MDF Stock, what's available?

[learn2turn]

Stopped by Lowe's to see what they have in MDF stock. 4x8" sheets was it. PITA.

I know I've gotten 2x4 sheets of 3/4" at Home Depot. Easy handle and to bring home in the car but I would still would to rip to width.

What would be really nice if you could get 3/4" MDR in boards, maybe 8" or 10" wide. Then I wouldn't have to rip at all, just cross cut.

I don't recall what else HD sells. I think they have MDF shelves with bullnose on one edge. Don't know if they have square on both sides.

Any idea what's out there for easy to work with MDF sizes?

[philiparcario]

hd should have 2' x 4' in 1/4inch 1/2inch 3/4inch handy boards. or do what do buy a 4 by 8 foot and have them cut it into
three 16 inch by 8 foot pieces first 2 cuts are free at hd

[williamrschneider]

I hear 'ya about Lowe's having only 4x8 sheets of MDF.

I can't fit that into my Toyota Matrix, so I have them cut it down. I always hand the young lad a diagram so there's no miscommunication...

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/audio/images/mdf-cut-from-lowes.gif

For thicker baffles in larger projects, I use 1-1/8" MDF stair treads from Lowe's. They are rounded on one edge, but I haven't needed any baffle wide enough for that to be a problem. I just cut it off on the table saw.

[justame1213]

(and sometimes they'll cut even more than 2 free.)

[john trials]

The sizes of MDF varies depending on where you go. My HD here in Connecticut only has 4'x8' sheets. I was in a HD in Tennessee and they had all kinds of widths and lengths of MDF. I wish my local place had that kind of variety. I've had to bug my neighbor twice for the use of his minivan so I could get some MDF. Luckily, my HD doesn't charge for cuts...maybe because they don't sell the handy panels.

[Bob Brines]

Check the shelving section at Lowe's/HD. If not, go to a real lumber yard. 3/4" MDF is available in nominal 12" (11 1/2") and 16" (15 1/2") by 16' boards.

Bob

[johnastockman]

Yeah, shelf board stock. Comes in a variety of widths, unless you need pieces that are, oh, maybe 18" wide or more. Might get up to 16" wide, but I've found the 12" wide stuff works for many projects, along with the 8" and 10" widths. Definitely long enough for all except tall line arrays. And it comes in 1" thickness if you need that. 3/4" thick is pretty common.

John A.

[Brent_S]

Our relatively small HD regularly stocks .75"x16"x48" MDF "shelves" although I can't seem to find them online at the moment. The 16" is a true 16", not 15.x" and the 48" is actually a bit over, maybe 48.75". The online HD for pros lumberyard also shows .75"x12"x96", but the 12" appears to be 11.x.

The 16" shelving is an easy way to build a sub in the 6 ft^3 range if you like the tower look...only need to cut top/bottom panels and some bracing.

-Brent