home made particle boards

[Daniel Santos]

Hello,

Has anyone ever tried to make some at home ? From what I read on the internet, industrially made boards are glued toghether by spraying resin over the wood particles , then the result is pressed, and baked with hot air.

I am thinking in giving it a try, with a home made manual press (not much pressure) and possibly dilluting wood glue with tap water. Don't want to baked it though. I'll just let it dry at ambient temperature.

I would use the boards for covering wood structures of furniture, so the cohesion of the particles doesn't need to be high.

Regards

[J T]

Fri, Oct 19, 2007, 9:51pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Daniel=A0Santos) doth wander in and query: Hello, Has anyone ever tried to make some at home ?

Wouldn't be worth the time, effort, and materials, as far as I'm concerned. Even if I only considered my time worth 25 cents an hour, still wouldn't be worth it to me. I can get a 4'X8' of OSB for just under $6, including tax, plus the cost of gas to get it. I'd buy enough other stuff to make the cost of the gas worthwhile.

You want a cheap press? Lay it out, put a thich sheet of steel on it, and park a truck on the steel for a day or two.

JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."

[mac davis]

I'd have to classify this under "cool thought, not particle".. I see a few problems, besides not being cost effective:

What size boards and how big a press?

Can the pressure be even enough to get uniform thickness, or do you kill planer blades running sawdust and glue through?

Covering wood structures of furniture? Are we talking tarping or veneer? Neither application works for me, with home made or manufactured particle board..

OTOH, if you could make it out of cherry sawdust you might have some cool material.. ;-]

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[rivahrebel]

Having worked in the lab 40 odd years ago in the production of particle board and the development of MDF prior to the granting of patent, I think I can answer this. In the mix with the spray and the milling process to get the lumps out and in laying the mold, some of the particles become charged. In the pressing, electrical charges cause these charged particles to weave into the others, not easily done at home. We made test boards then using a

2 ton press, high voltage variable amps; a 3/4 inch board began as 3 pieces each about 8 inches tall.

[Daniel Santos]

Never mind. I am a hobbyist. My goal is to recycle wood that is left over from other works.

Never mind that either, I have built one that is enough for my needs.

[J T]

Tue, Oct 23, 2007, 11:55am (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Daniel=A0Santos) now doth sayeth: Never mind. I am a hobbyist. My goal is to recycle wood that is left over from other works.

I don't know the numbers, but I'd say there's not a lot of us here that woodwork for their main income - we're hobbyists in other words. You recycle leftover wood by using it in another project, making small things, appropriate to the size of the piece of wood - kid toys, jewelry boxes, jigs, etc. Sawdust use as mulch, pet bedding (depending on wood type, and animal type), traction in the winter, even make sawdust clay. Wood too small to realistically use, can go in a bonfire, smoke meat, BBQing; even make charcoal, then charcoal briquets. You can spend time on making your own particle board if you want, but I'd consider it a totally useless waste of time and effort. Better to think of some activity that would be a useful waste of time. Your time, but homemade particle board just seems so pointless.

JOAT "I'm an Igor, thur. We don't athk quethtionth." "Really? Why not?" "I don't know, thur. I didn't athk."