Slate liner: MDF or poplar wood
- Thread starter flyers
- Start date
poplar
When I replace the wood on slates I only use poplar. I do not think mdf will hold up . I have coverd tables that had mdf and when you cover the corners it wants to come apart.
Steve
When I replace the wood on slates I only use poplar. I do not think mdf will hold up . I have coverd tables that had mdf and when you cover the corners it wants to come apart.
Steve
MDF is way more subject to moisture/ humidity changes and if it gets wet forget it.
flyers said:
The only way the poplar would be able to warp is if you stored the table with the slates standing up for a long period of time. That is the only time I have had problems with the poplar.
Poplar is also a hardwood albeit on the softer side and will hold up to the rigors of recovering etc much better than MDF. After a couple of recovers the MDF tends to breakdown and flake apart.
total ignorance
OK, I know nothing about slate liners....what the heck is MDF?flyers said:
Poplar has been used for over 100 years. The best thing about the wood is the staple holes want to close up. My 90 year old table has Poplar for the slates and rail liner. Yes you can see where staples once were but very very rarely does a staple not hold and that's 90
years of use.
years of use.
Given that the climate I live in (AZ) is dry & very low humidity 360 days a year and the odds of the table getting water on it to cause damage to the MDF or poplar are zero and that I will only change the cloth every 3-6 years, wouldn't MDF be the better choice since it can be made flatter and is heavier?
MDF will hold staples better. But Poplor holds them great also.
I prefer poplor because it will hold wedges better than MDF which tends to have a smooth shiny coating of sorts that allows wedges to slip easier.
I prefer poplor because it will hold wedges better than MDF which tends to have a smooth shiny coating of sorts that allows wedges to slip easier.
Poplar, period....even if you live on the moon
some random thoughts
MDF has no advantage relative to being made flatter(???)
if you are concerned about warpage, the table frame will warp
long before the slate frames do - they are literaly screwed down between a rock and a hard place
MDF is just plain junky-junk, review all the advantages pointed out
for Poplar - MDF has none
Dale
flyers said:
some random thoughts
MDF has no advantage relative to being made flatter(???)
if you are concerned about warpage, the table frame will warp
long before the slate frames do - they are literaly screwed down between a rock and a hard place
MDF is just plain junky-junk, review all the advantages pointed out
for Poplar - MDF has none
Dale
smittie1984 said:
Put a few drops of elmers glue on your wedges when you install them, its alot harder for them to slip that way.
