.75 MDF vs .75 PARTICLE BOARD.

[Pioneer~Saturn 5,000+ posts]

^Yea, around 26ish bucks here. $18 is crazy-cheap

 

[mbrooky 10+ year member]

3/4", 4'x8' sheet for $18? Are you sure?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

yup my neighbor bought a sheet last night, im helping build a box....i told him it was $25 a sheet before he left and he came back saying they are only $18/sheet //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[HypnoticCure 10+ year member]

I hate living in cali.... just saw two nights ago 3/4" mdf at home depot for about $34 a sheet... It always seems high here thou whenever the "what are your mdf prices like?" threads are started i get depressed haha

 

[Vegas WRX 10+ year member]

Seriously. If $9 is something that is that big of a deal, you need to reconsider speanding the money at all. Then you talk about sealing the wood with sealant. By the time you try and make it work, you could have bought the MDF.

Heck skip mcdonalds for a day and you can afford it.

 

[Winter_C 10+ year member]

Apparently he's a lucky bastard...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif
$25 here and it keeps creeping up...

MDF here is only like 19.99 or 20.99....and like 12.99 for a 4'x4' sheet haha

 

[mbrooky 10+ year member]

if you're in the dallas here are 5 4x8 3/4 sheets for $50! That's a steal!!

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mat/1414319408.html //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

There are two main reasons why you don't want to use particle board:

1. Structural integrity is far lower than MDF, and as such, it is nowhere near as dead as MDF is. Particle board is filled with voids which create weak spots in the wood, and allow it to resonate. When you start putting serious pressure on the enclosure, these voids can cause the enclosure to fail.

2. MDF is called a fiberboard because it's particleboard on a microscopic scale. The wood is not chipped then pressed, it's turned into a powder and pressed. that makes it effectively as close to a true wood that you can get without breaking the bank. Particle board's chunkiness means that when you go to adhere it together, there is far less for the glue to hold onto. As such, if you go to stress a joint on MDF or a high quality plywood, the wood will snap before the joint will (it's not hocus pocus, I've tried it). On particleboard, you won't need much stress to snap that joint apart since the glue isn't holding the two pieces together into a solid joint that's stronger than the wood; it's gluing the particles together which is about as strong as just screwing the wood together (if that).

So yes, every post in this thread thus far has been correct, and I cannot agree with mlstrass more in that if 9 dollars to do something the proper way is too much, then just stick to your coaxials. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[terryeh]

MDF 25 BUCKS particle 16.50. can the paerticle be braced and doubled on a small portd box ands get same performance as a single small mdf board box. i would seal the iside with some type of selant and brace or double panels as i m only building a 3 cuft enclosure fo two tens..tight on cash has anyone used the particle board. i have back in the day and friends did too.....is mdf louder?

Yuys ! MDF is better than Particleboard ? A safe statement in the 80's maybe.

While there are standards for the manufacture of both. I find nothing more "sleazed out" these days than MDF. While the cabinet maker industry keeps particleboard manufacturing honest (medium density/ cabinetmaker grade particle board =42 lbs min.) MDF is a buyer beware market. A local cabinet maker here, calls any particleboard lighter than 42lb, "floaters" and has been known to return the entire skid. I guess lumber yard particleboard would be "ultrafloaters" but when it comes to MDF, the "M" (medium) means nothing to me anymore. I want to take my weigh scale with me an check it before I buy it.(also check to see if they put some glue in it.) Considering what the lumberyard calls Particleboard; I can only imagine what turns up as medium density fiberboard.

Bottom line: find your local wholesaler (the guy who supplies the cabinetmakers) A cabinetmaker will probably give you the whole list. Most will sell you a single sheet, and because they have no retail pricing, you will be amazed at the quality of the sheeting, for less!

So is real particleboard as good as MDF ? I've been building loudspeakers for 30 years and I prefer (real 42lb) particleboard over MDF. (and there is 48lb available) It will take screws and brads from any angle and never complain. It glues up well. With MDF you might get lucky and get some that takes screws well in the end (edge). But if your smart you don't count on that and assume you will need pilot holes (and even countersinks).I've seen MDF ends split weeks later. Or design around that issue (cleats, biscuits, etc.) At the end of the day (literally), With MDF, you are still working. With particleboard your done. Including fill a few end-grains, that you may not have to with MDF. (but again, if you have worked with MDF enough you know not to count on that either) The biggest fallacy about MDF is that you will paint/finish less. They are both equally susceptible to the environment and require the same amount of primer/sealer/paint.

As far as cabinet resonances go; I can't remember the last time I bought MDF that honestly made me feel like I had a tighter less resonant wall, than real 42lb particleboard.

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

old damn thread

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

old damn thread

Hell of a first post, huh?

 

[sacsking916 5,000+ posts]

:facepalm:

 

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

lulz

 

[Mitch86 5,000+ posts]

They need to make threads older than a year old read-only or something. N00bs are going crazy bumping old threads lately. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[ideal concepts 10+ year member]

I wish wood was that cheap by me!!! home depot wants $36 a sheet for 3/4 mdf and $50 for birch.! Bad part is they dont use any ky when they *@%# u on price. Any way if price is he issue try 5/8 mdf. It would still be stronger than particle

 

[Spooney 10+ year member]

Every time I get mdf I hit up lowes and purposely look for a sheet with a dinged up corner . They always give me at least 25% off if I ask. I even got a whole sheet with maybe 2 inches that weren't useable for 7.50 once. Always get a discount when I ask at lowes .