birch vs mdf

[hzsogood]

3/4" MDF is $28 a sheet, birch is $49 for 11ply 3/4"

baltic birch?

[Eric B]

If your getting your Birch from Lowes, Home Depot, etc. It is NOT real birch!!! If your going to use plywood from any of those stores, use Arauco!

[J00bles]

3/4" sheets of MDF go for $35 here. 11 ply 3/4" birch goes for $40.

i like birch a lot more than MDF. I feel that the birch will hold up better in the long run (sheets of wood laminated together, rather than compressed saw dust..)

Weight is the #1 reason anybody would do birch. i saved at least 100 pounds by doing my wall in birch rather than MDF

[skittlesRgood]

like skittles box. that thing is uber sexy.

great info guys. so it sounds like theres very little difference. ive always used mdf the only thing i hate about it is when you get splits near the edge. but thats mostly self inflicted from not pre-drilling deep enough

hey! thanks! lol. but that isnt birch. its an MDF box with .25" oak ply cut into strips. i just loved the grain of the oak.

done use hte 7ply bitch! i used it and i thought i was working with plywood

dude... birch IS plywood.

[dwright27]

birch is lighter but more expensive. they sound a little different because of the weight (mdf is more dense).

wayy lighter.

i dont think me and jeff will use anything but birch, or sandply hardwood ever again.

i've never used birch but from what i understand, it really just matters on what you want it to sound like.

not this ^^ Birch is twice as strong as MDF as well.

1 layer of 3/4" birch = 2 layers of 3/4" MDF.

[55437Audio]

What ply birch though?

[skittlesRgood]

the more plys you get the stronger it is.

[cc_audio]

I've found that 5 ply is the easiest to kerf, just cut through 4 of the plys and the fifth will bend nicely. Seven ply works well too. But thats only if you plan to kerf, I like to buy the most ply they carry. I typically buy 11 ply i believe, but I keep a sheet of 5 ply for kerf cuts. During the summer, the price of birch falls pretty close the cost of MDF, but as winter rolls in the price goes up significantly in my area. I have yet to find a blade or piece of birch that will cut without some splintering on the bottom side of the cut. Granted its not really a problem, but MDF doesn't do that at all with the same fine tooth blade.

[Berto]

To solve the splintering edges from cuts I heard there's like a tape trick. I don't remeber what kind of tape they told me, but they said all you do is measure where you want your cut, then tape over it, then cut over the tape.

Don't know if it works though, maybe some of you have tried it or will try it.

[kingsuv]

If your getting your Birch from Lowes, Home Depot, etc. It is NOT real birch!!! If your going to use plywood from any of those stores, use Arauco!

The stuff a t lowes and HD are a Birch veneer only. Be careful when getting it as it will have softer wood and voids in it. I perfer a cabinet grade A or B for my box building.

3/4" sheets of MDF go for $35 here. 11 ply 3/4" birch goes for $40.

i like birch a lot more than MDF. I feel that the birch will hold up better in the long run (sheets of wood laminated together, rather than compressed saw dust..)

Weight is the #1 reason anybody would do birch. i saved at least 100 pounds by doing my wall in birch rather than MDF

Those prices are about the same here. All depends on Birch stock at my supplier.

Cutting birch takes some tricks. You can get very clean cuts if you take the time to work with the wood correctly