Kitchen doors panel material

[Chris Daigh]

Going to redo the kitchen doors, what is the best substrate for veneering the panels with? Is it MDF or a birch ply or something else.

[Frank Drew]

Chris,

If the doors are going to be frame and panel, either mdf or ply would work for the panels, with mdf the less expensive option; neither would be particularly easier or harder to veneer.. But if you intend to make flush doors, that is, panels simply edged and veneered, then I'd use ply if you have any that's flat enough. I know lots of mdf and equivalent is used for veneered cabinet doors, but I'm not wild about their prospects for durability, hinge screw holding, etc. Others will no doubt disagree.

[Jeff Duncan]

Here's the thing, the best material for a slab cabinet door is going to be either mdf or pb. Plywood is rarely flat enough to make these type of doors. As previous post mentioned though the weakness is screw holding capability.
So your best bet is using doweled hinges, whether you have the capability to drill them yourself, or can get a local cabinet shop to drill them for you, it's really the only way to go for attaching screws to these substrates.

good luck,
JeffD