Mdf?

Im looking to make a rack and possible a large cage for my snakes. Greg Maxwell uses MDF for some of his cages with success. He heats them with a heat pannel. I did some looking and MDF is made with formaldehyde but so is Melamine that many people use. I plan on sealing it just like Maxwell does, with water proof contact paper. My question is about the heat tape on it. Im always worried about heaters of any kind, which I feel is warrented b/c I don't want to burn my place down.

So....safe or no safe???

I don't know. If you've ever seen MDF in a bonfire, it goes up quick and burns hot. It also soaks up water pretty easily. I personally wouldnt use MDF for a snake cage that requires high humidity or heat.

particle board aka melamine burns pretty fast also but people are using it for their racks.

I have seen pictures of Greg Maxwells cages. I also like how he uses the contact paper. I would find out exactly what kind he uses and try to match it.

As far as heat, I wouldn't worry about it. Especially with a radiant heat panel. The ignition point of wood is between 380-900 degrees. Even without any temperature control it can't get that hot.

MDF or Medium Density Fiber Board is a real no go for most types of enclosure construction. I use 3/4 Melamine for my racks its just as heavy as MDF but the melamine plastic is food grade which means it will not absorb chemicals or pathogens. The next best thing is ABS or EPVC.

Chris works a lot with MDF. Seeing a scrap piece of MDF swell up quickly around moisture just doesn't sound like the best wood to use for a cage.

mdf is the worst for swelling. it is basically small wood fibers glued and pressed together from what i understand. i personally would avoid it but if sealed properly it should hold up. now if the seal wears away or is ineffective it will degrade very fast.

Also mdf is very heavy. there are other choices that would be better.

i was trying to keep cost down and the cost of abs and pvc is kinda high. i just hate the white look of melamine.

I dont like melamine either, its super heavy and the only good thing about it is the plastic coating over it.

If I were to build anything (Like I have sitting unfinished in the garage) it would be one side sanded plywood. I'm still struggling to find time to finish the coats of poly, I'm just procrastinating after this hot summer to get back out there :P

In all, it ended up being just a bit cheaper for us to build instead of just buying an AP 6' cage, but we like to look of wood and wanted it to fit our dimensions. So we went ahead and threw it together.

well i built my rack out of mdf its only about a month old but so far so good i like it for as little money as i have in it.