This comparison of shop made vs. factory made cabinets is almost funny.

[jteneyck]

I've used melamine clad particle board.  It is a time saver and makes a good interior for cabinets.  I do think it makes the cabinets look cheap however. 

MDF takes paint really well.  If you sand and seal the machined surfaces they will take paint well too.

They are dimensionally stable.  I would not hesitate to use 1/4" MDF for center panels on Shaker doors, though I prefer using 1/2" plywood and milling the outer edges to fit.

These panels are cheap.  (And advantage).

Manufacturers use UV cured finishes for one reason only:  It dries fast and can get shipped fast.  They don't care about the quality issue at all. 

My experience with UV cured finishes is that they don't do well on table tops or surfaces that get repeatedly wiped down.  (Examine any table at Starbucks that has been in service for 6 months or more--the finish will be soft and easily damaged). 

There is a reason that the big fast food chains still us formica for table tops:  It stands up to repeated cleaning without degrading.

Kitchen cabinets are unique in the woodworking world.  The major structure in a kitchen cabinet is the wall that it is attached to.  That wall prevents racking and imparts stability.  The only "structrure" likely to fail in a kitchen cabinet are the removable shelves and the drawer boxes.  Even the shoddy vinyl clad particle board cabinets look good with decent doors and drawer fronts and will feel solid once installed.

"We" as woodworkers probably over-build cabinets that are expected to 10 to 15 years (the average time between kitchen remodels).

High production rate and low material loss certainly are prime motivators to use UV coatings, but those aren't the only reasons.  They have higher durability than most other coatings, certainly any you and I would use.  They also have low VOC, rather important if you want the planet to be livable for future generations.  Look at what commercial prefinished flooring is finished with these days.  UV cured resin.  And that stuff is as tough as nails.  Some manufacturers are now using powder coating systems.  Amazingly tough stuff, and performance we can't attain in our shops.  I can't think of a single product I can buy/use that will produce a more durable finish than one applied in a high production factory.  Maybe equal aesthetically if I do a great job, but not better.  

Whatever Starbucks is buying is junk, no argument from me on that.   

I'm not sure small shops and hobbiests over-build their cabinets, but they have a skewed view of what defines quality.  You mentioned that Melamine makes cabinets look cheap.  I think it makes them look clean, functional, and easy to clean, which is what I want the inside of my kitchen cabinets to be.  I also like that it's dead flat, which I can't say with most any plywood and that makes it look cheap to me.  Different perspectives.  Like hand cut dovetailed drawers.  Sure it takes skill and effort to make them and they are aesthetically nicer than machine cut ones, but they aren't functionally superior.  I'd call it snob appeal when used in kitchen cabinets, not over-build.   

John

[Cooler]

High production rate and low material loss certainly are prime motivators to use UV coatings, but those aren't the only reasons.  They have higher durability than most other coatings, certainly any you and I would use.  They also have low VOC, rather important if you want the planet to be livable for future generations.  Look at what commercial prefinished flooring is finished with these days.  UV cured resin.  And that stuff is as tough as nails.  Some manufacturers are now using powder coating systems.  Amazingly tough stuff, and performance we can't attain in our shops.  I can't think of a single product I can buy/use that will produce a more durable finish than one applied in a high production factory.  Maybe equal aesthetically if I do a great job, but not better.  

Whatever Starbucks is buying is junk, no argument from me on that.   

I'm not sure small shops and hobbiests over-build their cabinets, but they have a skewed view of what defines quality.  You mentioned that Melamine makes cabinets look cheap.  I think it makes them look clean, functional, and easy to clean, which is what I want the inside of my kitchen cabinets to be.  I also like that it's dead flat, which I can't say with most any plywood and that makes it look cheap to me.  Different perspectives.  Like hand cut dovetailed drawers.  Sure it takes skill and effort to make them and they are aesthetically nicer than machine cut ones, but they aren't functionally superior.  I'd call it snob appeal when used in kitchen cabinets, not over-build.   

John

I should have been more clear.  Melamine looks cheap because I associate it with lower cost cabinets.  From a function point of view it is an excellent product for cabinet boxes.  I've made more than a few that way.  I also tried it for drawer sides  and I will not do that again.  It makes a good surface for drawer bottoms however. 

I agree that melamine's flatness is enviable.  I find that dowels make a strong joint in melamine.  Screws fall short in that department in my experience. 

The top builders with melamine use automated doweling equipment that places dowels 1¼ on center for the boxes. 

I still say that all kitchen cabinets have a wall as a structural element. 

Flat pack free standing furniture does not joinery (or engineering) is needed to make a satisfactory product.

