Wood for kitchen cabinets

[CThomp]

My father and law wants to build the cabinets for my kitchen when we get to that part of remodelling. I have total faith that he can do an awesome job. He likes working with red oak because it looks great and is predictable. But 3/4 red oak is kinda pricey down here in S. Florida. Are there any hard woods for cabinetry that are less pricey and are as predictable?

[VALENT]

what about birch?

[CThomp]

Is birch cheaper than red oak? I'll look into it.

[VALENT]

around here, it is usually the cheapest hardwood that is still very good for cabinets.

[montytx]

Birch ply runs around 3o a sheet. Good choice for a smooth finish.

[bkrahmer]

IMHO, the only thing birch plywood is good for is drawers and cabinet boxes. Which has nothing to do with the face frame/drawer/door material...

[Tom R]

I think Montyx was talking more about the carcasses.

I made the cabs for my kitchen, - - used 'pre-finished' maple ply for the carcasses, - - about $70/sheet, - - but sure saves a lot of 'finishing' time.

I didn't use the 'tape-veneer' for the plywood front edges, - - I used a matching router bit set (concave female, convex male) to 'set-in' a solid maple edging.

Didn't get around to makin' the doors/drawers yet, - - but they'll be solid maple frame and raised panel.

[VALENT]

bkrahmer, why dont you like birch for the whole cabinet?

[bkrahmer]

I don't really care for birch personally because I don't think it has much grain. My post was more of a poke at Joel for bringing up plywood when CThomp was asking about face-frame materials. ;)

[TnAndy]

Probably worth renting a U-haul trailer or light truck, and going up to Georgia or North Carolina and haul back 4-500 bdft of Appalachian hardwoods.

Or really, even if you have to pay 3-4 bucks/bdft for FAS red oak, what's the big deal ? You'll be getting a 10 grand set of cabinets for probably 2500 in materials.......is that a deal or what ?

Here's a set I just built for a rental of mine......I cut my own lumber, so the red oak is fairly cheap, and the casework is birch plywood....got less than a grand in the deal not counting tops....

http://www.digistash.com/data/026a39ae63343c68b5223a95f3e17616/5027_p78173.jpeg

[CThomp]

The thing is that we probably won't be staining them. We'll probably paint them some variety of white or something. At least thats what my future wife wants. The whole house is going to be hard wood floors so stained cabinets wood look funky

[TnAndy]

Well, crapola....if you're painting them, make it out of the cheapest thing you can find....what difference does it make ?

Go to Lowes and get some of that "whitewood"..... ( have no idea what tree that is, but they sure sell a lot of it ....ahahahaaaaaaaaaaa )

[Tom R]

You mean a Melamine tree?? :lol:

[Rich]

If you're painting - use poplar. It's pretty dense, cheap, and takes paint like a champ.

[CThomp]

Poplar it is. I want them made os solid wood you know. I hate press board cabinetry. I want something that will be up there and last a really long time.

[CThomp]

Is poplar as "predictable" as oak?

[Dragon]

If its paint use popular.

Another trick to lower costs is to buy s3s lumber and plane it yourself instead of s4s.

[CThomp]

Wwhat's the difference between s3s and s4s? I'm kinda new to this. But a quick learner.

[giddonah]

hahahah, I was just about to google that.

[giddonah]

The term is "surfaced lumber". It referres to how many sides of the lumber have been "surfaced". s2s, s3s and s4s is respectively two, three or four sides smoothed. I'm guessing you can theoretically call s0s rough lumber. Having it unsurfaced gives you the ability to surface it yourself, so if you have to put two pieces together, you can surface them both together and have a smooth overall surface.

[CThomp]

I actually googled it a few minutes ago. Thanks though. Now i've just got to find the best price on poplar.

[Dragon]

Ack, I should have explained better.

But yes, s4s is the finished lumber that you normally see. 1X12 etc.

s3s is random width, not cut on one side and not planed to finished dimensions. It is much cheaper than finished and you can do the prep work yourself with a planer and tablesaw.

Its a great way to cut costs.

[CThomp]

There is a local exotic and domestic hardwood shop nearby. I'll have to check to see if they have s3s poplar. I know they have poplar at $2.75/ft. but i'm unsure of the cuts. There red oak is $3.75/ft. so I'd be saving a $1 a foot \right off the bat anyhow.