Pneumatic stapler for MDF? (1 Viewer)

[Larry Alan]

I see everyone just glues their MDF for speaker projects. I have a pneumatic narrow crown stapler that really holds wood together almost as good as screws. The staples are about 5/32" wide and I have 1 1/2" long staples. The surface wound is very minimul and depending on air pressure, usually goes below the surface, leaving a tiny spot to fill.
Another question: Will ratchet straps work in place of the bar clamps. I have several ratchet straps but no long bar clamps. I was thinking of glue, staples, and straps for my project. Any thoughts?...................

Larry Alan

 

[Allen Ross]

i would def try on scrap MDF first, see how it works, as for strap clamps. I think it would be rather tedious getting everything aligned.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I've used bar and strap. I use strap when holding a whole box together because i don't have enough larger bar clamps. Just use a few layers of coragated cardboard to keep the straps from rounding or digging into your MDF as it can under high pressure.

I also use brad nails in conjunction with glue with good results.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

If you use staples, nails, screws or brads for joint strength, then you're perhaps misinformed. They are not as strong as a good-fitting joint and carpenters glue. You'd be wasting materials and time, including filling in the holes and sanding the filler flush. I use a brad nailer on very large cabinets, to hold pieces in alignment - not for joint strength. I use band clamps (the "Merle" band clamp from MLCS) for cabinets, augmented with a few bar clamps.

 

[JarrettVance]

I've used a pneumatic finish nailer with 1.5in nails for all my boxes. 3in nails, unless carefully shot, will most likely come out the sides of your box. I glue then clamp and nail. You can save time this way because you don't have to wait for the glue to dry before you take the clamps off. I also add liquid nails to the inside of every corner for extra strength and seal. Finally, fill the holes with wood patch, wait a little while, then sand with a random orbital sander.

 

[Pete Mazz]

We build most of our stuff with glue and staples. With MDF the only advice is not to shoot the staple parallel with the edge and stay about an 1 1/2" from the ends.

Pete