[jteneyck]

I should have been more clear.  Melamine looks cheap because I associate it with lower cost cabinets.  From a function point of view it is an excellent product for cabinet boxes.  I've made more than a few that way.  I also tried it for drawer sides  and I will not do that again.  It makes a good surface for drawer bottoms however. 

I agree that melamine's flatness is enviable.  I find that dowels make a strong joint in melamine.  Screws fall short in that department in my experience. 

The top builders with melamine use automated doweling equipment that places dowels 1¼ on center for the boxes. 

I still say that all kitchen cabinets have a wall as a structural element. 

Flat pack free standing furniture does not joinery (or engineering) is needed to make a satisfactory product
 

I agree; flat pack "furniture" made from Melamine is usually a poorly engineered product with a short lifespan.  
There are many ways to join Melamine panels.  High volume production plants mostly use dowels, or did anyway; I'm not sure if they still do.  But for me dowels are too slow and demanding; I don't have a line bore machine, etc..  I built my kitchen cabinets with biscuits and screws and have had no issues.  I built the drawer boxes with 5/8" Melamine sides, biscuit glued together.  In 25 years of daily use not one joint has failed, riding on slides that are not soft close, and abused by my wife who has clue what the word careful means.  Melamine is a lot tougher than many people give it credit for if appropriate joinery is used and more than up to the task for a 20 year lifespan in a kitchen cabinet.  
I've used KD fittings, too, on some cabinets that were so large they wouldn't go through the doorway if assembled.  Never had any trouble with them either, but they were assembled one time only, never disassembled and moved, and were screwed to the wall, too.  I've seen those same fittings used in flat pack furniture, too, and they performed poorly.  I'm sure the manufacturer chose that type of fitting to meet some price point, but it was still a poor choice. 
You are absolutely correct that the wall that kitchen cabinets are screwed to makes them very rigid.  But Ikea and other Euro built cabinets aren't attached directly to the wall; they hang from a rail that is first attached to the wall.  They are still screwed together once they are hung and that helps make them a very rigid assembly.  Many houses in Europe are built with clay tile so an alternative mounting system was needed.  Plus, many Europeans take their cabinets with them when they move; or maybe the new buyers don't want pre-used kitchen cabinets.  In any case, they are made to come apart and be taken away w/o great difficulty.  I've been in many houses in Europe, some with Ikea, Pogenpohl, Hulsa, et al type kitchens over 40 years old that still looked to be in good shape and functioning well.  
There are several panels and assembly methods available to cabinet manufacturers; a more limited subset that are available to us.  Each has their pros and cons.  Learning how to use those products appropriately will yield cabinets that look good and function well for a long time.  Failure to do so almost always leads to disappointment. 

John

[kdouglaslee]

Sorry, you're just never going to convince me that MDF and particle board are superior to solid wood and plywood for kitchen cabinets.  Cheaper?  Yes.  But I've walked into any number of houses with old particle board cabinets that look like hell warmed over, and plenty of houses with 50 to 100 year old cabinets that have way too many layers of paint, but still looking great.

[Gary G™]

If someone like’s the look of melamine, so be it.

I prefer the look and feel of real wood.
I build my cabinets—even my bathroom vanities—like furniture typically using frame and panel, mortise and tenon construction.

We built my in-law’s kitchen cabinets using sawmill-sourced black cherry. A roughly 12’ X 10’ kitchen with upper and lower cabinets cost well under $1000 in material. We paid about $2.00/BF

[jteneyck]

Sorry, you're just never going to convince me that MDF and particle board are superior to solid wood and plywood for kitchen cabinets.  Cheaper?  Yes.  But I've walked into any number of houses with old particle board cabinets that look like hell warmed over, and plenty of houses with 50 to 100 year old cabinets that have way too many layers of paint, but still looking great.

I'm not trying convince you of the superiority of one type of sheet goods over another, only that that there are several choices that work well.  If you thought I was implying that the $79 "builder's grade" cabinets you see at HD and elsewhere are going to last 20 years you were mistaken.  But if you look at genuine Euro cabinets, which aren't cheap in price or quality, and even Ikea, they are more than up to the task.  

John

[kdouglaslee]

I'm not trying convince you of the superiority of one type of sheet goods over another, only that that there are several choices that work well.  If you thought I was implying that the $79 "builder's grade" cabinets you see at HD and elsewhere are going to last 20 years you were mistaken.  But if you look at genuine Euro cabinets, which aren't cheap in price or quality, and even Ikea, they are more than up to the task.  

