Plywood for European cabintets?

[Clisby Clark]

It is not uncommon for me to get some slightly bowed plywood from my supplier. This is either a paint grade domestic or Acuro(?) from SA. Since all my cabinets to date have been FF, this has not been a huge issue since I can "straighten" the ply with the back or FF. I was wondering how one could use this impefect ply in building Euro cabs since there is no FF to help hide the blemishes? Thanks for your input

[Andy McCormick]

crickets chirping tumble weed blows through

[Leo Graywacz]

That's why they are made from veneered MDF.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Clisby, the only cabinets I've made from plywood are Baltic Birch.

They are frameless, and the BB plywood is flat and void free.

I haven't seen any domestic plywood that is as good as the BB plywood.

Regards, Rod.

[frank shic]

clisby the pro's usually avoid using plywood for the very reason that you cited: warpage. another factor is inconsistent thickness which doesn't matter for face frame but throws off the reveals in frameless cabinetry. melamine is a great product but does take some extra tooling to cut chip-free.

[Ben Abate]

Personally I use plywood for all the euro cabs. I have never had a problem. I buy from a distributror, I believe it is a 9 or 11 ply sheet. I usually purchase a one side maple prefinished plywood. To be honest I never use MDF except for a counter top once in a while. I think using Baltic Birch plywood is over the top and too expensive. If you have a good local distributor I would see what he has to offer.... Maybe I'm the wierd one here but I have built a lot of euro cabs and find plywood to work ok. Also; I have used particle board also with a primary wood and a prefinished maple inside.

Ben

[David DeCristoforo]

Like Ben, I have built "Euro" style casework using plywood for many years. As many here are aware, I am not a big fan of MDF and I refuse to build cabinets out of it regardless of what it is surfaced with. The "key" to using plywood is to use good quality plywood. Warped pieces will be problematic. Contrary to Frank's experience, I have not encountered any problems with the slight variations in thickness affecting reveals. However, I had had to compensate for the difference in overall thickness between most MDF which is a "true" .75" inches thick and most plywoods which tend to run under .75".

[Ben Abate]

Like David said, which I forgot to say. you have to purchase quality plywood. That is the difference, and from a reputable dealer. It makes all the difference. Home Depot and places like that won't carry the product you desire. Even you local lumber yard won't carry in most cases. If he is a wood dealer then yes, he might carry the product David and I are speaking of. I use a cabinet hardware type distributor. I personnally won't even think of building an upper kitchen cabinet with particle board or mdf. My thoughts are the weight of the material and the weight of the dishes and what ever is stored in them is too much weight. My thoughts are that plywood is a stonger material vs. it's weight. Again, those are my thoughts on it. I don't want to come back to a customer's home to see a cabinet delaminate because it got damp once. I have ten sheets of 1/2 inch cherry ply in my shop as we speak here. It has been there for 5 years and it has not warped, and it isn't finished on either side. I would have to say that whomever you are purchasing from may not be storing it properly either. I need to use it up. I use it for backing. Got a good deal and purchased way too much.

Ben