Kitchen Cabinets materials?

Thought for the day - I just returned from a local lumber yard where I normally buy plywood and hardwood such as maple and red oak.
They have a discount bin; actually it takes up one wall. They put short pieces (less than 48 inches) of varying width and thickness and discount it 50% off the regular going price.

I have bought poplar, red oak and maple from those bins and use the pieces for all sorts of stuff including door frames for frame and panel construction. The one drawback is the thickness of the material can vary so I run them through the planer to size them accordingly so all will fit nicely. 50% off is a nice discount in my book.

You might want to check out lumber companies in your area to see what they carry...and I am not talking about the big box stores but true lumber yards.

The style does matter

madge45 said:

I guess what I am looking for is expert opinion on what type of lumber or lumber product is preferred
for kitchen cabinet doors, the style doesn't matter, I will adapt that to suit the material.

Click to expand...

You can make simple hardwood plywood doors from Maple and just round over the edges, and paint them. They would look boring, flat with no frames or borders, but you could add moldings within the frame to increase the visual interest.

You could make a mitered or half lap frame with a hardwood plywood panel inset and either paint or stain them. The plywood veneer and the frame material should be the same species for the stain to look good. If they are painted, it won't matter if they are different species.

A stile and rail construction will look basically the same as above.

A Mission style would have a simple rectangular section frame, half lapped or mortised with a panel inset. A Modern style would have a bead or Ogee molding on the inside of the frame. More ornate styles will have more details in the molding. The style may/will determine the construction details and the finish...... :yes: