www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

A Hornet in my Bonnet.

Why the norm of using chip board, MDF and other manufactured boards so readily in furniture making when solid timber will provide so much more - at not always so many pence more?

It IS rubbish and for a small amount more you could have had ...

Yes, they are in big sheets, but should that be the defining moment in furniture making?

BUT do some milk the cow when using solid softwood instead.

Time for those who care about quality (producer and customer) to challenge the market and demand what should be the norm at affordable prices.

Rip off Britain needs the Grim Reaper!!

Your thoughts?

flatpack has ruined the woodworking trade

different markets realy

people want cheap and cheerfull

and some want traditional quality

some expect quality at cheap and cheerfull prices

some people expect hand built individual furniture to be cheaper than argos

as in can you make this display unit any cheaper than the £169.99 in the catalouge

kabous wrote:Why the norm of using chip board, MDF and other manufactured boards so readily in furniture making when solid timber will provide so much more - at not always so many pence more?

Flat pack is produced on CNC machines which require uniform sheets of consistent material in uniform thicknesses. The cost of MFC is well below that of even the cheapest, nastiest pine board. It is also much more consistent, so from the point of manufacturing making stuff out of MFC is a lot cheaper. However, what those robbing barstewards called retailers do to the prices needs to be seen to be believed......

My probl;em is how do I persuade someone with IKEA pockets to buy Heald's quality - at somewhere in between prices. Flatpack hasn't ruined the trade - good old British stinginess and penny-pinching has

Scrit

scrit is perfectly correct, its MFC and computer contolled manufacturing are perfect partners

MFC is delivered in perfect sheet sizes of perfect thickness. Computer controlled saws, CNC and Drilling machines do the rest.

You only need a couple of skilled CAD operators and an army of unskilled labourers to pack and label them. The size of the army depends ONLY on the speed the machines output

also covered chipboard will provide years of good service, and is ideally suited to carcasses.

Maybe some table tops/doors are better made of solid wood, but even then the finish on the covered chipboard is ideal for the average situation.

dirtydeeds wrote:MFC is delivered in perfect sheet sizes of perfect thickness

Perfect sheet sizes? Since when is a 2.6metre x 2.0metre sheet at 95kg a perfect size?

Scrit

Scrit wrote:

dirtydeeds wrote:MFC is delivered in perfect sheet sizes of perfect thickness

Perfect sheet sizes? Since when is a 2.6metre x 2.0metre sheet at 95kg a perfect size?

Scrit

It probably is for a CNC machine

Seems like a perfet size sheet to me....

Try moving a 4mx2m sheet of 25mm thick steel, at just over 1.5tons

the fact is that mdf/mfc are here to stay and in most of the applications it is used for, it outperforms wood.
People no longer get all misty eyed about real wood furniture and will happily accept manmade products without question.
Time to move on chaps.