What would you use?

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clowman

*********
Clay Lowman
Corporate Member
I am going to make a couple of bookcases for a friend. They want them painted white. I was going to make them from plywood and put poplar molding to cover the edges of the plywood. My question is.. what type of plywood would you use? I thought of paint grade plywood. Most all of my cases have been out of oak, so I just want to be sure I get the right kind.
 

ChrisMathes

New User
Chris Mathes
You may want to look into MDF...it could save you a bunch of money. It's very heavy though, of course...

I am looking to build some built ins for our playroom and am planning on using MDF with poplar trim...painting it white when I'm done...
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
MDF will give you a very smooth paint surface but the edges are a problem. Poplar, Birch, or "Sandeply" would be a lighter weight, less dusty way to go, but I have found a little grain translation through the paint. So if you're going for an ultra smoth paint job go MDF with Poplar edging or face framing. If you like the look of painted wood then go ply with hardwood edging. Either witll be stucturally sound and relatively cheap to work with. My .02 Dave:)
 
M

McRabbet

Clay,

I recently finished a built-in TV cabinet/display cabinet and I used birch plywood with milled birch for the face frames, shelf banding and six raised panel doors. I primed it all with a good shellac-based white primer and two coats of satin finish enamel. It looks great. Since it was built into an alcove, only the inside of the plywood carcase was exposed -- that allowed me to use a B3 grade plywood. Friends I built it for were very pleased :-D with the finished unit.

Rob
 

Monty

New User
Monty
Yep. Birch. Or maple. I paid $26 per sheet for that stuff I used on my shop cabinets - it looks "OK" as is, but it would be perfect for painting!

If you want to, you could even use the iron-on edge banding for most parts. Easy to apply & trim flush - sand the corners and you're ready to go. Use hardwood to edge the shelves, though, for strength.
 

Steve D

Member
Steve DeWeese
I agree on the ply recommendation, it will hold up better over time and MDF weighs a ton. Check your plywood sources, you can even get a paint grade poplar but Birch ply at $26 a sheet is a pretty good deal.
 

chris99z71

New User
Chris
I would go with sandeply as well, unless you can tap into Insomniac's $26/sheet birch plywood source. You've got us in suspense now Insom!
 

windknot

Scott
Senior User
I used 3/4 and 1/2 sand ply from Home Depot for the cabinet frames, basswood for the faces and, MDF for the doors in my study. The sandply os $25.00 for 1/2" and about $35.00 for 3/4. It all painted up nice.
 

Monty

New User
Monty
I go to Catawba Hardwoods right here in good ol' Hickory. They are distributors of Columbia Forest Products hardwood plywood. They have a product that they call "Chinese Birch" - that's what I've been using in my shop projects. The 3/4" is 9-ply I think, and it's not the best quality but it's fine for painting or shop projects.

Actually, since I'm not painting I do use their B2 grade Chinese birch (which is $29) for the parts that show, and their C-grade for shelves and other stuff - that's the stuff that's $26 per sheet.




Makes the shop smell like egg rolls, though... :roll:
 
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