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Im building a wall mounted, shelf/light fixture, it will be mounted in a corner of the room and be L shaped (like an L shaped desk is). Its going to be 6" 'tall' but the shelf portion will only be 3". Im using LED strip lights on the top and bottom, so it will be 'downlighted' and 'uplighted', the LED strips will not be seen, the light will glow out from the top and bottom.
I cannot make up my mind about whether to use a very black wood stain on real wood, or use MDF and paint it matte black...Please help!
Well, MDF is pretty weak stuff. If you have screw threads into it, you have to be careful. That said, there's no end grain so it's equally crappy in all directions unlike real wood.
And don't forget laminated sheet goods (I mean plywood) which will outperform real wood in some ways and underperform in others. Honestly, though, I can't think of a single application where MDF would perform better than plywood or solid wood. There must be something, but I don't know what it is.
Well, MDF is pretty weak stuff. If you have screw threads into it, you have to be careful. That said, there's no end grain so it's equally crappy in all directions unlike real wood.
And don't forget laminated sheet goods (I mean plywood) which will outperform real wood in some ways and underperform in others. Honestly, though, I can't think of a single application where MDF would perform better than plywood or solid wood. There must be something, but I don't know what it is.
I'd just use wood. Pine is cheap and fine if it's going to be painted, but not so great for staining. MDF has lots of uses but shelving is not one of them.
I'm curious what use you'll get out of a 6" x 3" shelf.
I'd just use wood. Pine is cheap and fine if it's going to be painted, but not so great for staining. MDF has lots of uses but shelving is not one of them.
I'm curious what use you'll get out of a 6" x 3" shelf.
Im planning on putting framed pictures on it, family, friends, etc.
I'd just use wood. Pine is cheap and fine if it's going to be painted, but not so great for staining. MDF has lots of uses but shelving is not one of them.
I'm curious what use you'll get out of a 6" x 3" shelf.
Agree. That's tiny. Were the given measurements a typo? Consider...a common size for a single photo print is 6"x3". How many pictures were you planning to put on this shelf? If you are going to go to all this trouble make the shelf practical.
For building something that small, I would purchase a piece of hardwood and for what you’d be doing, a piece of poplar would be ideal as it’s easy to work with and typically used for furniture builds.
As a serious woodworker, I will indicate what I use MDF for. And I use a fair amount of it.
Before I make my list/comments, I will say that when I do work with MDF, I use my heaviest duty respirator when cutting, routing, and sanding. Its also a bear to maneuver those large sheet goods around.MDF is very heavy.
Here is what I use MDF for mostly.
My work bench and work table tops. Its very heavy, very flat, and very dense. I use shellack on my bench tops, and it wears very well.
I use MDF for templates. Its very stable material and easy to work with.
One some built ins, I will use mDSF because of its smooth surface. It takes paint very well, and is very smooth. Solid wood is used for face frames, etc.
The cut surface of MDF needs a little work to hold paint well. I typically use drywall compound pin the edges and sand it down. Again, very smooth surface that looks great painted.
For making a shelf that you are going to paint, I might use MDF with solid wood for the edges. Its strong enough if you don't try to span long distances or hold a great deal of weight.
Cost is another factor. Of course all lumber prices have gone up a great deal since Covid. But MDF is still a lot cheaper than quality hardwood plywood. Even high quality plywood edges need a bit of work for painting.
I would only use solid wood if it wasn't going to be painted (except poplar which paints very well).
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