# Anyone know the Janka Hardness Rating for MDF?



## thedudeabides (Oct 20, 2009)

I've scoured the web and can't seem to find the answer. Anyone know of a source?? Just wondering how it compares in hardness to say oak or pine, for example.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

MDF can vary based on manufacturer, but I've always heard it's around 1100 to 1200 lbs., give or take. That puts it somewhere in between pine (870) and red oak (1290). Based in experience cutting all three, that sounds about right. It's cuts more
like oak than pine. This is why it makes for good jig and fence material, other than the fact that is reliably straight.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

All that said, I don't especially like the stuff because of the type of dust generated when cut (I size my full sheets with circular saw). However, it is perfectly priced an terrific to use when my wife wants a closet shelf. But I prefer Baltic birch for jigs.


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## JankaNutcase (Jul 4, 2017)

Hard as Oak in am told, don't know powder how !an made tweaked this is a lab, it's only billed at around Poplar and that's about 400 LB feet. But oak 1140 feet lb, A real marvel at less than £10 a sqaure meter.Put in on the floor and varnish it


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Let me be the first to say it…....I don't know, and I'm not going to make any uninformed wild guesses.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I'm gonna guess 1. So if it's less than the guy two posts up I win. Like the price is right.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Not Janka hardness… but here is the "Wandel" hardness ratings 

Wood hardness testing

Cheers,
Brad

PS: Could someone translate post #3 above into english please!


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Optrermistic is a solid word.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

*"...Anyone know the Janka Hardness Rating for MDF?..."*

I bet you could probably find out from the guy who skins all of those Naugas for their naugahyde… *;-)*

The 'Debill made me do it!...


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

it ould ne made from Scandanavian fith hrade red for all we k ow

This is my new favorite sentence.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

> ... But then again you have to adjudicate what people of pine Mdf is made from….
> 
> - JankaNutcase


I think this is my favorite.


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## gargey (Apr 11, 2016)

Some high-and-mighty admin likes to delete half of my posts without explanation (and without informing me, and anonymously). How about sacking up and letting me know so we can discuss the merits and guidelines?

Using the price of a material to extrapolate its hardness is nonsense. Plainly and unabashedly. What is the deal with this forum? On what basis is that out of bounds?



> I would at guess say it should be 400 foot lb the lowest grade stretch wood a pint called poplar, but because MDF is cheaper than we by around 17% i guess 400 may be optermistic and could be around 340 Lb feet hank retest hardness. But i would 5hink maybe 300.The less strenth is Bolas only 100 lb feet janka hardness. . To say 1100 to 1200 ilb foot is a not a real good figure, because this is the strenth of Oak (1140) And that brings us to the queation, what is the janka on Plywood, it s going to be the same as rel wood,. So 350 foot lb, of lb foot is my guess for MDF.If now I will be suprised. But then again you have to adjudicate what people of pine Mdf is made from. Like i said Poplar version of pine is about the softest, but does mean thay MDF IS MADE FROM POLAR, it ould ne made from Scandanavian fith hrade red for all we k ow, Duglus Fir is a bit optimistically again. So if it is made from 450 lb feet pine then it will be nearly 400 foot lb. I think you just know of 17% Off , the strenth compared to real woods.MDF alike plywood is also made from Walnut, Oak, Zebrano no ect. For classy furniture. But mainstream DIY it s pine. So yes I think it could be as hard as 400 LB foot janka hardness i would not be suprised. . But yes indeed suprise suprise it is really as hard as oak in between 1100 and 1200 foot lb amd weighs a ton. How they tweet nature with man made V s Nature s own organic freindly format? Magic of the Carpenters saw dust bin amd his glue pot.
> To god to be true? Looks that way, like them solid wood kitchen tops made of Beech amd oak 40mm thick, you can hang as your door for cheap as bags of chips £100 for 760mm x 2000. look real good.we got it made.And no knots Gaurenteed. If you ever find a knot in your mdf board you get Mi££ion big bumper book winner manufactuers gaurentee I have never seen a knot to date and inspected quite a few bords in my time. But have found tiny wood worm holes.Indeed we will learn out of the blue one day that MDF was really a tree all along. akd even i880s wood chip that is not glue it s resin Best tree resin at that . P,ywood tree.? well suspect. Horizontal tree ring that s what they are from the Dickchard Wimblebatts tree.
> OSB Sterling wetabix bord is a indiginous tree grown in other peoples could tryst. It grows to 145 meters tall In Scotland.
> 
> - JankaNutcase


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