Not sure this is actually a woodworking experience but thought I'd share as it is somewhat related to wood fibers. At the University I oversee lab facilities for one of the Engineering departments. This summer we started remodeling a lab that had not been updated since the 60's. We removed old metal cabinets with plastic drawers that had manufacture's tags "Sears & Roebuck". We normally purchase top of the line metal cabinets from Laboratory suppliers like VWR or Fisher Hamilton. Quote's running in the $20,000 range from these suppliers was way over the budget for this particular lab. I could have built 3/4 birch or maple cabinets in my shop but after a 6 month project of building cabinets for our kitchen I was in cabinet burnout.
I contracted with a regional cabinet shop to build RTA units for about $7,000. I've have no experience with RTAs but have read and heard some of the negative experiences with them, so I was a little concerned. These units were Folks gray melamine 3/4" particle board core with 5/8" clear finished BB drawers. We have spent a few days assembling these and I must say I am impressed with the machining and fit of the pieces. The pieces are very precisely dimensioned, machining on all the pocket screw holes, mortise and tenons joints, etc. is very good. Assembled drawers are very strong. We used Titebond II on all the joints before installing screws.
So overall it's been a good learning experience about RTAs.I would certainly consider using them again on future projects. The particle board core still kind of bothers me, but you get what you pay for. This is a "dry" lab so hopefully the core will have good longevity.