Having done a lot of DIY projects over the last decade, I've really shifted my view of OSB. Originally I would lump it in with particleboard, but I've since drastically changed my view of it. Particleboard is, truly, junk. OSB and plywood are both pretty good products, and for some uses superior to hardwoods (dimensional stability, for example). High quality plywoods are amazing products. OSB for structure or underlayments are really quite good.
> Frame: Plywood, Polyurethane foam 30 kg/cu.m., Particleboard, Solid wood, Fibreboard
An example of something that looks well-built is the Skogsta dining table [1].
> Table top: Solid acacia, Clear acrylic lacquer, Clear lacquer
> Leg/ Rail: Solid acacia, Acrylic paint
(Though the oak version, which costs more, is oak-veneered particleboard.)
Many Ikea things aren't designed to last. That table has cross-beams, so it has a better chance surviving a party where someone leans heavily against one end of it. Something like Mörbylånga [2] looks like it would collapse.
I would give the furniture on display a good shove to see how sturdy it is.
[1] https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/skogsta-dining-table-acacia-704...
[2] https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/moerbylanga-table-oak-veneer-br...
* Furniturewise the bathroom furniture, especially GODMORGON are ok. I think because they have to survice contact with humidity.
* The HILVER bamboo legs are that good, that we kept them even after getting rid of the cardboard table tops.
no you can't, the outside shell of each shelf completely hides what's inside. I wanted to reconfigure a shelf (turn it on it's side, combine it with another) and turns out the "boards" are hollow. There is something inside at the corner pre-drilled-screw anchor points, but that's the only place you can attach something, the rest of it is potemkin shelf. You get to see this in more detail if you keep a shelf in a mildly humid place like a beachhouse, as the whoe thing delaminates and you see cardboard honeycombs inside a thin veneer of ...veneer
It's very sad that they're not made anymore. I guessed it just was not imported here due to its prohibitive cost, but not being able to find it on the other side of the pond is saddening.
[0]https://www.ikea.com/us/en/cat/butcher-block-countertops-464...
Unless there is a drop of moisture, then you throw it all away.
It’s so depressingly wasteful.
But as with all things, I'm certain some producers are using raw/virgin materials. Probably from wood that is dirt cheap.
The amount of sawdust needed to create a sheet of this stuff is astronomical compared to the output, not to mention the manufacturing process being very resource intensive. You also cannot just take bags of sawdust from the wood mill - it must be macerated and ground to a very fine dust with roughly the consistency of flour.
The main advantage it has is that it is heavy (to weigh down furniture) and very easy to cut with bandsaws, mills, lasers, etc because of its uniform distribution of its constituent parts. It’s also good for applying vinyl wraps and edging which is one reason why arcade cabinets are often made from it.
All this for a product that is roughly the same price as A cabinet-grade ply:
MDF 3/4” x 4’ x 8’ for $52.98: https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-MDF-Panel-D...
Radiata Pine plywood 23/32” x 4’ x 8’ for $55.98: https://www.homedepot.com/p/23-32-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Cabinet-G...
I'm using it for my next workbench top.
Unless there is a drop of moisture, then you throw it all away.
I went with IKEA's Sektion cabinets to replace some forty year old particleboard cabinets that warped after years of water damage from a burst pipe. They came with a twenty-five year warranty so there's clearly some expectation of longevity.
If I'm building something I try really hard to avoid it, I can only assume the dust is really toxic to breath in and I don't have money or space for a fancy dust collection system.
Baltic birch would be stronger, no doubt, but that's 3 times the price and I am not exactly storing a geode collection up there.