Your preferred veneer core material?

[Michael Koons]

I'm going to start on my first veneering project and would like some advice before I proceed too far. I building a buffet with mahogany crotch veneer for the doors and drawers. I'm wondering what the best material would be for the core of these pieces. The doors and drawers will be straight, so I won't need bending plywood or to curve anything.

I'm thinking my choices are MDF, plywood, solid mahogany or solid poplar. If I do anything but the solid mahogany, I'd have to frame the core with mahogany so that the mahogany is all that shows.

I was originally going to do the solid mahogany as the core until I actually went and bought the wood. 'Taint Cheap. I have no issues using the mahogany of that's the right thing to do, but I want to make sure that is the right thing to do.

What's are people's thoughts on this?

[Mel Fulks]

I like the light color ,light weight mdf products. I think Tru Pan is one of them. But if it's too much trouble to get ,I'd use regular mdf.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Michael, I will give you two answers;

The modern answer is I would use a MDF core, MDF is stable and flat, I also detest the stuff. Having said that I have used MDF for wooden counter tops for some built in cabinets, the MDF was veneered with 1/16" shop sawn curly cherry veneer, as you stated the edges need to be wrapped.

The traditional furniture builder in me, says that I would use quarter sawn mahogany for the core and veneer with your face veneer. I built a couple of secretaries out of walnut that used this technique for the drawer fronts and the upper case raised panels, the straight grained walnut was faced with 1/16" shop sawn crotch walnut.

Ps. If you are using genuine Mahogany I feel your pain

[Michael Koons]

Ps. If you are using genuine Mahogany I feel your pain

You got it Robert. Hence the question to the community.

[John TenEyck]

They all will work. If you decide against mahogany then I think you are left with MDF or Baltic birch plywood because they are more stable than poplar and you have to wrap them all anyway, so why use the least stable one? If the doors are really big I'd probably pick BB plywood because it's lighter and holds screws better. I normally use 1/16" shop sawn veneer, so any greater inconsistency in the BB plywood compared to MDF is eliminated after I drum sand the veneered panels.

John

[Keith Hankins]

If you have acess to a good plywood supplier, and I don't mean Lowes or Home depot, then a good solid core ply is good. I mostly prefer MDF with a hard wood edge prior to veneering.

Thats just me.

[Gene Takae]

I second Baltic birch. Very stable and easier to work with than MDF IMHO.

[Mike Henderson]

I second Baltic birch. Very stable and easier to work with than MDF IMHO.

I've veneered on MDF, Baltic Birch and solid wood. All work, but I agree that Baltic Birch is probably the best overall. It's stable, flat, generally without voids, and reasonably priced.

Mike

[Mason Truelove]

my choice is Baltic Birch when it comes to stability and quality.

[Marty Schlosser]

High quality (not the poor quality product from a big box store...) chip board is my preferred substrate. It is stronger than MDF and also bonds better ... but you have to fill and sand the filled surface to ensure the chips pattern doesn't propogate through the veneer face.

[Erik Christensen]

if you have vacuum system it is just an extra step to make your own veneer combo ply - laminate 1/8 mdf on either side of 1/4 Baltic birch and use that as your veneer substrate - lighter & stronger than plain mdf with none of the surface issues of BB