panels out of ply or solid wood?

[Joe Cowan]

I am pondering if I should change my habits and use ply for the panels on my next project, that will be made out of frame and panel construction. I have always been stubborn and glued up panels made of solid hardwood for this. Just wondering how others handle this issue.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Done both. Depends on (a) what the piece is, (b) who it is for, and (c) my "emotional commitment".

If I don't care all that much, it is an easy choice. If it is an heirloom blanket chest for a niece, it is an easy choice.

If it is kitchen cabinets, you're kidding, right? :D

[Richard Coers]

With the quality of plywood continuing to get worse, now would not be the time to change.

[Bradley Gray]

I think it depends somewhat on the tooling available. If you have a thickness sander solid wood is a stronger option. Without, plywood is a big time saver, but the veneer keeps getting thinner, especially bad with open grain like oak.

[jack forsberg]

ply wood will give the whole piece a uniform look where as solid you have to work with the gain and color to keep it even. and of course you can not raise ply wood panels

[Stephen Musial]

Plywood is nice if you're doing your own veneer and is also much stronger since the panel can be glued to the frame and it all acts as one unit. However, if not veneering, nothing beats the look of real wood.

What's the project?

[Art Mann]

If it is kitchen cabinets or similar, I always use plywood. If it is what I hope will be fine furniture, I almost always use solid panel glue-ups.

[Mike Heidrick]

The amount avoids in the "good" $50+ box store plywood (no box store plywood is good it seems) is staggering. Keep that in mind depending on the job.

[Joe Cowan]

Done both. Depends on (a) what the piece is, (b) who it is for, and (c) my "emotional commitment".

If I don't care all that much, it is an easy choice. If it is an heirloom blanket chest for a niece, it is an easy choice.

If it is kitchen cabinets, you're kidding, right? :D

I am doing the bar project in a recent Woodsmith magazine. I just finished some bedroom end tables that were to be in the corner next to the bed and only the front really seen, so I used ply for the panels and it looks fine, it is just that I know what it is made of. I will continue to use solid wood in my panels, just wondering what others do with their projects.

[David Werkheiser]

I think you would be better off using veneer covered MDF instead of plywood. The MDF is more consistent in thickness and less chance of sand through of the veneer. I do like using a solid wood panel, but they are more work.

[Lee Schierer]

I find that if you count the cost of the waste in a sheet of plywood used for a project that the cost of a solid wood glued up panel is less. As others have mentioned, the quality of veneered plywood available to most of us is from the big box stores and it can be pretty bad. The thin veneer is easy to sand through and tends to flake off on the edges and ends. The time spent edge banding and trimming also adds up. Using plywood doesn't allow you to round over the edges or ad a decorative edge either.

[scott vroom]

I'm with Lee. I've sanded through the veneer of "high quality" flat ply purchased from Macbeath Hardwoods on a couple of occasions. You'd think that for $120/sheet the veneer would be a bit thicker than the Chinese potato chips you get at the box stores....wrong. My last kitchen job was rift sawn white oak, solid wood doors/panels, and solid wood end panels. The only place I'll use ply anymore is for carcases (with solid wood end panels), drawers, and paint grade jobs. Corporate profiteering has ruined so many formerly quality products, hardwood ply included. I'll stop now for fear of running off on another rant as I am wont to do :)