MDF and plywood bench top bowed?
I am glueing together 3/4" MDF and 1/2" plywood for a workbench top. After letting it cure for about 24 hours I noticed that the top has a bow in it. The MDF was stored standing up on the long side in my garage for a week or two while getting the rest of the bench put together. The heater was running in the garage overnight keeping it to about 55-60 degrees while curing. I used clamps on the sides and put some weight on top of the pieces.
After removing all the clamps and weight I noticed this bow when going to secure it to the frame. I put the weight back on top for the last week hoping that it would flatten out while I waited for time to figure out what to do.
The plywood is pulling up a bit on one side. I probably should have used more glue but I was getting nervous about spreading the glue across the whole MDF and having it dry out before I got it setup.
- Should I just redo the whole thing with new wood directly from the store?
- Swap the MDF for 3/4' OSB instead?
- If I countersink screws from the top down to the frame would it pull the bow out?
- How can I do this glue up better next time?
Posted Dec 26, 2024, 4:20 PM UTC