John

Thanks, I understand your point better now.  I'm not anti-MDF, particle board, OSB or whatever, I've worked with MDF and bought some mostly MDF furniture (high-end desks) and I'm guessing that this nice looking but inexpensive desk I'm currently sitting at is particle board.  I built a couple of raised panel MDF pedestals using rail and stile construction twenty years ago, they've held up well.  But the original point is that the manufacturer's website is trying to point out how their product is superior to small shop built cabinets, and it's just silly.  The small shop built cabinets in my house are oak and were finished with some kind of polyurethane in 1989, my wife was tired of the golden oak look so she painted them, but the finish had lasted just fine.  I've seen the same thing in dozens of homes.  My father built a house in 1982, the cabinets (including doors) were all plywood, stained dark and varnished.  I eventually pulled it all out and built cabinets from QSO, kept all of the doors and still have some of that plywood today, I use it whenever I need something that's already finished and needs to be dead flat.  So I have plywood that was finished nearly 40 years ago that still looks good, the finish is still tough as nails, the plywood hasn't warped the least little bit.

I mean, congratulations to the manufacturers who have found a way to make sheet goods quickly, cheaply, make them perhaps as durable as plywood when used correctly, but for a big manufacturer to call particleboard or MDF "extremely durable" and say this is an advantage over small shops who "do not take advantage" of these wondrous materials is both silly and deceptive.  Especially when the manufacturer's first point is that they use plywood!

[Robin Dobbie]

You can always count on MDF/particle board discussions for some controversy!

My problem with melamine coated particle board is that it always, always expands anywhere it's not 100% hermetically sealed. MDF doesn't seem to do this, but if it gets direct water contact it's pretty much destroyed, and it's not particularly strong to begin with. So I have no respect or use for particle board. I try not to use MDF aside from jigs and zero clearance inserts and speaker boxes(although I prefer ply).

There's a moisture resistant grade of MDF I have yet to try, so maybe that's a bit better. I do wish I could get completely waterproof MDF that was also stronger and only 50% more expensive than regular MDF. That would be something that while I might not like, I could at least respect it. I mean MDF is sawdust and glue, and if waterproof titebond III is stronger and only 50% more expensive, I feel like that's achievable? Haha, I did fail economics.

[AHill]

I think most people would be shocked at what products are used in a custom cabinet shop. Often, those shops are 2-10 people, which I would hardly classify as a factory. I totally see why carcasses are made with veneered ply. Ply is flat and dimensionally stable, which is a huge advantage in a kitchen, which is often subject to high humidity from cooking, water spills, etc. Ply maintains its dimensions over the seasons, so you don't have issues with drawers jamming and sticking, etc. MDF might be OK for certain applications. Totally solid wood for cabinets is expensive. For a moderately sized kitchen, try finding enough lumber to match grain and color for the whole kitchen. From a color standpoint, you have to be pretty good with finishes to match color.

[kdouglaslee]

You can always count on MDF/particle board discussions for some controversy!

My problem with melamine coated particle board is that it always, always expands anywhere it's not 100% hermetically sealed. MDF doesn't seem to do this, but if it gets direct water contact it's pretty much destroyed, and it's not particularly strong to begin with. So I have no respect or use for particle board. I try not to use MDF aside from jigs and zero clearance inserts and speaker boxes(although I prefer ply).

There's a moisture resistant grade of MDF I have yet to try, so maybe that's a bit better. I do wish I could get completely waterproof MDF that was also stronger and only 50% more expensive than regular MDF. That would be something that while I might not like, I could at least respect it. I mean MDF is sawdust and glue, and if waterproof titebond III is stronger and only 50% more expensive, I feel like that's achievable? Haha, I did fail economics.

The thing is, you have to get a pretty high (expensive) grade of plywood to be sure that it has no voids and will stay flat, and though unfinished plywood is much more water resistant than unfinished MDF, it's not waterproof by any stretch.  If it's just going to get painted anyway, there are lots of uses for MDF, and of course you can veneer it too.  I've done large raised MDF panels and they've worked out great, MUCH easier than gluing up solid wood for large panels then cutting and sanding.  But you do have to work within its limitations, for example if I use it as a top, I always edge with with a generous amount of hardwood for impact resistance.  Even then, it doesn't make a good top because no matter how you seal it, one day somebody (like, I dunno, a wife) is going to spill and leave water on it long enough to soak through the finish (perhaps by putting a potted plant on it, as a completely random example).  But it can be fun to work with, especially because it's so easy to cut, easy to mark on, easy to finish, and it's cheap enough that if you make a big mistake you can say "oh well" and not worry about it quite so much.