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We've been given a cot bed to save us buying a second. Tonight I've been clunking it together (four screws and a two tongue and groove panels/legs/ends) but when I tried to slot the panels in, they are about 0.5 - 1mm too big in every dimension and as such they don't fit, and then are wedged tight.
does MDF swell up? I might need to plane them down a bit
Any moisture ingress will lead it to swell up. IME you cannot plane it, it just crumbles into a mess if you try.
Yeah, it absorbs moisture and swells pretty readily I think.
You can get mdf that is more moisture resistant than standard stuff but even that will absorb moisture over time.
I may be talking cobblers but I'm not sure I'd use MDF for a cot as it can give off formaldehyde. I guess this stuff will be formaldehyde free though. If you sand MDF the the dust can be heavy on formaldehyde too.
It's laminated MDF.
I might have to deploy my BFO mallet.
Where was it stored, in a damp loft or garage? If so leave it in the house for a few days and see if it dries out and shrinks back a bit.
Once mdf has swollen...it won't go back on its own
MDF can be planed, IME the outer face layers have a finer finish than the inner ones
it's awful stuff
and poisonous
What could have caused it to swell, I cannot imagine...
and poisonous
Unlikely that the child will be sanding it.
MDF can be planed, IME the outer face layers have a finer finish than the inner ones
There are no layers in MDF, or any fibreboard. The top and bottom surfaces are super-smooth because of the manufacturing process (compression of the wood fibres and adhesives). As soon as that surface is removed, the looser fibres, as found on the sides of a board, become exposed. These exposed surfaces can be shaped with a plane, but the finish will always be pretty poor. I suppose they could be sprayed with a lacquer and sanded back to a decent finish, but all of that seems like quite a lot of work - it may be cheaper and easier to just replace the MDF. Don't know the design of the bed in question, but it may be a simple matter of adjusting the joints/edges on some, rather than all, panels.
Always wear an appropriate mask when working with MDF, and even a disposable suit (or wash your clothes immediately afterwards) if you're doing lots of cuts/sanding. The dust is awful and one suspects that it'll fall foul of some degree of regulation at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Unlikely that the child will be sanding it.
Although a child might chew it.
Probably best get a wrought iron one.
or just put a "do not chew" sign on it 😉
Can you make the slots wider to allow for the swelling?
No way that the panels could be chewed even with street porter knashers. There are no open edges.
I've built it now anyway. Will varnish before the four month old is moving about