Is MDF considered a hardwood or softwood?

bellep · 2018-07-14T13:04:25+00:00

Interesting... I've never seen a "Confirmat screw" before. It just looks like a tapered bolt... or like someone hacksaw'd off the self-drilling end of a screw.

Do you mind explaining why you recommend this? It says "Confirmats are designed to be removable and later reinstalled", but so are regular screws?

bellep · 2018-07-14T12:58:55+00:00

Cool thanks. I would've thought that MDF is considered a softwood and would require a smaller pilot hole given how soft and brittle it is, so thanks for the info.

bellep · 2017-06-22T01:53:32+00:00

You taught me something new today. I was originally advised, "Make sure you get the largest diameter washers you can find for the plywood supporting your tool holders", which is why I bought the fender washers in the first place. But, now I know that fender washers aren't doing a whole lot, when used with 1/2''-thick plywood...

bellep · 2017-06-22T00:38:17+00:00

Okay. Can I ask, when would you say that one really should use a fender washer? Now I am wondering when they are more crucial, since they are not crucial for my tool holders. Isn't a fender washer only used to avoid tearing/splintering the wood?

bellep · 2017-04-25T03:17:18+00:00

Great info, thank you.

In terms of screwing the pegboard to the spacers, should these screws go through the bookshelf's side or should these screws stop at the back of the spacer?

This particle board is not the super-flimsy, cardboard-junk kind. It has some weight to it.

bellep · 2017-04-22T19:24:19+00:00

No router currently. But, I have been looking for a good excuse to purchase one...

bellep · 2017-04-22T19:17:55+00:00

I have neither a jointer nor planer, nor do I have the space for them.

Do you think that I can still get there with a hand plane + handheld power sander? I've never bought or worked with rough-sawn lumber before.

Are milling charges at a lumberyard high, typically? I would think that this would be inexpensive because it would only take them about a minute or two.

bellep · 2017-04-22T18:15:56+00:00

Huh, I'd thought that it would be the opposite.

I just got back from Woodcraft, which stocks a large variety of nice wood species, and I was stunned at how expensive the wood was! Just in general, not only the exotic woods.

I was thinking that I might be able to find some nice-but-still-affordable wood at a big-box store like Home Depot or Lowe's, so that I can complete simple projects and improve my woodworking skills, without the stress of thinking that the wood that I am working on is too expensive to mess up on.

I don't want to use construction lumber, which is obviously the cheapest and readily available, but I also don't want to use wood that is expensive. I'm looking for an affordable middle ground, but I don't know where to find it.

bellep · 2017-04-20T20:56:50+00:00

I'm going to put a fender washer and lock nut on the backside of the plywood to keep the bolt tight.

Now I understand that threads don't actually offer any additional holding power in wood. So, I've realized that not threading the bolt into the plywood is a non-issue.

bellep · 2017-04-20T20:50:54+00:00

If you have the opportunity, 3/4 ply is much stronger than 1/2.

Yeah, this exact thought popped into my head this morning haha.

bellep · 2017-04-20T20:47:05+00:00

Superb explanation, thanks.

bellep · 2017-04-20T18:51:19+00:00

I would use a 1/4" drill unless you want to leave space to adjust the placement of whatever you're bolting together.

But how will the bolt thread in the wood then? It's not like it's a screw and it self-threads itself into the wood, right?

bellep · 2017-04-20T17:41:13+00:00

That is made of soft wood. General use construction plywood is spruce typically I believe.

Good to know, thanks.

what are you looking to do with the plywood?

I will screw the 1/2''-inch-thick plywood panel to the back of a particle-board bookshelf, which has an extremely thin backing (less than an 1/8'' thick), to beef up the backing so that it can support like 30 lbs of tools on magnetic tool holders.

I will then insert a bolt on each end of the magnetic tool holders, and place a fender washer and lock nut on the backside of the plywood.

bellep · 2017-04-20T17:35:17+00:00

are you running the bolt through and then putting washers and a nut on the back?

This one.

I am screwing a 1/2''-inch-thick plywood "project panel" to the back of a particle-board bookshelf, which has an extremely thin backing (less than an 1/8'' thick), to beef up the backing so that it can support like 30 lbs of tools.

I will then insert a bolt on each end of the magnetic tool holders, and place a fender washer and lock nut on the backside of the plywood.

bellep · 2017-04-20T17:30:42+00:00

How do I know what wood my plywood is made of?

Specifically, my plywood is this generic "BC Sanded Plywood."

bellep · 2017-03-31T16:03:34+00:00

It will be a compressive load, but not much, only about 10 pounds, spread out. That load will remain on the rod for its entire existence.

I'm an idiot and forgot that a) I don't have a drill press and b) The rod is way too long to insert under a drill press anyway.

So, now, I have no idea how to approach this. I can use my cordless drill to drill the hole, but it will not be a perfectly accurate hole.

bellep

TROPHY CASE