Making the most OF MDF

Denis Lock describes the successful use of man-made boards for two home projects.

-  Denis Lock

I started woodworking more than 70 years ago. My original tools were a 12" Hobbies fretsaw (left side of Photo 1) and a Hobbies Archimedean drill (right side of Photo 1). In addition, I had a small cutting table (with a V-opening) that I clamped to a convenient table or bench. My material was 1/8" plywood recovered from the containers that were used to import Ceylon tea. I soon progressed to other hand tools (like a tenon saw and chisels) and in 1953 to powered machinery. I also moved away from plywood to solid wood. I was lucky: the carpentry foreman at the Rose Deep mine (where I lived) allowed me to rake through the offcut pile as did the owner of the local furniture factory.

The next step was to buy solid wood from the local timber yard. I can't remember exact prices, but I can tell you it was between one-thirtieth and one-fiftieth of what I pay today. I became a solid-wood bigot. Other than use for drawer bottoms and cabinet backs, I shunned plywood and Masonite as inferior materials. For twenty years I built furniture and other wooden items from solid wood. I regarded anything with veneer, plywood, chipboard or MDF as cheap and nasty. I scornfully referred to chipboard as Weetbix.