Building material question

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jyoung7:
Thanks for the info. So I'm getting the impression that while particle board may work from the strength side, it may not be cheaper overall (due to laminates or whatever) or necessarily lighter...hmmm....

vputz:
I used Particleboard myself, but only because I already had a package of Pergo laminate flooring left over, which made for an EXTREMELY durable CP. Disadvantage was height matching--there's a little band that the T-molding didn't quite cover (/sniff).

So I'd second that--great for structure, poor for finish. Putting a laminate like Formica on particleboard would probably work well. About the only advantage I can see of MDF over particleboard is that you can PAINT the MDF if you want. If you're going to wind up laminating it anyway, I'd say pick the particleboard.

-->VPutz

FractalWalk:
Your success with particle board will depend upon the stress put upon it. Yes it will hold coarse screws fairly well, but not on an edge and not if you have to remove and replace them (which I've had to do building my cab numerous times). It doesn't like moisture and as was stated before it doesn't provide a good surface for paint.

IMO, it is such an inferior product for a home built cab that I wouldn't even contemplate trying to save a few $$ by using it.

Bumblebounces:
Particle board is a great material for cab building. It's cheap. It's durable. It's really quite smooth. It glues well. It paints pretty well.

It does have some disadvantages as well. It's %#$@*& heavy! It's not even close to waterproof. It does not have great shear strength. This last one is the worst aspect. If you are building something, say a book shelf (I've done this), you need to design the bookshelf around support of long areas. Otherwise you will get long sweeping bows in the wood, even if you never put any weight on the shelves.

Cab building from particle board is the same way. If you design your cab with the idea that all long pieces of particle board are supported, you won't get the bows and bends and wobbles that particle board is famous for. Someone mentioned the edge strength and screws. To be sure you don't get an edge split from driving a screw into it, just drill pilot holes. It's easy with the new reversible bit holders that have a drill and countersink bit on one side and the phillips screwdriver bit on the other.

I had some issues with MDF when building my control panel and I won't ever use it again because of them. MDF is just compressed fibers. I use an impact brad nailer to hold corners for gluing. The MDF was spiltiing when I drove the nails into the edge. Particle board can do that if you don't hit it in the center but it usually doesn't. Now, maybe I had some poor quality MDF but this experience turned me off of MDF. As I said, I'll never use it again.

Bumble

whammoed:
Is the price difference really that big of factor when choosing. Seems you only need a couple sheets of material. So a nice "sand ply" 3/4 inch plywood = $35 /sheet while MDF is $21 /sheet? So you would save $28...not a budget buster but I guess every penny counts. Personally I just prefer plywood for its weight and durability. MDF sure does paint nice but you can skim coat with wood filler and sand smooth on the plywood. A little extra work but worth the weight and strength advantage in my opinion. Seems like the old cabinets made of plywood have held up better than those made of particle board.

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