MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard)

MDF (medium-density fiberboard) is an engineered sheet good made from wood fibers broken down and re-pressed with resin under heat and pressure, producing a dense, perfectly flat panel with no grain direction and no natural tendency to warp or cup. That makes it excellent for painted furniture, jigs, and anything needing a dead-flat reference surface -- but its edges need edge banding or careful filling to look finished, since raw MDF edges are porous and absorb finish unevenly. MDF dust is also fine enough that dust collection and a real respirator matter more here than with solid wood.