Dear All,
I bought an MDF board (8’X4′) last week. Never used MDF before. I intended to use it for making jigs and reference for flatness.
Being unable to carry home, I requested the shop to cut it into four pieces (4’X2′). I was told by the shop owner that he had to send to another lumber shop to cut it because his shop is not equipped with Table Saw with two blades. (I guess it is Sliding Table-Saw with scoring blade.)
My question : Is it true that we need two-blade TS to cut MDF board?
Thanks,
Masrol
Replies
No.
If that were true, most of us wouldn't be able to use it, but thanks for the excuse! MDF cuts quite nicely with most typical woodworking blades and cutters. Maybe the guy didn't want any of that crappy dust on him. Scoring saws are useful in production shops that need positively no chip out, on either face, with sensitive materials, fine veneers, double sided laminates and plastics. There are specialized blades that are designed for such materials that do almost as good a job without a scoring blade. It's also not often that a cut will not be covered, placed in a dado or otherwise hidden so that a little chip out on one face won't be seen or cause concern. In the Home Depots around here, you can buy various sizes of pre-cut MDF as well as other sheet goods. MDF would not be my first choice for jigs and fixtures but that's another topic.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Dear Hammer1
Thanks for your reply.
I read an article (or book may be..) on MDF. It says "MDF makes saw blade/router bit dull faster than plywood or even hardwood". Could it be one of the reasons (other than you already mentioned) for the guy using two blade TS? I do not think MDF is harder than hardwood.
I agree with you that MDF is not the best material for making jigs & fixtures. It does not work well with wood screws and nails. But in term of "flatness" it beats plywood. Very hard to find good plywood nowadays. (Flat and smooth on one side only. Sometime got a lot of voids).
Thanks
Masrol
you dont need a two blade system to cut MDF, and yes it does dull blades faster because of the amount of glue used to hold it together. the glue is what dulls the bladesin that quanity. but with care taken in cutting it so you dont burn the blade its not a big problem.have used MDF in building bookshelves for a lawyer that were 8'x1'6" x4'made a total of 8 of them and still had a fairly sharp blade. of course i used lamated MDF that was 3/4" thick they weighed a ton but the results werre great
He may not have wanted to use his saw to cut the MDF but you definitely don't need a scoring blade. With a good blade, you won't have much of a problem with it at all, but a good blade will also not dull as fast as a cheap one. I have cut hundreds of sheets of MDF on a Powermatic contractor's saw, an old Delta 8" and my Grizzly. I tend to use my Oldham 40T blade when I cut particle board and MDF but for just a few cuts, I'll leave my Forrest on the saw.
Where did you buy this MDF- a cabinet shop?
The guy who does my sharpening referred to particle board as "the hot dog of wood products".
MDF, and the added glue, is very abrasive and it wears carbide, steel and anything else in contact with it much faster than solid wood, unless the wood has a high silica content.
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