What kind of wood??!?

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Lilwolf:
not a dumb question at all

otherwise it wouldn't be brought up all the time.

All types have advantages/disadvantages...

MDF - Heavy, Lots of sawdust, Smooth without TONS of sanding, Easy to work with

Plywood - Lighter, Stronger, Harder to work with, expent to sand a TON before painting

There are some others out there... but these seem to be the favorites.

going with 3/4" is good because you can use standard T-molding (good thing... 1/2 - 1/4 the price I believe).. And for cocktail tables you can use standard glass clips.

3/4 plywood is overkill on strength... But that isn't a bad thing..

Am I forgetting anything?

I go with MDF for control panels myself.

rdagger:
As long as we're talking wood, any opinions on what wood works best with laminate? Will one type of wood warp, expand or shrink? Also it is my understanding that if you buy 3/4" plywood, the thickness will actually be slightly smaller than 3/4". Does this cause problems with the T-Molding.

fredster:
MDF is very stable, but it doesn't take shock very well. It has to be braced inside more than the rest.

It's easy to cut and you don't have to sand anything to make it look good. Plywood is stronger, but it has a bad surface texture for nice finish. You end up paying a lot for it after all the things you have to do to it.

They all create dust. MDF will create clouds of dust, so be ready for it.

hulkster:
mdf is a heavier than a beotch (and you know how heavy that is!), but its pretty sturdy...and best of all cheap. plywood just looks like crap to me. just depends on how much time you want to spend on building vs. time spent on sanding/painting.

DeathDealer:
I used Birch Plywood on my mini mame, it has a smoth finish, but I then put on formica on it , I dont know how paint would go on it, but I think a few coats would do the job. For formica you would need a router to do a nice job on the edges. Im new here myself.

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