plywood 'slab' cabinet doors

[mr_skittle]

I'll be making a kitchen soon and the client wants inset, slab doors. My intention is to use plywood for the doors and drawer fronts, but what type of sheet good is the best? I was really hoping to use a product that has a veneer core sandwiched between thin layers of mdf and then the veneered face. This particular product is unavailable in the rift sawn WO I need. So far I can only find full mdf core, 3/4in sheets. My big question is whether or not it's an acceptable practice to use this miserably heavy stuff for doors. I worry about the weight being hard on the concealed hinges and wearing them out early.

[jteneyck]

Independent of the type of sheet goods how do you plan to deal with the edges?  Veneer tape gives the cleanest look, but solid wood edging is more durable.  The best of both worlds comes from trimming the substrate with solid wood edging all around first and then veneering the panel.  

John

[mr_skittle]

Independent of the type of sheet goods how do you plan to deal with the edges?  Veneer tape gives the cleanest look, but solid wood edging is more durable.  The best of both worlds comes from trimming the substrate with solid wood edging all around first and then veneering the panel.  

John

Veneer tape would be the most efficient way to go and was my intention. Gluing solid wood trim onto a few dozen doors and drawer fronts would take too much time when I'm trying to make some money on this job. Especially if I then veneered each panel. For a custom piece of furniture I think that would be the way to go, but not for a kitchen.

[mound]

Veneer tape would be the most efficient way to go and was my intention. Gluing solid wood trim onto a few dozen doors and drawer fronts would take too much time when I'm trying to make some money on this job. Especially if I then veneered each panel. For a custom piece of furniture I think that would be the way to go, but not for a kitchen.

I'm currently building a kitchen (my own) with rift sawn white oak. Most of the doors and drawers are F&P, but I did make my own MDF core plywood with 1/16" rift oak veneer for those panels.  Of course no edge treatment required there. But there are a few "slabs"  (think end panels) where I put solid hardwood edging on 3/4" MDF then veneered over the whole thing before trimming to size.  I agree that would be ton of work to make all drawers and door fronts like that and unless you miter all the corners of that edge banding, you'll see the seam below the veneer along the perimeter. 

Just the other day I was admiring my buddy's kitchen which was custom made (I thought by the Amish but I was wrong) and his is all rift sawn white oak, and all the large drawer fronts are slabs. I looked closely, and they were simply glued up hardwood panels, not a plywood or the like. Everything seemed very flat.

[jteneyck]

Veneer tape would be the most efficient way to go and was my intention. Gluing solid wood trim onto a few dozen doors and drawer fronts would take too much time when I'm trying to make some money on this job. Especially if I then veneered each panel. For a custom piece of furniture I think that would be the way to go, but not for a kitchen.

Yes, a lot of extra work but you would never have to worry about call backs because the veneer tape came loose.  To minimize that possibility, make sure the edges are really well trimmed, bevel sanded, and sealed with finish.   

Anyway, back to the sheet goods, MDF core is the flattest, most stable stuff you will ever get for a substrate. The combi core stuff is really nice because it's lighter and structural, but it doesn't always stay flat.  A friend built his kitchen with shop veneered MDF and the hinges are just fine after 3 years.  If you are worried about the screws pulling out, then shoot some CA glue in the holes.  Better still, use the hinges with the cam action cups to avoid screws altogether.  The mass of MDF gives doors a feeling of quality.  You are going to get comments that MDF is a terrible idea anywhere water is present, to which I say if the edges are banded and your finish is good it's a non-issue with cabinet doors and drawer fronts.  

John

[mr_skittle]

Just the other day I was admiring my buddy's kitchen which was custom made (I thought by the Amish but I was wrong) and his is all rift sawn white oak, and all the large drawer fronts are slabs. I looked closely, and they were simply glued up hardwood panels, not a plywood or the like. Everything seemed very flat.

I've done slab doors by gluing up solid boards before and it works fine if you pay attention to grain when gluing up panels. This client is really wanting the clean look of seamless doors and the grain matching you can get using sheet goods.

I will be looking into the press-in hinge cups. I hope there aren't any issues getting them for inset doors. There shouldn't be an issue, but one never knows these days. And yes, I've already heard from folks (in a facebook group) swearing that you can't use MDF in a kitchen. I don't pay much attention to these absolutist points of view. As you said John, proper sanding and finishing will make the doors every bit as safe as solid wood doors.

The next step is to figure out how I'm going to do all the edgebanding. I know an iron is the old stand-by but I'm hoping to be a little more efficient than that. I'd love to find a bench top banding machine on the used market but I've had no luck so far. Rockler sells one for $600 but I'm hesitant to drop that much on a tool I don't have much of an outlook for. I have no idea if/when I'd use it again. I did find and idea for a DIY edgebander that I've got to explore more.

[BillN]

I've done slab doors by gluing up solid boards before and it works fine if you pay attention to grain when gluing up panels. This client is really wanting the clean look of seamless doors and the grain matching you can get using sheet goods.

I will be looking into the press-in hinge cups. I hope there aren't any issues getting them for inset doors. There shouldn't be an issue, but one never knows these days. And yes, I've already heard from folks (in a facebook group) swearing that you can't use MDF in a kitchen. I don't pay much attention to these absolutist points of view. As you said John, proper sanding and finishing will make the doors every bit as safe as solid wood doors.

The next step is to figure out how I'm going to do all the edgebanding. I know an iron is the old stand-by but I'm hoping to be a little more efficient than that. I'd love to find a bench top banding machine on the used market but I've had no luck so far. Rockler sells one for $600 but I'm hesitant to drop that much on a tool I don't have much of an outlook for. I have no idea if/when I'd use it again. I did find and idea for a DIY edgebander that I've got to explore more.

If you are building face frame cabinets it takes a special (but available) mounting plate, euro style cabinets take a different mounting plate.