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+-- Thread: MDF or plywood? (/showthread.php?tid=7339196)
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MDF or plywood? - Peter Tremblay - 04-26-2018
Hello,
I am planing on making a few templates for the router table.
Would you recommend MDF or plywood for the most sturdy and durable template.
What thickness?
RE: MDF or plywood? - SteveS - 04-26-2018
Depends on how many copies you intend on using it for. If it will be used extensively I'd go for 1/2" thick ply. MDF seems too soft for long term use.
RE: MDF or plywood? - CLETUS - 04-26-2018
5mm luan works great for templates.
RE: MDF or plywood? - Bill Wilson - 04-26-2018
I would likely choose plywood, simply because I hate cutting MDF.
RE: MDF or plywood? - KC - 04-26-2018
(04-26-2018, 01:12 PM)SteveS Wrote: Depends on how many copies you intend on using it for. If it will be used extensively I'd go for 1/2" thick ply. MDF seems too soft for long term use.
I probably used three leg templates for near 200 dining chairs over the years. MDF is easier to shape, in my experience.
RE: MDF or plywood? - John Mihich - 04-26-2018
I tend to use 1/2 birch plywood. They do hold up for years. I have some that at 15 years old which I use a lot. It's light, easy to cut, and fairly cheap.
RE: MDF or plywood? - jteneyck - 04-26-2018
1/4" MDF. Uniform "grain" and much easier to shape.
John
RE: MDF or plywood? - wood-chips - 04-26-2018
I've had good success with 1/4" tempered hardboard. Easy to shape and much more durable that MDF.
If you use plywood you have to deal with possible voids.
RE: MDF or plywood? - Cecil - 04-26-2018
(04-26-2018, 01:12 PM)SteveS Wrote: Depends on how many copies you intend on using it for. If it will be used extensively I'd go for 1/2" thick ply. MDF seems too soft for long term use.
^^^This. I use MDF, but I don't do production work.
RE: MDF or plywood? - Peter Tremblay - 04-26-2018
(04-26-2018, 07:51 PM)wood-chips Wrote: I've had good success with 1/4" tempered hardboard. Easy to shape and much more durable that MDF.
If you use plywood you have to deal with possible voids.
What's tempered hardboard?