particle board

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Leslie W Bartlett wrote:
> 
> >> When a maker clearly makes a product leader for the world market why
> >must
> >> they stoop to use this stuff.  Why can't solid wood be used and
> >adjust the
> >> price up accordingly.
> 
> My ex-father-in-law built and sold church furniture.  I remarked once, to
> him, how cheap things had become to make "fine furniture" out of particle
> board/veneer.  He responded that the PB was actually better than solid
> wood in numerous  processes.  It was stable, it was strong, and it
> resisted cracking.
> 
> Leslie Bartlett
> 
> lesbart@juno.com
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>From a manufacturers point of view MDF does have a number of advantages.
It is consistent in dimension and working characteristics. It’s easy to
work with—it machines well, albeit with the requirement of carbide or
diamond cutting tools. As your father pointed out it is reasonably
“strong” and stable. Used correctly, it doesn’t warp or twist (much). It
takes glue well. And, perhaps best of all, it is environmentally sound
in that what would otherwise be wood scrap can be used in its
manufacture. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that without the use of at
least some MDF, the piano industry would be out of business by now.
There simply isn’t enough solid wood left in our forests to go around. I
live in what used to be a huge temperate rain forest. It seemed
inexhaustible. It wasn’t. 

On the down side, it is heavy and it is highly susceptible to (dare I
use the word again) creep under load. This combination makes its use
problematic for one of the most logical applications in piano
building—the grand lid. I’ve already seen too many sagging lids on
pianos whose owners leave the lids open consistently. And you ever tried
to lift an MDF lid on a seven foot piano by yourself? No. Of course you
haven’t. You’re still here and able to read this.

But perhaps its most significant limitation for pianobuilders is its
dislike for conventional fasteners. Try using a common wood screw and
you’re fresh out of luck. It is not possible to use even a specially
designed MDF screw in the stuff more than once or twice. This is the
characteristic that probably offends most piano technicians and limits
the stuffs usefulness in pianos. We need the ability to disassembly and
reassemble the piano repeatedly during its lifetime. This is not
generally a requirement with other types of furniture so you don’t hear
as many cries and moans from that segment. If the fastener issue is
adequately dealt with MDF can be used effectively in many applications
in the piano. Unfortunately, as often as not, plain old screws are used.
(In fairness here, I should point out that I’m not all that familiar
with the specifics of how MDF is used by manufacturers like Yamaha or
Kawai today. I do know that they also have a dark past. One hopes
they’ve seen the light.) 


--ddf