Jeez this stuff is a pain in the *** to work with. I'm trying to make a custom sub enclosure to fit in the "trunk" of my FD. It's an eloganted wedge, I've got all the pieces cut but I need to mitre the edge on one side to make it go together well and I have no idea how to do it. I went through 2 blades on my circular saw just to get the pieces cut, I doubt a router would hold up any better. Anyone work with this stuff have a suggestion? I was thinking about just using a small piece of wood and glueing just to give it something I could screw into. Any ideas? TIA.

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i've never had a problem cutting MDF. circular saw, jigsaw, router, they all cut without a problem.

get a black & decker workmate if you don't have one already. they're perfect if you're working alone. set a guide (something straight) and clamp the guide and the board you're going to mitre down to the workmate or something equivelent. measure the angle of the mitre and set the blade on your circular saw. double check to make sure everything's lined up and let'er rip!

 

Are you using any special blades? I had a real bitch of a time cutting it, but I'm not a very experienced wood worker so that might be part of it

I think I'll pick one of those up, I saw one at Sears and it looked real handy. Right now I'm just using a little jig I setup with saw horses and scrap wood.

Thanks for the help.

 

nothing special, my circular saw has a standard 7 1/4" 24 tooth blade. next time you're in sears or home depot ask the sales person,. they should be able to help you choose the right blade for your saw. also definately look into getting a workmate. they are handy and you always find ways to use it.

 

I always use a carbide tipped blade, never have a problem. But that stuff is hard as hell It likes to tear up blades after 20 or so boxes.

 

Yep mike is right!

Carbide Blade, med offset... and don't force the blade through, you will only burn the blade out... If you smell smoke or the blade has turned dark you cooked the blade forcing it to fast though the MDF.

 

Also adjusting how much of the saw blade is going through the wood helps on saw blade life... If you adjust the blade to where only a 1/4" is coming outta the wood. You will cut faster and the blade will last longer...

 

I have a seperate blade for my table saw that I use to cut MDF. It absolutely kills blades. Whenever I replace the combination blade with a new one, I have the old one sharpened and designate it as my MDF blade.

A good blade is absolutely irreplaceable when wood working and worth the extra money you may spend.

Getting a thin kerf carbide tip blade definitely works better than the 3.00 special at the local hardware store.

I would recommend bringing your panels to the local cabinet store. They probably can make the cuts you need for very cheap and offer a 98.3% more accurate cut than you can with a circular saw.

Although MDF is bad for blades, it's actually quite easy to wok with.

 

I would highly recommend not buying budget tools. Spend the extra money and you won't regret it. Unless, of course, you won't use them again, in which case, go to that local cabinet shop!

 

i don't know i didn't have trouble cutting mdf, i even though it was easier than ordinary wood.

 

MDF is easier to saw than hardwood/pine but it eats blades.