Material for cabinet build

vondy21 | Posted in Wood and Materials on August 27, 2012 01:37am

I’m about to venture into my first major cabinet build, a built-in entertainment center taking up a wall in our living room. There will be room for the tv, lots of shelves and drawers for storgage.

What would be the best and most cost effective material to use for this build? If it were in the kitchen I would definitely use a premium plywood but being in the living room it seems I could go with a less expensive material. It will all be painted. MDF maybe?

Thanks!

Replies

hammer1 | Aug 27, 2012 08:11pm | #1
I'm guessing you haven't worked with MDF or you might not be asking this question. It's very heavy, creates a lot of annoying dust, hasn't much strength in an application like a shelf, doesn't hold fasteners well, takes a lot of work for a smooth painted surface, easily damaged.

Go with a good grade of birch plywood, A2. It's the opposite of all the above and well worth the few extra dollars in ease of working and finishing as well as structural integrity. I'd stay away from Baltic birch and other plywoods that are not finish sanded.
Westchester | Aug 28, 2012 06:30am | #2
I don't like working with MDF - if you need wide boards I'd go with a 3/4 birch ply instead of glue ups but you have to deal with edges with ply - otherwise nice clear pine boards would be my choice.

SA

vondy21 | Aug 28, 2012 05:08pm | #3
I have used MDF a bit, it's very dusty and heavy no doubt. But it's also very flat, uniform and takes paint well. But I agree, plywood would be my first choice.

I start to go blank when reading through all the different types/grades, etc. One of our local lumber yards has 3/4 birch VC. They also have maple, I read somewhere maple works well for cabinet carcasses.

Thanks for the help, I'm sure i'll learn a lot during the project.

Unclehal | Aug 31, 2012 12:46am | #4
Material for cabinet

Couple years ago I built all our kitchen base cabinets using MDF. It's dusty, wear proper safty equipment. I found the sides, bottoms remain flat, don't move, accept finish well, and as dense as MDF is it holds screws well. I stacked 4 to 5 sheets on sturdy saw horses and precut parts so they would be easy to handly. The cost difference convinced me MDF was the right choice. I would agree that while plywood is easier to handle it's not always the best material for the job. I used plywood for shelves and upper cabinets.
RalphBarker | Aug 31, 2012 11:29am | #5
Cabinet material

[MDFaphobe mode on] If you are leaning toward MDF, why not just buy one premade at Ikea? [MDFaphobe mode off] ;-)

I'd go with either solid wood or cabinet-grade ply. Be bold. Be proud.
swannyww | Sep 18, 2012 12:46pm | #6
mdf

Paint grade MDF is my choice ffor a painted surface. You can add solid wood edging to the shelves to prevent sagging and could stain the edges to add some dimension to the project. You could also add edging to the carcase for the same reason. I cut MDF outside in a rough cut (larger than I need), and fine cut it in the shop. It is easier to handle the smaller pieces when exact cuts are needed to build with. You could also use MDF with plastic laminate for shelves as well as backing for cabinet or anywhere else to give a clean look.