Newbie- MDF and Chemicals

[baseball43v3r]

i know a lot of the users on here use MDF as a common material in their shops, but where i go to school the model shop absolutely forbids the use of MDF. the shopboss says this is because there are harmful chemicals inside MDF and he doesnt want to ruin router bits on it. now i find this hard to believe considering so many people use MDF but could anyone shed any light on this? anybody have any convincing material to prove him correct or incorrect?

[ger21]

http://www.norbord.com/images/MSDS_MDF_Eng_2007.pdf
http://www.flakeboard.com/msds/Flake...r_MDF_MSDS.pdf

It's got formaldehyde in it, and it is very abrasive to router bits. But it routes easy, and it's cheap, so lots of people use it.

[martinw]

Originally Posted by ger21 http://www.norbord.com/images/MSDS_MDF_Eng_2007.pdf http://www.flakeboard.com/msds/Flake...r_MDF_MSDS.pdf It's got formaldehyde in it, and it is very abrasive to router bits. But it routes easy, and it's cheap, so lots of people use it.

I totally agree with ger21,

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the formaldehyde if the shop is not a huge user. What you should be concerned about is the dust generated by any cutting/routing/drilling/sanding operations on MDF. That dust is really fine and does your lungs no good.

A whole load of companies in the UK will not use MDF because the cost of effective dust extraction for small power tool tasks is huge if they wish to comply with insurance/ government safety obligations. In your own workshop, you can do what you want... but wearing a comfortable, convenient, positive pressure respirator/vizor will do you no harm.

BTW, if the vizor is scratched, and you cannot see clearly, you will not use it, so get a few spare polycarbonate windows.

Good health, and good luck,

Best wishes,
Martin