Prefinished plywood

[ajkoontz]

Doing the same as you with the UV ply from Menards. Router is the way to go. I have used a dado stack with OK results, but the blade better be sharp. The finish is hard on blades too, even the carbide router bits.

[ed kerns]

Doing the same as you with the UV ply from Menards. Router is the way to go. I have used a dado stack with OK results, but the blade better be sharp. The finish is hard on blades too, even the carbide router bits.

Hard to beat that finish for a cabinet interior, but I have noticed it's hard on blades. Do you plan to do something different on the exterior finish?

[ajkoontz]

Hard to beat that finish for a cabinet interior, but I have noticed it's hard on blades. Do you plan to do something different on the exterior finish?

Embarrassingly, I'm still working on lowers and haven't got the uppers done. So, very little exposed ply on what I've installed so far. On the island/ bar portion, I skinned the base cabinets with some beaded ply, which I painted. The FF are solid and also painted. For the UV ply portions that show, I am painting as well. FWIW, I'm scuff sanding w/ 120, then SW tacky primer (whatever the primer that SW sells that's supposed to stick to almost anything, I don't recall the actual product name), then SW cabinet paint (again, can't recall the actual product name). I am spraying the final coat after install. I usually do the primer and at least 1 coat with a foam roller. Seems to take paint well with this procedure. My results aren't quite factory finish level of perfection, but I think that's more due to me than the materials.

[ajkoontz]

Found some pictures just to give you an idea.... Still a work in progress.

   

   

   

[ed kerns]

Found some pictures just to give you an idea.... Still a work in progress.

They look great in the pics!
I've been looking at the SW products too. I seldom paint anything. I'm more into oils, clear coats and occasionally stains, but this project seems to call for paint. Ive got a kitchen full of golden oak cabinets, so I'm looking at building the island in something contrast-y , maybe charcoal or near black of some shade. Thanks for sharing the pictures- I can use the inspiration.

[ajkoontz]

They look great in the pics!
I've been looking at the SW products too. I seldom paint anything. I'm more into oils, clear coats and occasionally stains, but this project seems to call for paint. Ive got a kitchen full of golden oak cabinets, so I'm looking at building the island in something contrast-y , maybe charcoal or near black of some shade. Thanks for sharing the pictures- I can use the inspiration.

If it makes you feel better I started this project 7 years ago. Still not completely done. Life gets in the way and time flies and all that. Good luck on your project, I'm a big fan of the UV ply for cabinet projects and no regrets after 5 years use of the lower cabinets I built.

[alanealane]

This may be hindsight but I haven't had much success avoiding crazy tearout on the plywood I've used from Menards. Not sure who their supplier is. But it seemed to splinter even if I looked at it wrong

The above ideas are great though.

[kurt18947]

20/20 hindsight, I think a router may have been the way to go. Somebody smart once said "the larger the work piece the bigger the advantage of bringing the tool to the work - as opposed to the work to the tool" ... or some such thing. Unfortunately, I don't have an undersized 3/4" router bit that would have let me make one pass.
 I can verify that the tape trick didn't work, at least for me. The finish still splintered and most of the splinters came off when I pulled the tape. No real harm done. I plan to put pull out shelves in the bottom of the cabinet so the splintering will be well hidden! Thank you.

You probably didn't need an undersized 3/4" router bit, you probably needed an 18 mm router bit. You'd have to check the plywood that is going to fit into the dado. If you look at the linked page you'll find 18.2 mm straight and shear angle cutters. I don't have them but I suspect they fit most "3/4 inch" plywood pretty well. I did buy some 3/4" plywood at a plywood specialty store that was actually 3/4", probably U.S. manufacture. I don't count on that with plywood from a borg.

https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite...gle_anchor

[MstrCarpenter]

You probably didn't need an undersized 3/4" router bit, you probably needed an 18 mm router bit. You'd have to check the plywood that is going to fit into the dado. If you look at the linked page you'll find 18.2 mm straight and shear angle cutters. I don't have them but I suspect they fit most "3/4 inch" plywood pretty well. I did buy some 3/4" plywood at a plywood specialty store that was actually 3/4", probably U.S. manufacture. I don't count on that with plywood from a borg.

https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite...gle_anchor

If the 18mm bit doesn't work you could use a "top bearing flush cutting bit" with a simple jig. The jig is just two straight hardwood boards glued (I use thick super glue) to two cleats with the space between them the same thickness as your plywood (or whatever you want to fit in the groove or dado). There's two tricks I've picked up along the way; 1) Placing the guides (exactly) perpendicular to the cleats helps a lot with positioning and clamping. 2) Firmly clamping the two guides and your spacer (i.e. the board you want to fit the groove) will give you a tight fit. You can make it tighter by adding tape to one or both sides of the jig.

Even for just a few dados, I'd rather use the jig than a template guide or reference off the router base. Less math, less measurements, and I can easily see that the jig is where the dado's supposed to be.

In one of the first commercial shops I worked in there was a 3/0 x 7/0 door up on the wall with a router mounted to it. Unfold the attached legs, swing it down, and it was a "router table". The door had several dadoes to receive a snug fitting fence (Any 3/4" thick board would do.) The dadoes were at 0", 1-1/2", 4-1/2", 7", and about 16"? (for a fixed shelf in base cab.s). Obviously the router bit was changed out as necessary but that router was permanently mounted. Every side of every box went across that door at least twice, and every dado was exactly where it was supposed to be.