Cheers John
I certainly have opened a can of worms !
Will call on you if I decide to continue down that road.
I wonder how many know how dangerous (sim to asbestos) that MDF is when cutting and shaving and drilling it? 
Good reason to keep the old Base.

I used lami-panel when I made up a new shelf for the escort, strong as, won't rot and easily shaped, sanded etc. Glued thin carpet on it to stop things sliding about and pinchweld along the edge to tidy the face and stop anything rolling off. Was doing bathroom reno at the time so had a bit of spare panel to re-purpose. LOL Len