on ....

Clint Searl, at the base of Haycock Mtn

>how intimate you want the bond. I made my router table top base out of two layers of 3/4 MDF by sandwiching woven fiberglass matting bedded in epoxy between them. No mechanical fasteners. They are wedded for eternity.

Clint

Re: Glu'ing MDF Sheets

Jerry Nicholson

>I used white glue and lots of screws. I drilled holes for the screws in one sheet and cleaned up its backside before did the gluing. My workbench is 5 sheets of MDF glued together. You should have heard my son and SIL complaining about that thing when they had to move it out of the basement of one house and into the basement of a different house!

Jerry

Re: Glu'ing MDF Sheets

Howard Acheson

>In the shop I used to be involved with we make probably over 100 counter tops for homes and banks. We used double laminated particleboard for the home countertops and triple thickness MDF for the bank counters. All were laminated with solvent based contact cement. Contact cement is the way many shops construct heavy duty counters. The assembly table in my old shop was made with double thickness MDF and held up fine.

As a matter of fact, gluing MDF with yellow glue does not create any stronger joint.

Go with contact cement and you'll get the job done much faster.