kitchen cabinets

[Austin Dienner]

i am in the process of designing a set of custom kitchen cabinets, made out of red oak. On the ends that will be seen i will be using oak veneer plywood. What is the best product to use for the interior pieces that wont be seen unless you open the door? Should i use oak veneer ply there too? One more question, is half inch or 3/4 inch better for this application?

[Az Fred]

Cabinet interiors of melamine or cabinet liner are the easiest to keep clean and bright. Two sided oak can also be finished on the interior for a good looking job. Personal preference rules. Remember when finishing that most solvent finishes yellow while good waterborne finishes do not.

The carcase thickness question will need some more information as to the planned construction method for a good answer. I might guess that face frames will be used and that 1/2 plywood side will be fine, but that is a guess.

[Von Bickley]

If I had enought oak plywood left from the end pieces, I would use it on the interior also. I would prefer to keep it all one kind.

Around this part of the country, all the custom cabinets that I have seen have all been 3/4" plywood.

[Mark Engel]

For the kitchen cabinets that I am adding, I am using all 1/2" A-A oak veneer plywood. This is plywood that I purchased from a local supplier. He gives me a good deal (I think), so I use it for everything, the entire carcass, top bottom, sides and back and for the drawer box (with 1/4" plywood bottoms) and also any interior shelves, even the toe kick.

The face frames, door frames and drawer fronts are all 3/4" solid oak.

The cabinets that I have finished so far have been built with flat panel doors using 1/4" oak plywood for the panels, to match the existing Merillat cabinets in the kitchen. I am now in the process of building more cabinets for another area and I am using some raised panel doors that I have had sitting around the shop for a few years.

[Al Killian]

If you are planing to use granite or some other heavy counter top, I would go with 3/4". It is better to over build it then have a problem later on.

[Steve Clardy]

I use all 3/4 for bottoms, sides, tops.
Backs are 1/4

Upper cabs all get same wood species, as they are seen inside every time the doors is opened.
Lower cab boxes get birch or poplar ply for the interiors, stained to match, with the exception of the outer cabs that show, I use oak or whatever the cabs are made of

[Chris McDowell]

I use 3\4 for sides, bottoms, stretchers and shelves. 1\2 inch for my backs. I generally use prefinished plywood for all interiors unless they have a set of glass panel doors and the customer prefers the interior to be the same color as the outside of the cabinet. It's probably 50\50 on the stained interior behind the glass doors. Some people like the contrast and others hate it. To each their own.

[Gene Michael]

1/2 oak ply, both sides good, makes a nice cabinet if you're building face frame style. If you're going European (faceless), use 3/4. One of the other replies mentioned that water based finishes don't add a yellow tint. This is true, but sometimes, the yellow simply deepens the color. I recommend polyurethane over shellac or other standard cabinet finishes because it's tough. It's abrasion resistant and retains it's original shine after many years. The finish on the factory cabinets in our old house deteriorated after five or six years. Stripped and refinished them with poly and they still looked brand new inside and out eighteen years later when we sold the house. Good luck!

[jack duren]

You might check out the "classic birch" sold at HD in 1/2 and 3/4 thickness. I can't find anything wrong with it for interiors if you want a whitish looking interior. Match it up with 1/4 birch backs.....Jack

[Blake Holton]

I'm with Chris in that I use pre-finished plywood for the bottom cases. The finish is superior to any that I could apply and makes the job go very quickly. I'll I'm left with is to finish the face frames / doors and the uppers. I typically use 3/4 for the cases and 1/4 for the backs with a 1/2 stretcher.

Enjoy!

Blake

[Jim Becker]

I use Baltic birch plywood for my cabinet carcasses...I don't prefer Melemine, etc., and the birch veneer is still light in color which helps with "seeing things" once the cabinet is in use. I tend to pre-finish the interior components prior to assembly which makes that a lot easier, too.

BTW, be careful with what you choose for your oak veneer plywood for your visible components. The stuff "commonly available" in the big boxes and off-the-shelf at building-oriented lumber yards is often covered rotary cut veneers and will always say "plywood" to the viewer. Plain sliced veneers look like solid lumber and will insure your project blends well with the solid stock you'll use for other components.