Reclaimed MDF Table Template: 3/4″ 19 mm CNC Router Cut
Whenever possible, CNCROi.com tries to reuse material, in this case, it’s reclaimed MDF to make a table template.
As mentioned, the hardware store was going to throw this 3/4″ 19 mm thick MDF in the garbage but I rescued it after the employee loading my truck said it was going in the bin – perfectly great material!
You can see the very obvious track marks on this sheet of MDF that is being cut using our CNC router, those are from a forklift that ran over this sheet, otherwise, with a little bit of material removed, which I worked the cutting around, it was perfectly fine for this project making a custom table template.
Other than the forklift marks and surface imperfection it caused, the rest of the sheet was totally fine, and for this customer, the esthetics made no difference, it was a template that would be used once then discarded.
This is a great example of how well MDF paints.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4oWTtjMgPo/
CNC routering MDF causes a lot of very fine dust to be generated, even with the dust system running full, lots of dust still manages to escape, it’s just the nature of this material and CNCROi.com is taking off 3/8″ of it with each pass.
This reclaimed MDF table template is actually one solid piece split in three, so it fit in the customer’s truck and on one full sheet of MDF, it was a tight fit, but a perfect one.
MDF is a great material for a wide variety of projects, templates is a great one because it’s very cost-effective, abundantly available and can be sanded super easily.
Of course, CNCROi.com also has other tooling in the shop, for instance, if you wanted some fine MDF ornaments cut, we can do that with our CNC router and or laser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA3OLFC9XPY/
Our full sheet CNC router also makes quick and accurate work of the MDF sheet to produce a perfectly scaled and accurate table template for the customer.
As CNCROi.com is cutting through this 3/4″ 19 mm thick reclaimed MDF, you can see the dust start to build-up on the surface and around where the cuts were being generated across the full sheet.
Ovals, squares, random shapes, random designs, whatever you need cut, CNCROi.com can produce for you.
I’d say CNCROi.com has probably made more templates for the construction industry using MDF than any other material, so it’s rather apt that this one already has the marks of said industry all over the surface of it.
The other massive benefit to MDF is that it paints incredibly well, it seals incredibly using just one coat of primer and then just about any enamel paint does wonders on the surface to transform even reclaimed MDF into a beautiful piece of furniture.
I’m willing to bet that unless you have commissioned custom furniture in your house, most of what you have or working on is actually MDF as well, just with a thin veneer of wood applied to the surface or paint, it’s used massively in the retail furniture space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3R9u_DI5IE/
If you were wondering how we replace the sacrificial board on our CNC router, watch the video above.
For this project, it’s actually a customer using this as a template to generate a very expensive live edge table, this will be used as a guide on their full sheet of material to generate the shape using our hand router and jigsaw.
The MDF table template can also be made using other thicknesses, you aren’t stuck to only one material or one shape or one design, it’s endlessly flexible to your needs and wants.
CNCROi.com can also make custom MDF parts for a wide variety of uses and industries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDRHcxjIvo/
Now that this sheet of reclaimed MDF table template is finished being CNC routed, you can see the three parts that make-up the completed design.
From another angle, you can see a good layer of dust along the edges, this doesn’t matter, the vacuum will suck this up, but what is important, the curves being CURVED and not jagged and an even thickness are what you should pay attention to.
I lifted-up the smallest piece, this would be the end segment of the MDF table template, the part in the front of CNCROi.com‘s CNC router table is actually the middle and at the back of the CNC table, well, the back of the table.
Looking for custom templates, contact CNCROi.com right now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1Frz_5yQd4/