Alternatives to Tulip for face frame / shaker doors

[RobinBHM]

I have a customer that wants painted face frame cabinets, but would like hard timber.

Im wondering what would be a good stable timber, beech, maple, ash, sycamore.....

Ive used ash mdf for panels before as the grain shows through paint and can look quite nice instead of mdf. But not sure if ash would be good for the frames?

The customer suggested oak, but cant see the point and its not great for painting.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I think Beech may move to much so maple would be my choice but a bit more expensive.

Ash to much grain, Oak not great to paint, Sycamore not readily available.

Cheers Peter

 

[custard]

Tulip/Poplar is a hardwood, it's not a particularly hard hardwood, but it is still a hardwood! In fact it's plenty hard enough for workbenches, but hey the customer's always right!

Sycamore would be the closest in price terms, a bit more stable than Beech, and with a nice tight grain for painting.

 

[RobinBHM]

Many thanks for the input.

I did wonder if beech would have too much movement. The kitchen in question is having an AGA so wants something quite stable.

A few years back , I bought some sycamore from WL West, so maybe they still do it. From memory they used a special drying technique to avoid grey staining, which probably makes it expensive. I guess maple would be the easiest to obtain, so will get some current rates.

 

[Doug71]

I have made painted kitchens out of maple but the maple was graded as something like CND or colour, no defect. As the name describes there was nothing wrong with it apart from it had lots of colour variation so was only really suitable for painting. Seem to think it was quite reasonably priced.

Doug

 

[Steve Maskery]

A few years ago I fitted a friend's kitchen with Shaker doors. I didn't make them, I just fitted them. They were painted oak. My friends chose them because they liked the way you could see the grain through the paint. It was actually texture. I wonder if the oak had been sandblasted or similar before painting? Is that a common process in the door industry?

 

[RobinBHM]

Hi Doug -thats a good idea, maple does sometimes contain a bit of brown which would be fine for painting.

Hi Steve -I know some kitchen Co's use American White ash for grain showing through. Im not sure if sandbkasting is the process. I know wirebrushes can be used to accentuate grain, so perhaps commercially there is a process for accentuating the worn look.

 

[sploo]

Hi Steve -I know some kitchen Co's use American White ash for grain showing through. Im not sure if sandbkasting is the process. I know wirebrushes can be used to accentuate grain, so perhaps commercially there is a process for accentuating the worn look.

A drum sander with a wire brush may well prepare stock with something of a sandblasted look.

 

[adidat]

Local timber yard offers painted maple, just a low grade maple that works out cheaper if painting, that's blumsons btw


Adidat

 

[monkeybiter]

Doesn't scorching accentuate the grain texture? Not sure how it would paint though, and eating it may give you cancer.

 

[Hot stuff]

Total gloat alert here!

I went to see a fellow who had just lifted an entire gym floor in Glasgow, Canadian maple, all de-nailed and stacked ready for collection.
How much do you want for it?
£80 too much?
Open the van door son, quick!

Unfortunately it's still not a kitchen but it's all been through the thicknesser and is waiting for a spare moment.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Jammy pipper!