mdf or birch

[mcbuggin 10+ year member]

Around here then MDF is 40 a sheet but home desprate had birch on sale just recently for 25.60 out the door

 

[ideal concepts 10+ year member]

Mdf works good and so does birch. The difference is birch is a lighter hardwood. So that 3/4 birch will work as good as 1" mdf with a fraction of the weight.Only thing is make sure its a solid birch, not a birch covered plywood

 

[elancohen92 10+ year member]

so what exactly should i look for? like what is the REAL name on the tag not just "birch".

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

Baltic Birch, or Russian Birch.

Also, the 1" I know usually comes in a 5'x5' sheet

 

[elancohen92 10+ year member]

Baltic Birch, or Russian Birch.
Also, the 1" I know usually comes in a 5'x5' sheet

thanks

 

[BlactimusCrime 10+ year member]

Birch, lighter, stronger, less mess. around here theres about $5-10 difference between .75 mdf and .75 birch. birch 40 /sheet

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

Birch, lighter, stronger, less mess. around here theres about $5-10 difference between .75 mdf and .75 birch. birch 40 /sheet

Then that is birch laminated plywood. Outside layer is birch, inside isn't.

True baltic birch will be around $100 for a 5x5 sheet of 1" thick.

 

[galacticmonkey 5,000+ posts]

Birch isnt THAT much more expensive than MDF. As a percentage it is, but its going to be like $10-$15 a sheet more usually.

Birch is lighter and stronger, but I dont like the way it cuts, and it splinters when you cut it. Hard to get a nice looking edge when its all splintered and shooting little chunks of wood into your face.

MDF is heavier and not as strong, but cuts like butter and is much easier to router. ***** it makes so much dust though.

Really depends on the application.

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

If you have splinters out the wazoo, you are using the wrong blade to cut it.

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

If you have splinters out the wazoo, you are using the wrong blade to cut it.

Indeed, for MDF you can use pretty much whatever blade you want