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Talking to an old carpenter at my shop made me rethink my desk top material choice
Had a customer come in yesterday dropping off his truck, saw my current desk build leaning against the wall. He pointed at the plywood I was planning to use and said 'you know that's gonna warp on you within 6 months with a monitor on it, right?' I had never even thought about it because I was just grabbing the cheapest thing at Home Depot for $35. He started explaining how MDF with a laminate layer actually stays flatter longer for desk surfaces, especially if you have a heavy setup. Has anyone else run into that problem with plywood desks down the line?
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perry.karen26d ago
Oh man, that old carpenter nailed it. I had a buddy who built this huge desk out of standard plywood from Lowe's, looked awesome for about three months. Then he put his dual monitor setup on it and within a year the whole thing had this gentle curve like a slide from a playground. He ended up having to build a whole new frame underneath to prop it back up. MDF with laminate is honestly the way to go for flat surfaces, especially if you're heavy on the gear.
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keith26414d ago
And that curve only gets worse if you live anywhere with humidity changes. My buddy learned the hard way that plywood acts like a sponge whenever the seasons change. He went with three-quarter inch MDF from a cabinet supplier, not the big box store stuff, and had it wrapped in a Formica laminate. That was five years ago and the thing is still dead flat even with a triple monitor setup and a heavy tower sitting on it. The real trick is sealing all the edges too, because moisture will still worm its way in through the raw MDF if you don't. He put iron-on edge banding on all sides and hit it with clear polyurethane for good measure.
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