MDO Plywood

[Keith Hooks]

Medium Density Overlay - has anyone ever used it? I have a plan for a tool cart that calls out this material and I honestly had never heard of it before. I searched both the HD and Lowe's websites without any luck. Perhaps there's a common tradename that I'm missing. Anyone have any experience/infos they can share?

Thanks

[Joe Unni]

Medium Density Overlay - has anyone ever used it? I have a plan for a tool cart that calls out this material and I honestly had never heard of it before. I searched both the HD and Lowe's websites without any luck. Perhaps there's a common tradename that I'm missing. Anyone have any experience/infos they can share?

Thanks

MDO is the trade name.

You'll probably have to go to a real plywood supplier to get it. Funny, I just asked for a quote from my supplier today.

I've never used it, (I will be) but it supposed to be paint really well and will stand up to exterior applications (i.e. sign makers use it).

Good luck,
-joe

[Kyle Kraft]

Keith,

MDO is commonly used for outdoor signs 'cuz it takes paint well. Menards carries it here in K'zoo in 3/4 and 1/2 inch thicknesses.

[Steve Clardy]

Do a goggle search on MDO ply.
It's a paper faced MDF sheet stock

Edit. Oops. Was thinking MDF and should have been typing plywood

[Bruce Benjamin]

I've used it a little and used it recently to make a, "Jeep box". It's basically regular exterior plywood with a heavy paper overlay. It kinda looks like MDF and I'm not certain that the paper isn't actually a very thin layer of MDF over the top of the ply. My experience has been that it's generally flatter than standard ACX plywood but otherwise pretty much the same. As has already been stated, it's frequently used in sign making and it takes paint very well. I've seen it in several different thicknesses and in, "One sided covered", "Both sides covered", and, "Pre-primed". My neighbor gave me some a while ago that had been exposed to the weather for about a year. It had been under the eaves of his house but still got rain spray on it. Other than being a little water stained it was in good shape. Pretty durable stuff. That leads me to believe that whatever the outside coating is it's somewhat water resistant.

Bruce

[Jim Becker]

My local full-service lumber yard carries MDO in a variety of thicknesses in both single and double faced. Forget the 'borg...this is a specialty item. But be aware, it isn't inexpensive, either.

[Kevin Perez]

You won't likely find it at the big box stores. Traditional lumberyards have it. It is really easy to work with, and is great for garage cabinets and stuff. I'm currently doing several projects with some where 1/2" MDO is used for the backs, sides, tops and bottoms, and is dadoed into maple frames.

[Ben Grunow]

I have used MDO to make rasied panels for a 2 story bay window on the exterior of a large house. It is in fact paper faced but the paper is water proof and the stuff is very durable outside. Cuts like regular ply and everyhting else if only a bit sharper on the cut edges maybe from the different glue for exterior apps.

I glued a 2" strip around the edges of some squares with biscuits for alignment and resorcinol glue and then ran them through the shaper to form the panels. These are 4 years old now and no signs of problems (wish I had some pics but it really did happen).

I also made a mobile TS stand (like Norms from the garage workshop episode) out of it and the paper has really held up after 3 years of full time use on the job there is no delamination-the paper just wears down to nothing at the edges. Its good stuff if you ask me.

[Chris McDowell]

Keith all good points by the folks above me. What kind of shopcart are you making? If it's going to be indoors you might be better served to look at birch plywood or something along those lines. MDO is definitely a premium product made for outdoor use. Although you can use it indoors, it is fairly expensive. A lot of states use MDO for the signs you see along the highway. It holds up great for that application.
Not trying to tell you what to do, but I only use the stuff when necessary because of that high price. Good luck and best wishes.

Chris

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Yup!
I have made all my mobile tool cabinets out of it. Router table, saw cabinet, mitersaw cabinet, sanding - planer cabinet.
It is exactly the thickness that is specified - ex. 3/4 is 3/4 - 1/2 is 1/2.
Ordered it through 84 Lumber and pick it up (with my hard hat, at Weyerhaeuser customer service center.
Daniel

[Keith Hooks]

Thanks for all the useful information, folks. I going to make a planar stand for the shop, one with a top that swivels and allows the planar to swing upside down and out of the way. It's not necessarily a requirement that I use MDO, but the plans called for it and I didn't know much about it, so some investigation was in order. I'll check prices and see how it compares to birch pw, mdf, etc. and decide from there.

[Jerry Ingraham]

i use it frequently for any painted, flat panel job. I first discovered it when I made some WOOD magazine yard ornaments (the snowman family). The first set I made was about 7-8 years ago and they still show no delamination. I have had to reseal/repaint the edges once though. They stand in the snow for 45 days each winter and have held up great. The plywood is generally seven ply and has very few voids, though voids do exist. It is not cheap, $50.00 a sheet for 1/2" at my local yard.

[Bruce Benjamin]

i use it frequently for any painted, flat panel job. I first discovered it when I made some WOOD magazine yard ornaments (the snowman family). The first set I made was about 7-8 years ago and they still show no delamination. I have had to reseal/repaint the edges once though. They stand in the snow for 45 days each winter and have held up great. The plywood is generally seven ply and has very few voids, though voids do exist. It is not cheap, $50.00 a sheet for 1/2" at my local yard.

$50?! Wow! That's a steep price to pay. A few weeks ago I bought a sheet of 3/4" faced both sides for about $35. They had several other varieties but except for the pre-primed variety, this was the most expensive. Add the prime coat and it was about $42 for 3/4". This is from a local redwood company that has a, "Discount building supply" around the corner from their larger lumber yard. The idea of the place is that there are supposed to be seconds for sale. There are but most of the selection is at least as good as what you find at HD or any other big chain. What I got was perfect. Wood prices sure do vary depending upon what part of the country you live in. I'm in the far northern part of California.

Bruce

[Joe Unni]

I was just quoted $57.60 for 3/4" with both faces papered.

-joe

[Bruce Benjamin]

I was just quoted $57.60 for 3/4" with both faces papered.

-joe

How 'bout I buy enough from my local source so that the $20+ savings per sheet will pay for shipping to your neck of the woods? Whew! That's some steep prices. I don't like MDO enough to pay nearly $60 a sheet. Have you shopped around your area for a better price?

Bruce