I am trying to find smooth mdf. I don't know the correct name for it. Maybe that's why I cant locate any. The Orange and Blue box stores don't have any and I haven't found any in any lumber store. Looked in Woodfinder as well with same results. Its the material thats really smooth and probally used in furniture manuf. Ikea uses a lot of it. I have a project and Id like to try some. I'm not sure it comes in 4X8 sheets either. Thanks for any help. Oh, I hope my inquiry isn't too basic.
I've never seen any MDF that wasn't relatively smooth. Even the roughest I've seen, 6mm stuff that was used as part of a packing crate, was smooth enough that a coat of paint wouldn't leave it shiny. That said, if you are heading in the direction of furniture you intend to keep you might want to consider MDO plywood instead -- it is strong, flat, and has a very smooth layer of composite material on each surface. Its original purpose was for painted signs but it has become a go-to material for painted furniture. It does come in 4 X 8 (any maybe larger) sheets.
How big a piece do you need? I just bought a shelf made of 3/4" MDF at the orange borg. It was 12" x 48" and I cut it down to make a replacement cabinet door for a friend. Don't forget it is really dusty. Wear a mask. And DO NOT get it wet. Swells up and turns back into pulp.
They may also have larger cut pieces smaller than a full sheet. Sheets were abut $36 and the piece I bought was $5.
Jerry, I would give either Lowes or Home Depot another try. They usually have pieces smaller than 4' x 8' tucked away in vertical bins in the "craft" supply area and can be initially hard to find or poorly stocked. As Mark indicated, the 4' x 8' sheets are likely there too, but maybe in another area. I also have only seen the really smooth stuff. Barry gives good advice for working with it. Good luck. Jim
IKEA's less expensive stuff is particleboard with a veneer of melamine. They also make a thermofoil face using particleboard as a base.
If you are going to spend the time to make something, my advise is to use something else other than particle board with a thin face covering. By the way their melamine will lift and tear if tape is applied to the surface and left for a day.
"DO NOT get it wet. Swells up and turns back into pulp."
Barry, has this actually happened to you ? I wonder if it's an old woodworker's tale. I use 1/2" ultralight MDF all the time for a job where moisture can be an issue. I've done experiments on it, soaking in water overnight and I've never seen it swell and it's definitely not turned to pulp. Attached are photos of my last test.
However, there are some exterior grade products that do have excellent properties . I have use Extira for some outdoor work and can report that it does hold up well.
I also had a customer who wanted all the interior cabinet parts built with it, but I hated using Extira for that. None of the sheets were flat. The whole bundle had a bulge in the middle. If I ripped a sheet down to 2x8', the long side of the rip had 1.5" bow, and the 4' side had about 1/2" bow before ripping.
I may have over stated the danger, but I am wondering....
I may have been thinking of particle board. A house I bought to flip had a plumbing leak and we ended up shoveling the floor out of the house. Unfortunately, I have had that experience more than once. I hate particle board as underlayment.
For MDF I have seen numerous vanity cabinets ruined at the floor where they got wet and lots of doors with swollen and fuzzy/pulpy edges. Also, I have seen many laminate countertops ruined by the steam coming out of the dishwasher and by water drooling over the front edge at the sink. "Better" brands of counter tops use some sort of superior material along the front edge.
OTOH, MDO (Medium Density OVERLAY) has been the go to material for outdoor signs for years. Maybe they use superior glue or core material?
I will go home and play with my scraps from the door I made out of the Home Depot MDF shelf. Your picture is impressive.
Perhaps I got a little carried away, but I still think it's not a good idea to mix MDF and water.
I took a scrap of MDF that was cut out of a shelf that came from HD a couple of days ago. The scrap was about 1.8" wide and .75" thick and 8" long. Last knight I stuck it in a cup of water and soak the end about 2 1/2" up overnight, about 24 hours. I occasionally drizzled a little water on the top end.
The submerged end swelled .3" in thickness but almost nothing widthwise. The top end swelled about .05" in thickness.
I thought it was interesting that it swelled in thickness dramatically but not at all in width. It started swelling within an hour.
I posted this on the Turning forum also, my mistake.
We bought a house where window 'bump-out' sills were MDF. Regular window sills are some sort of composite that stands up to rain fine.The MDF parts did not do well when getting wet from rain in an open window. They were replaced by good quality oak plywood that got the soak test before being installed. No issues since.
