Cutting into chipboard for desk, without leaving hideous insides showing?

May 15, 2006 5:02 AM

Carving docks into desk: If we're going to sling some MDF or other density chipboard style wood between two walls as a benchtop, how can we cut holes for ipods, phones, and usb plugs without having hideous amounts of chipboard showing through?

So we're finally replacing this cramped up desk and filing cabinet with a very long piece of chipboard or similar to form the main benchtop. Price is key, why buy expensive wood when my father is happy purchasing some medium density wood to use for a fraction of the price?

The trouble is, when using stuff like this, you have a nice white benchtop but if you cut into it, using anything like a jigsaw, a handsaw, even a drill, you are left with incredibly flaky, fiberous contents showing. I want to know if it is possible to cover these with that iron on edging [obviously not] or something similar, or you can recommend a smooth wood that can be painted or coated subtly.

This is what we are used to, obviously you can get more dense, but can you still smoothly finish such materials?

Thanks for your help.

posted by taita_cakes to Technology (13 answers total)

Best answer: I'd use higher density material or birch plywood.

Have you considered using small plates of birch ply for the areas you want to excavate? (Kind of like the wall outlet plates that cover all the ugliness underneath where the wires go.)

I am thinking that the actual numbers of holes will be small and that plates made from model airplane supplies would be cheap and finishable. Small, dimensionally stable, thin and machinable, it seems like a good material if you must stick with inexpensive wood. You could also look into felt-backed dual ply veneers for finish and stability. There's always a variety of plastics to use for inserts and veneers, too.

MDF is flaky stuff, best suited for substrates.
posted by FauxScot at 5:20 AM on May 15, 2006

Response by poster: P.S. I found AskMefi: Home Office Zen that sort of helped me with my direction, but not how to actually smooth off the finished product once I drill/cut it all out?
posted by taita_cakes at 5:21 AM on May 15, 2006

Desk Grommets
posted by Merdryn at 5:31 AM on May 15, 2006

Best answer: The desk-grommet idea is a great one; likewise the idea of a drop-in plate with all the small holes.

If you want to work directly in the work surface, you could finish the holes with wood veneer, which is glued on, and should be able to bend tightly enough to fit your holes. I think.

Another caveat: you will need some support running underneath the MDF, like 2x4s. MDF by itself is not strong enough to span much distance without sagging. The other thing, as you probably know, is that it weighs a freaking ton, making it a handful to manage (then again, who am I to talk? I've got a 12' desk slung between walls made out of 2" ipé).
posted by adamrice at 7:00 AM on May 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

You could use a Greenlee punch to knock clean edged holes. To use the punch, you drill a hole of large enough diameter for the threaded center bolt, disassemble the punch, insert the center bolt through the drilled hole with the anvil and mandrel bearing on one side of the surface to be punched, and then thread the cutter back on the other side. Turn the mandrel side of the bolt with a wrench awhile, and Bob's yer uncle. They're available in various diameters to suit your cable threading needs, and can even be had in square and rectangular punch shapes, if you want square holes into which you can hammer round pegs...

Once you've got your clean edged hole, you can use grommets to finish, or make your own from PVC nipples or bushings, available at any home improvement store or plumbing supply shop.

You might also be interested in the Kreg Jig, for making interesting shapes easily out of MDF and plywood panels, using nothing more than a Skil saw with an adjustable angle fence to make the angle cuts.
posted by paulsc at 7:51 AM on May 15, 2006

Or use a router.

You will need to seal the edges of the MDF: it outgasses formaldehydes. You can use ordinary wood glue as a sealer.

You can use iron-on edging. The trick is to get a curling iron and to make sure no corners are radiused smaller than that.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:31 AM on May 15, 2006

The picture you linked to is particle board, not MDF. It should look like this or this and should be able to be sanded smooth. You can then seal, prime, and paint it, or laminate it. For more information, there's the MDF FAQ, which it looks like you got your particle board picture from.

I agree that a single sheet of MDF would not be strong enough to act as a desk without bracing.
posted by zsazsa at 9:41 AM on May 15, 2006

I suggest using a hole saw of the appropriate size and Merdryn's desk grommets. Start the saw from one side, and when the circular kerf is 1/4-inch deep, finish the hole from the other side. That will minimize chipping, and the grommet will give a finished look. Hole saws are cheap and fast, and you get the same size hole every time.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:55 AM on May 15, 2006

You need a Router.
posted by TheFeatheredMullet at 11:50 AM on May 15, 2006

I personally used a door for a desk for some years. A plain, interior door is available at any home supply store with or without doorknob hole pre-drilled, and in hollow-core or (harder to find) solid wood versions.

They're pretty large - 24 to 36 inches wide, generally 80 inches long. Even hollow-core doors are quite strong (internally braced) and capable of being a desk only supported at the ends (don't sit on it in the middle, of course). Plus they're smooth finished, paintable, sawable, etc. The desk grommets would work nicely. And as a final bonus, they're not too expensive.
posted by jellicle at 12:39 PM on May 15, 2006

A punch really seems like the wrong tool for the job. A router, or if you only need round holes, a hole saw, seems better. But both of 'em would leave the exposed fiberboard edges, which it seems to me is taita_cakes' main concern.

I think the desk grommets are the way to go.
posted by hattifattener at 1:43 PM on May 15, 2006

Hint: if you're going to use a door as a desk, go to a recycle shop. You can get them at a fraction of the price.

Hint: fireproof doors made with 2" gyproc filling are really damn heavy. You'll need two burly guys to shift 'em. On the other hand, they're damn near unbreakable.
posted by five fresh fish at 1:53 PM on May 15, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for all the assistance everyone.

I was originally against the idea of dropping in plates, but now it makes more sense. I can cut any sized holes into it, changing it all the time, and not have to change the whole desk.

In terms of finishing and painting, Vinyl Dye is great for plastics, what's it like on wood? I know all about how it works and all, just not whether it absorbs into wood and stays there.
posted by taita_cakes at 5:09 AM on May 17, 2006