Cabinet design question

[Jim Dannels]

Am working on plans for a kitchen remodel next summer.
Wife wants to go with the rustic country design, simular to farm kitchens we remember from the 50`s. Lighting is an issue so light in color is important too. What she wants is a board & Batten style doors with no hardware visible from the front. Am wondering if I can use a half lap on the boards and battens? Would I need hardware or would glueing the battens be sufficient. I`ll use european hinges in the battens. We have decided the knotty pine with potential tearout around knots, resins to load up tools and impede finishing may not be the best choice. The guys at the Woodsmith Store seemed to think hickory would be a better choice. I wonder if ash with a honey pine stain might not be better yet? Since this is in the planning stages I`m open to all ideas.

[Bill Simmeth]

I've seen several kitchens done with hickory and they are gorgeous. I think it is particularly well suited for the rustic feel you're trying to achieve. Good luck with your project. Sounds like fun!

[Doug Shepard]

I'd definitely look into the hickory. I have some neighbors who just went through a kitchen redo and bought their cabinets from the Borg. They're not solid wood, but veneer over some other wood (birch maybe?). Anyway, they went with the hickory and the look is very nice - especially against their dark granite countertops. It's still a fairly light color, but a little warmer tone than maple or pine.

[Jim Dannels]

Bill & Doug, Thanks for responding. I`ll look harder at the Hickory.

[Kenny King]

please correct me if i'm wrong. I recall reading that Hickory was difficult to machine

- Kenny King

[Barry Beech]

I haven't worked with hickory but I built a kitchen table with Pecan which are closely related. The pecan machined very well but did have a tendency to splinter. It is a very, very heavy wood.

[Russ Massery]

I helped a friend make some cabinets out of hickory. A little harder then say oak but as long as your tooling is sharp not really that bad. The results were stunning. love the changes in color.

[Jim Dannels]

Well I needed a DC fitting and was in the Woodsmith Store again last night. Did not find any hickory in the lumber room, so will have to keep looking. What I did find that amazed me was pine @ $3.80bf and some good looking white oak for $3.30bf. I thought oak would be much higher?