cabinet making skills

[Thomas]

Thank God my dad's circular saw had mounted a (industrial type)vaccum cleaner when we cut the MDF for my current project. Still, there were lots of dust in the shop when finished. I wouldn't dare to think what had happend without the vaccum cleaner.

[audioaficionado]

My 5.5" Woodhawk circular saw has a dust collection connector. I'll use an attached shop vac whenever I'm in a confined space.

My router does not.

[jackinnj]

You can check the MSDS on MDF at any wood products company website to ***** for yourself the carcinogenicity of MDF. PlumCreek Timber will come up first on google. It's the formaldehyde of the urea-formaldehyde resin which is a "potential" carcinogen. Wood dust in general can lead to nasal cancer, so cutting a lot of particle board or plywood should require a mask. Unlike working with methyl-ethyl ketone, fiberglas solvents, or benzene, toluene, xylene etc. it's probably not necessary to use an expensive VOC blocking mask if you don't cut MDF for a living, however.

Interesting sidebar, because of this Kodak and others modified the last step of one of their photofinishing processes to eliminate formaldehyde. Regardless, those of us who want to be sure that the process of setting the dyes in color film goes to conclusion use a 5% solution of formaldehyde after the final rinse.

[FlMike]

protos, dont know where you are located but here the high schools offer adult education classes at night and almost all of them off a woodworking class where you can build your own project with the benifit of a instructer there to help you out and teach you the proper saftey procedures.

just a thought

cheers, mike

[mwmkravchenko]

I have worked with MDF for over 15 years. The stuff is evil in that the dust particles are very small. The glues/binders in the MDF are from the fromaldehyde family and are not good for you. But here is the point. You are not getting any significant exposure to the toxins by making a set of loudspeakers. Don't worry to much about that. Check your tollerance to dust and if you can take it go ahead and work with it. If you cannot get yourself a dust mask.

Mark