Baltic Birch vs Pre-finished maple ply for kitchen cabinets

[johnny means]

I know it's sacrilegious around here, but I'm going to throw it out there anyway. The best material for cabinet carcasses is melamine coated particle board. It can be bought in hundreds of colors and "species" to match any exterior. There is no more durable or sanitary finish. Some of the new High definition products are virtually indistinguishable from real wood. Further more, all sink bases should be made from PVC sheet goods.

[scott vroom]

Pre-finished for cheap garage cabinets only.

Seems a bit harsh. Pre-finished C2 maple is my go to for kitchen wall cab interiors and base cabs with shelving where interior is visible, with applied panels on exposed end of run cabs.

Use good quality ply, particularly if you're applying WB finishes. I've had bubbles appear in the top skin when spraying WB....no doubt from voids.

[mike stenson]

Many people cannot deal with opinions which are different than their own. Some even see it as a personal affront.

My clients would never hire me again if I used pre-finished material.

Nah, mostly it's the delivery.

[Jim Becker]

My clients would never hire me again if I used pre-finished material.

They wouldn't accept pre-finished for cabinet interiors where the sun doesn't normally shine?

[Dan Hahr]

My clients would never hire me again if I used pre-finished material.

Care to elaborate? Why is that? Do they want the interiors to match the outside or what?
Dan

[tim walker]

I use prefinished ply, either Garniga or Columbia panels, with 1/4" solid banding. I hate veneer tape for surfaces that will receive wear. If you go with Baltic Birch, Apple Ply or similar you can skip the edgeband.

I wipe a few coats of hard oil on the banding. As long as it is not exposed you don't have to match the color exactly. If you want to spray the banding on prefinished material. you can stack the panels up like stair steps to avoid masking tape.

For one project learning CAD will save you no time, but will pay off down the road, as long as you use it often enough to be efficient.

Kevin, where can one find the Garinca Ply? I have seen the Columbia at HD

[andy bessette]

They wouldn't accept pre-finished for cabinet interiors where the sun doesn't normally shine?

Care to elaborate? Why is that? Do they want the interiors to match the outside or what?
Dan

Pre-finished look is what one might expect from IKEA. My clients pay extra for custom made and have higher expectations. Interior usually matches exterior, but there are exceptions, like laminate, etc.

[Kevin Jenness]

"where can one find the Garinca Ply?"

I get Garnica panels from Atlantic Plywood, but I doubt that will do you much good In Texas.

[Jim Becker]

Kevin, where can one find the Garinca Ply? I have seen the Columbia at HD

From a real plywood supplier. In my area, I buy from Industrial Plywood out of Reading PA. They stock Garnica. My cabinetmaker neighbor "swears by it" at this point. I haven't tried it myself as there have been no projects come up where I needed plywood recently.

[David Zaret]

i use DSI as a supplier. the Garnica is nice. personally i like the columbia more, but, they have issues with core thickness consistency, and running plywood on the CNC the consistency is very important. the garnica is very consistent. this is nice material, with a nice finish - i cannot imagine why anyone would complain about it, even in high-end casework. i've used it in $60k+ kitchens, with great success.

-- dz

[Tyler Bancroft]

Purebond is nice stuff. The quality of the veneer does seem to vary a fair bit from sheet to sheet.