cutting, working with MDF

Am I the only one who has difficulty with 3/4" MDF?  I can't keep a circular saw nor jigsaw on a straight line with this stuff.  My spin saw chatters and whines and smokes and breaks bits (Using the circle-guide for cutting subw-holes is a joke).  My brother-in-law's cheap-a$$ table-saw doesn't like it either but that's another story.  I went to home depot and the tool guy sympathized with me, he was awesome in that he took various router/spinsaw bits out of the display case and tried them on a scrap piece of 3/4 MDF.  We tried various types of bits including cement-cutting bits (why not?) but the results were the same as mine: chatter, smoke, stalling equipment.

My question is, does anyone have very positive experience with certain spin-saw bits or jigsaw blades through this stuff?  It's funny I never remarked much problem before but I haven't been at it for a while and my latest project its like I'm working with 3/4 steel.  Maybe I got a bad sheet (e.g. HDF instead), has this happened to anyone?  lemme know what you think out there.

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destination moon

well you should have no problem cutting thru it with a circular saw...unless the blade is severly dull, bent, or it the wrong blade. Its gotta be a shape blade.

interesting how the home depot guy had the same results..... you going slow?

also the glue messes up the cutters...but thats not am immediant reaction.

very odd case......

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I need quality equipment, feel free to donate.

with a device such as the rotozip you have to let it do its work you cant force it. i use a rotozip and router to cut my holes. on mdf i even have used these two different things on one inch thick mdf. so just go slow dont force it let it work. and as your table saw goes they suck unless you have a 5 hundred and above high speed strong one. i dont so i stick with a circular saw and i get straight cuts .

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Jon
Installer/Help Technician
---coral springs florida---
mecp certification is not always needed. I have it and it has not helped me out at all. my experience out shines it.

you are using a saw with too coarse a tooth pattern...buy blades with more teeth per inch (tpi) and go very slow...

I use a jigsaw for most of my cuts and havent ever had a problem, but all of my tools are of good quality...I use a very old cheap table saw occasisionally and as long as the blade is well kept I havent ever encountered a problem cutting the MDF...but most everything I cut is with the jig saw, and I free hand all of my sub holes after marking them out and they always come out well...

the odds of you getting a sheet of HDF are virtually nil...you yourself would not be able to carry a single sheet of 3/4 HDF...you would know if that was it, and cutting it is alot more difficult than you are describing...not to mention the price of HDF is remarkably higher than MDF and that not very many stores can even get the stuff let alone stock it to be given out improperly...

I'm with BigPurds on this one. I use my jigsaw for most of my MDF cuts, and I've never really had a problem, except that you do need to go quite slow. Another addition to this listing is that MDF will dull your jigsaw blades very fast ad will make them very hot. There is no natural moisture in MDF, so be careful when removing the blades right after you cut, I've burned myself before. Also, about the HDF, I can barely carry a sheet of MDF by myself, so you'd know if it was the wrong sheet. Plus, I just got back from Home Depot and they didn't even have a shelf tag for it.

Cary

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