I'm planning a couple of small-ish (17" x 24" x 20") tool cabinets to fit under my workbench. I live in Durham. 3/4" sanded birch from Lowes or Cap City lumber the best bet, or other suggestions?
Check the clearance bins. I recently purchased a sheet of 3/4" birch plywood from Capital City that had been damaged by a forklift at a significant discount. Since I didn't need a full sheet it was a savings for me.
The junk they sell as Lowe's or HD I don't consider useful for other than garage shelving. I would bite the billet and drive to the Hardwood Store and get real Birch ply. might even go down to 13mm.
I got some maple plywood from Lowe's for about $75/sheet a couple months ago to build a cabinet for my son and daughter in law. The inner plys were some kind of hardwood I did not recognize but it was pretty good stuff. More recently HD had their "radianta" pine plywood in stock and I picked up a sheet for something I was doing. I think it was $60/sheet. I didn't notice the sticker on this sheet but previous purchases have said it was made in Chile. Both sides are typically good with one clear and the face veneers are fairly thick, not paper thin like big box hardwood plywood. I've used a bunch of this for my outfeed/track saw cutting station/assembly table in my shop and other shop projects. I don't think it has outdoor glue but for inside projects that will be painted or go in the shop this is my "go-to". I remember when it was about $30/sheet.....