I’m finally ready to put down a spoilboard and fire up the router. MDF seem to be the material of choice and that was the plan. However, looking through what I have onhand, I have a 4x8 sheet of something that resembles MDF but seems a bit more fibrous and fuzzy. It’s something that’s been in my rack for a looooong time and have only a slight recollection of its origins. I THINK it came from some sort of shipping crate. It’s clean. Never been wet (flat, no bulges). No holes or nails.
Question:
Any ideas what this fuzzy MDF-like material is?
Are there grades of MDF?
I like the idea of free for now, but I’m thinking this stuff will dull my bits quicker than MDF.
If you post a picture, I’m sure someone here can identify it immediately. As Paul says, if it came from a crate, it is probably OSB, which I think is the same thing as fiberboard. OSB has noticeable chunks of wood in it. If it has a noticeable grain but no wood chunks and has some color variation in the grains, then it is probably particle board. Both OSB and particle board are cheaper than MDF. I’ve never read about either one being particularly hard on blades or bits, though it is possible.
“Fibrous and fuzzy” sounds a bit like Homosote to me. We used to use it for HO railroad table tops as it was firm enough to carry that weight but soft enough to push in brads/pins by hand.
In the “real world” it is used for sound insulation/isolation.
Thanks for the responses. It’s definitely not OSB.
I’ve attached a few pics. The surface appearance is like MDF. The sheet is very heavy similar to MDF. I don’t believe homasote is heavy. The damaged edges look very different from my limited experience with MDF. Usually MDF (not particle board) will be fairly sharp and will break, not “fuzz”. I can’t tear the fuzzy edges by hand. FYI, the sheet thickness is 20mm.
If y’all say it’s MDF that’s great. It just seems different.
I think @superflyguy nailed it. Googling low density fiberboard, LDF, seems to end up with a wide array of definitions. Some manufacturers equate it to particleboard with its small chunky consistency. Others show a material that is very similar in appearance to MDF but is slightly lighter density(10-15%). I’m pretty sure LDF is what I have even though 20mm thick is still pretty heavy.
I guess I’ll cut this sheet in half and call it spoil board.
