I am building a bench with a laminated MDF top that will be a total of 3″ thick at the edges once I am finished. I want to add a rim of 3/4″ thick maple around the edges and am trying to decide the best way to attach it so the top of the maple is flush with the MDF. Should I use glue alone, add a 1/4″ spline? biscuits?, dowels?. I have tools available, but am a relative novice.
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Splines,biscuits,or coarse thread screws with the heads counterbored and covered with plugs will all work fine. No preference there. Use yellow glue and let the first coat on the mdf dry then apply a second coat to MDF and maple, then attach. The first coat of glue will be absorbed into the MDF and what left will act like a sealer and prepare the second coat. I'd let the maple stand a little proud and use a flush trim bit in a router to make it flush. You may have to follow up with a scraper after for touch up.
What are you planning to do to the surface of the top? Paint,cover with laminate,epxoy?
Don
I am thinking of using a wipe on oil varnish, such as watco oil. I am planning on not gluing the top layer of MDF to the other laminated layers so it can be replaced if it becomes damaged over time.
Instead of using MDF as the wear surface consider using hardboard of melamine. I use melamine because it is flat and glue cleans easily.
Mike
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