Ikea Scrap MDF

[CanadianRyGuy]

Has anyone thought to look at Ikea's scratch and dent area for cheap MDF wood. Any reasons why this might be a bad idea?

[JDFan]

Most of the IKEA stuff that I've seen are Particle board rather than MDF and even the scratch and dent stuff usually costs more than a sheet of MDF from the local Hardware stores (never hurts to look though  - also check the miscut wood section of the hardware store.)

[dmckean]

A lot of it is not even particle board and instead some sort of constrained layer construction with lots of air gaps to keep weight down.

[Homietheclown]

I've done this at Home Depot before. I've gotten quite a few pieces of wood cheap. 70% off.

[MamedInCanada]

You can price match at Home Depot for MDF and also have them pre cut it into more manageable sides. I price matched some 4 x 8 x 3/4 for $30-32 CAD.

[CanadianRyGuy]

You can price match at Home Depot for MDF and also have them pre cut it into more manageable sides. I price matched some 4 x 8 x 3/4 for $30-32 CAD.

Do they charge for cuts? Where did you price match from/Where should I look for better prices? Rona/Home Hardware/Others?

[JDFan]

You can price match at Home Depot for MDF and also have them pre cut it into more manageable sides. I price matched some 4 x 8 x 3/4 for $30-32 CAD.

Do they charge for cuts? Where did you price match from/Where should I look for better prices? Rona/Home Hardware/Others?

IIRC Home Depot will do 2 cuts per panel free and then charge $0.10 or $0.20 per cut after that - and will only do straight cuts through the panel (ie. cutting the 4x8 panel into 2 4x4 or 2 2x4 and 1 4x4 etc.) - no diagonal or partial cuts (ie. cutting one 2x2 corner section out of the 4x8 - though you can get that by doing a 2x4 cut and then cutting that into 2 2x2 pieces) - so best to figure out the layout first and then have them do the cuts they will do and then do the rest at home.

[eds1275]

MDF is cheap to begin with.

[Suilenrocc]

My vote is for new MDF... I wouldn't think leftover Ikea furniture would hold up well.  I'd choose MDF over plywood too, despite it being heavier, less prone to warp.

[EvilNuff]

The Ikea stuff isn't really MDF.  It is usually hollow particle board filled with cardboard.