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Here is a question I have always wondered.
If price was not an issue bewtween MDF or Particle board and using contact cememt, which would you prefer to use?Reuben
MDF, It is held together better…if you are laying down laminate sheets to be cut into doors then hand routing to put the PVC bands on…its gonna suck..the router bit follows the crumbly particle board…Mdf usually stays flat for the good adhesion without PB crumbles showing through the tape…even Mica edges then might need a second coat even if ya sand it cause of the PB absorbs it up
if you do you PB and hafta hand router all your cab doors and Drawer fronts..use a plex guide that wraps around your bit screwed to the bottom of the base that rides on the edge so the bit cant follow the PB’s rough terrain…it’ll be smooth as hell so you dont hafta blocksand and burr up the mica
MDF. I hate particle board and there doesn’t seam to be much surface area on the edge where cut. Too many voids. I guess the material is just not compressed the same as mdf.
Western PB is much better than typical PB. Also need to make sure you use Industrial Particle board not Commercial PB. Industrial is rated at 45 density per cf, while commercial is 42 or less.
That being said, MDF will give you added water resistance, impact resistance and stability. Did you know that some AWI specs require MDF in certain applications ?
Heres a little trick. We use both MDF and PB. If I use PB cause the counter is 12′ or longer I then use MDF as the build up on the front edge, then the router bit issue is solved.
i used to use 3/4″ PB and any where there was a seam i would us 3/4″ fur ply wood in combination with the PB. now i just use PB. if i had my choice it would be moisture resistant mdf or fur ply wood but no one wants to pay the extra cost
Actually plywood is not recommened to use with laminate. You will actually get the grain to telegraph through the laminate.
i havent used it in about 8 years but the last one i did was in my sister in laws home and i see it all the time. i haven’t seen it happen yet ill let you know if it ever does
Wags, true, if you’re talking about fir, or oak, or some alternating grain veneer.
Birch, luan, etc. are fine as far as telegraphing is concerned. The problem is the coefficient of expansion. Particleboard is much more similar, under most circumstances.
it was fur that i used again the last one i did that way was 8 years ago in my sister in laws home and still no grain projection.
i have removed many tops that were built out of ply wood and cant remember seeing one with that problem. im not saying it does not happen im just saying i have yet to see it
At one time, not sure about today, Formica actually stated they did not recommed the use of fir plywood for counters. Many many years ago laminate was thicker than it is today, even Std grade laminate is only .48, and most are using PF laminte which is even thinner. It WILL telegraph through. There is no reason not to use PB or MDF and to use Plywood. You can get water resistant MDF, which, is actually called out in sink areas by AWI Standards. I used Western PB which is a much finer particulate and you don’t have the problems when routing etc., it also holds more adhesive on the edge of the board.
I use to make some tops using the metal cove and metal edging… anyone else remember those?
We use PB for all but wet areas, commercial work only though. We do a ton of p-lam tops that are for desk areas. We staple a 3″ x 3/4 melamine build down for the front edge. No problems at all with spray contact. We use an edge bander for the top of the splash and will use matching PVC if we have it on hand, p-lam if we don’t. I have about 400 different color rolls of PVC edging on hand.
We have a source for 5 x 12 sheets of AC luan type ply, reasonable price too.
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