Am I the only one hacked off by MDF furniture ?

[jmurray01]

Recently I've noticed more and more that wood is being replaced in modern day furnishings with MDF, which is an acronym for Micro Density Fiberboard - basically dust glued together. Disgusting stuff.

It is weak, doesn't stand up to the test of time and doesn't look half as good as nice wood.

I do have MDF furniture, I admit, but if I had the money I would replace it in a heartbeat with wood.

I can see the attraction of MDF for people on a budget who aren't really bothered about a traditional look, or even don't want a traditional look (idiots...), but seriously, it is getting far too popular for my liking.

It seems the only way to get cheap-ish real wood furniture these days is to make it yourself, which of course is no bad thing, but some people don't have the time or skills to do such a thing, but want affordable wood furniture.

Now, the main reason other than the price drop I could see for MDF being so popular is because trees don't have to be cut down to make the stuff, but, we have been making wood furniture for centuries and there are still plenty trees. Plus, if there is that much of a shortage, we have technology these days to grow trees by the thousands in designated areas.

For goodness sake, take heed manufacturers!

Rant over... :2cents:

 

[kootch88]

I hate the stuff too. I have a pretty expensive set of speakers made of mdf with a nice veneer, and want to make the boxes out of solid cherry. I'm still working on my jointing skills to warrant such an expense in materials. Veneer has been used as far back as the ancient Egyptians. I wonder how they were able to do that? Fascinating. Mdf is very dense and apparently has good qualities for speakers, better than ply I have read, but, like you, I hate it too.

 

[Lady Tonka]

Count me in your camp! It's horrible that MDF manufacturers think it's okay to make furniture for the home out of this crap, as long as they probably can afford to buy real wood items and don't have to use it in theirs. I mean, not to get all Chicken Little here, but the health hazards associated both with the making and using of this poor excuse for a wood product are pretty well documented:

The Health Hazards of MDF | eHow.com

 

[Locoweed]

(steps up on soap box)

Yep, I'm not a fan either. One possible reason for the preponderance of the stuff in furniture stores is the younger generation doesn't seem to want stuff that lasts a long time because the fads come & go so quickly. One of the things that bugs me about it is that the better quality (?) furniture made from the stuff costs about as much as something made from solid wood. Go figure.

(Steps down from soap box)

 

[jinman]

Particle board is a great way to use waste and also have a consistent flat surface that works well for furniture and cabinet manufacturing. What it doesn't do as well as wood is hold connectors and show edge strength. It's also lousy anywhere flooding is possible. I've made it a practice to double coat all exposed edges of bare particle board with paint or varnish. I also put small bumpers on the bottom of cabinets and furniture to raise them slightly off the floor surface. That way, if I get a light flooding, the particle board survives and doesn't swell up to twice it's previous size because of the water.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Our living room furniture is fairly new, but the majority of our stuff is antique or at least 40 years old, except for a couple of tables that I built. I too hate the particle board. I'm sure our cabinets are built of the stuff. Some of the antique furniture, especially American made can be fairly expensive, but it won't go down in price if you ever want to sell it. There is a lot of European imported antique furniture that is pretty, sturdy and well made and reasonably priced...it is pretty heavy though. My point being, that you can get well made furniture if you look in the right places.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I do most of my furniture shopping at the antique shops. I found an amazing 100 year old night stand recently...
If you are not in a rush that's the best way to get furniture...find something old and refinish if needed.

 

[sodamo]

(after waiting turn in line)

Me too, especially bad in a humid or damp climate. Lot of horror stories regarding cabinets in particular.

As a young adult/newlywed sure redid a number of old furniture pieces. Guess we didn't think of them as real antiques then, just something that could be made serviceable. Sure wish I had some of them now LOL

(motions to next in line)

David Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I call it crap board. It just doesn't have the strength of solid wood, is usually heavier, and has zero structural integrity once it gets wet. Wood waste is good for only two things: burning, or composting.

 

[Pete Judd]

I have a full hobby cab shop, and there are lots of places to use MDF, but I won't use LDF partical board. The latter is used a lot in modern furniture making. Mdf has lots of good uses, as I have built several kitchen cabs from it that were painted, and it holds up very well. I is right on on thickness and smooth, takes paint easy, and will handle small amounts of water. LDF is junk, wont ever use it unless to hold a speaker for one of those thumper speakers, that the kids want in their cars.

All of my shop cabs have been built from MDF, and I use the heck out of HDF for jigs in the shop as well. But I will not use any of the above on any furniture project that come out of my shop.