Drawer fronts for a vanity

[James Jayko]

So I built two vanities for my bathroom. Carcasses, and all drawer boxes are in place and look good.

I need drawer fronts, so I figured I'd just use something cheap and solid from the big box stores as they'll be panted anyway. I left the two pieces of flatsawn poplar in the driveway on a humid day and they cupped substantially. Which made me think they'll be ~terrible for the job I'm using them for, given, you know, moisture in bathrooms.

I am thinking about getting a few pieces of straight doug fir; seems that there are some pretty good, pretty reasonably priced quartersawn options there. I think that'll likely give me far more stability.

Am I thinking about this right? Are there other options I should be considering, or other considerations I'm not even thinking about?

[Jim Becker]

Almost any species you leave on the driveway on a humid day is going to cup since the moisture and temperature is going to be unbalanced between the top and bottom of the board(s). That includes D-Fir. Tulip Poplar isn't an unstable wood generally. I use a ton of it because I had a ton of it harvested off my property and mine isn't even kiln dried like what you likely bought at the 'borg.

How you build and fasten your drawer fronts to your drawer boxes will affect stability in a bathroom and sealing both sides of whatever material you use will also help with that. Be sure to use a water borne finish or shellac for that sealing...oil based products with surfaces exposed to the interior of a cabinet or piece of furniture tend to off-gas "forever" and that smell can get in or on materials that tend to absorb the same.

[John TenEyck]

Poplar is a good choice for painted drawer fronts, including on a vanity. I prefer maple because it's harder to dent, but poplar is fine. Just don't leave it, or any wood you value, out in the driveway.

John

[David Kumm]

Start with kiln dried to < 8-10%- lower is better. DF is generally not dried enough. When I paint I use leftovers, maple, cherry, or walnut as all are close grained and take paint well. DF also tends to sand such that the soft wood and grain cause ripples if the wood was fast growth with few rings. Dave

[andy bessette]

Here I can buy hardwood for what clear, vertical grain fir sells for.

[Warren Lake]

ive used Cherry Poplar and soft maple on vanities fronts doors and drawers and all of it worked fine. Because its a bathroom it goes through hi humidity and forced air same time in the winter so it gets tortured but so what, it doesnt warp into bananas, it just changes gaps.

[Leo Graywacz]

Mill it flat. Put your profiles on it and sand it. The put finish/paint on the 2 faces and the 4 edges to seal the whole part.

Putting wood in the sun, on a driveway, in humid weather is going to screw with it somehow.

[Bill Dufour]

I think you are having what some call a heat wave. If the stickers under the wood in the sun are less then 2" thick you will have noticeable movement.
Bill D.Modesto, ca
weather forecast 100 degrees 10--15% humidity, smoke gets in your eyes so the sun is somewhat shaded by the haze.

[scott vroom]

93 here today with 10% humidity.

I prefer maple for paint grade. It's much harder and will not dent as easily as poplar, and it finishes perfectly smooth unlike poplar where the grain will telegraph through the finish.