Preparing to add drawer fronts(believe some people refer to them as “false fronts” as they are added to an already constructed all wood drawer). I see many guys using MDF for their false fronts, attaching them to solid wood drawers. Norm speaks of doing this in the current FWW article….of course, I am referring to painted cabinets.
Doesn’t this present us w/ movement issues? With a solid wood drawer, wouldn’t gluing and attaching an MDF front cause splitting issues?
Curious what you guys think.
thanks
Replies
While I'm not a Norm basher, and I made some nice looking painted MDF raised panels for a bedroom, I can't see how MDF can fit in a kitchen or bathroom. I made the mistake of making MDF door frames because they would show really nice painted, and the summer humidity is enough to get my carefully fitted doors to bind.
Maybe there is a super outdoor MDF or something (I haven't found any), but I find the stuff absorbs way too much humidity and changes thickness too easily. I figured for a door or drawer front, even if painted on 6 sides, you'd just need to get a few drops of water through a screwhole or something and it would be game over.
I'll stick with wood or plywood when there is wet around.
Edited 1/16/2008 1:52 pm ET by Piccioni
First of all MDF does expand and contract, about half as much as a typical solid wood.
Most drawer fronts are narrow enough that the difference in movement isn't great enough to cause damaging stress, but wider drawer fronts, starting around 8" or so might start having problems, especially if the front were glued on, in climates that have a wide swings in humidity during the year.
John White
John, my fronts are all 8"+, so I guess that pretty much answers my question.
would have been nice to cut up a sheet of MDF for all my fronts...certainly would have saved me alot of money.
A few possible solutions:
1. Build the boxes out of plywood or MDF which would, in the first case, reduce the movement by half, or, with an MDF box, the movement would be the same.
2. Mount the fronts so that they can float, using screws with oversize holes to allow for the movement. The knobs or pulls would typically be a fixed attachment point in this case, with the screws at the perimeter allowing movement, which would be in two dimensions since there is no grain in MDF.
3. Make frame and panel fronts on the drawers.
The first approach would be the easiest.
Do you live in a climate with large swings in seasonal humidity?
John W.
thanks John.
Drawers are already built, solid wood(maple). Large drawers, all of them are around 8" at least.
I'll probably just go w/ solid wood(poplar or maple) and paint them accordingly.
I was just confused when I saw Norm advocating MDF for false fronts, thinking that it might create movement issues.
Well it expands a lot more than wood on the thichness, henge the problem with my door frames.
Plus, unlike wood, once MDF is absorbs liquid water, which is soaks up like a sponge along the edge (or through holes), it swells irreversably. Wood won't do that.
Unless you guys have special MDF, thats been my experience.
MDF, if it actually gets wet, will swell considerably and irreversibly, but I haven't found that the MDF acts much differently from wood when exposed to ordinary swings in humidity.
I can't picture how a door frame made of MDF would swell in thickness and cause binding. In any case, the more typical door construction is to make the frame out of solid wood, for joint strength, with an MDF panel.
John W.
All our drawer fronts and doors on a commercial cupboards are MDF. The drawer fronts are attached with 6 screws - no problems for 10 years.
What are the boxes made out of and do you know if the screws are designed to allow a certain amount of movement? Typically screws allow quite a bit of movement even if they aren't in oversized holes. All this is climate dependent also, wood movement is only a problem in places with wide swings in humidity.
John w.
You don't glue the MDF to the wood box. They are attached with four screws in the corners. Longer knob or pull bolts are used to penetrate both the front and box.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
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