Ghosting on cabinet door?

[Adam Herman]

I think 1/4 is fine, unless you have a panel that is more than maybe 2 feet by 4 feet.

My doors were not sealed before assembly. Have not had any issues. They have been up for a year or so.

strange, everyone around here has 1/4 1/2 and 3/4 MDF in stock. One place even has different densities of each, plus 3/8, 4x10 and 4x12 panels.

[John TenEyck]

1/2" is heavier but easier to find and sounds better so that's what I use. I'm pretty sure you can order MDF in 3/8" thickness, too, and that would be what I'd do if I had to build a kitchen's worth of doors.

It depends upon the frame profile, but with a simple Shaker or similar style you can cut a 1/2" wide dado if using 7/8" or thicker frame stock. There are Blum hinges designed for doors up to 1" thick so it's not an issue mounting them. But if your edge profiles are deeper then you will have to rabbet the back of the 1/2" panels. In any case, I glue the panels into the frame which makes a very strong assembly and deals with the "end grain" at the same time. Never had any water problems. Two coats of primer, two coats of paint, pretty bullet proof.

John

[Jim Becker]

Home centers like Home Depot and Lowes typically have 1/4" MDF in 2'x4' panels...that's where I buy mine for jigs and panels.

[Bill Adamsen]

I use 1/2" and relieve the back. Frankly solid wood works great too ... or a cheap, flat, strong solution is MDO. The Amana 989 raised panel back cutter (or similar) makes fast work of relieving the back. Alternatively, you can set up an angled fence on a tablesaw blade. Objective is to avoid a sharp corner (like you'd get with a rabbet) which would invite splitting or delamination.