Hi everyone-
If you were making a turntable for a modern flat-screen TV, would you use MDF or particle board?
The dimensions will be ~11″x~18″. The TV weighs 50 lb or less. Mom wants it painted black to match the TV pedestal but with an ogee-type edge treatment. So it would seem that MDF would be the best choice.
I have no experience with MDF, so I don’t have a good handle on how stiff or strong it is. If I was using plywood, I think half inch would be stiff enough and 3/4 would be overkill. So I’d probably use 3/4″ and it would be plenty stiff.
Would 3/4″ MDF be as stiff? Or stiff enough?
For convenience, I’ll be using precut “handy panels” from Home Depot. I don’t know if there is much variability among brands, or where in that range the HD stuff would be. But it probably isn’t the best quality available.
If the consensus is that it needs to be thicker than 3/4 inch, is there anything wrong with just gluing two sheets of half inch MDF together?
This has probably been beat to death before, but I’ve looked through the archives and haven’t found those prior discussions.
Thanks in advance.
Tom H. Ventura, CA
Replies
3/4" MDF will be fine.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Thanks Hammer.
Can I conclude from this that for the same thickness, MDF and Plywood are about the same stiffness?
As I mentioned, I've never used MDF.
-Tom H. Ventura, CA
I would guess they are about the same as far as stiffness goes. Plywood may take a lot more stress but for your application the MDF would be fine. It cuts and mills well, it just makes a bunch of fine sawdust. MDF paints easily.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Ditto to what hammer said..........
MDF is a little less strong than ply -- as in the span you can use for bookshelves, but in your case it is not an issue at all.
Plus, it does paint much better than either ply or particle board.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
3/4" wouldn't be overkill- MDF and particle board will deflect over time and if the weight is concentrated away from the center, it can lean in that direction. Plus, it's only 1/4" thicker so visually, it's not going to be a big deal. I wouldn't use 1/2" for this. Also, use the largest diameter lazy susan bearing you can find- Rockler has one that's very sturdy.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply -- it is a great help to rookies like me.
-Tom H. Ventura, CA
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