Type of plywood used for making wardrobes/cabinets?

[Alikingravi]

Hi All,

I am planning on building a full size wardrobe for my bedroom (height: 2.4m, width: 3m, depth: 50-60cm).

I also want to build several shelving units to hang on the walls, I plan to build a lot of them to fill up my flat walls.

Is it possible to carry on with this build using spruce plywood? Or do I absolutely have to use Birch? Any other type of plywood I can use for this purpose? I am trying to cut down the building cost so I thought of using spruce plywood. I have been quoted £40 for 8 x 4 feet sheet of 18mm thick birch plywood. A spruce sheet is about £25. Any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[transatlantic]

I think this depends mostly on looks. You could definately build something structurally sound. It's more a case of, would you be happy with the way it looks? .. it's going to need more surface work, and the grain/patterns/knots will most likely look pretty ugly.

If you're going to paint it - I don't see a problem. Hopefully you could pick out descent enough sheets. I definately wouldn't try ordering it, you'll get junk.

 

[Fitzroy]

It may be blasphemy on here but I'd cost up materials for what you want to build then have a comparison for carcasses from say IKEA. I've build a few IKEA hacks over the years where carcasses have been close to the cost of raw materials but save you hours I the design and making.

 

[skipdiver]

If you can get 18mm birch ply for £40 a sheet, then i'd snap their hands off at that price. Don't know what grade that is for but if it is being painted then i would go with that. Spruce ply can be very rough, again depending on grade used.

 

[Alikingravi]

Hmmmm, interesting thoughts. I will most probably end up painting it. So you think £40 pounds a sheet is a good deal for birch ply? Im not sure about grades though, but it doesnt matter. I want something that will give me a robust structure.

IKEA is a possible option but I think nothing beats building your own design furniture .... I am interested in spending the hours and gaining experience from the builds. From what transatlantic said, spruce does seem like a viable option.......

 

[Wuffles]

Cheaper (by which I mean WBP that looks alright to the eye) can delaminate when painting, so stick with birch.

 

[stuartpaul]

£40 for 8 x 4 18mm birch ply seems incredibly cheap to me. As has been said above at that price I'd be biting arms off. You also might not need 18mm, - think about 15 and 12 for some aspects (drawers etc). 12mm is much stronger than I thought it would be.

You need to make sure it truly is birch you're getting!

Anything wrong with using MDF?

 

[custard]

Painted plywood furniture generally looks amateurish and cheap unless it's done exceptionally well; but that takes time, equipment, and experience.

The problems are ripples (ply is rarely as flat as you'd hope), rough and splintered edges (a table saw with a scoring blade is a big help when working with ply), raised grain (requiring multiple coasts with thorough sanding), and grain telegraphing through the paint (yet more coats).

MDF is a far better material for this type of application. If you're absolutely wedded to the idea of ply maybe make a smaller project in ply first (like say a bedside table) to gain a deeper appreciation for the problems you'll have to overcome. Just a thought, good luck!

 

[Alikingravi]

Yea I think so too. It may be £40 a sheet for spruce not birch, let me reconfirm that.

Interesting thought, I will definitely consider thinner sheets, although I am under the impression that thinner ply will have more bow/warp. Thats why I thought to go with thicker sheets.

MDF ... hmmm ... since I dont have a workshop, I was hoping to avoid cutting loads of MDF in my flat. Definitely dont want to be breathing that stuff. Although, it can be considered as an option because MDF is comparatively very cheap. Will have to make arrangements to chop them boards if I go with MDF, although space really is an issue for me. Any thoughts/advice on cutting MDF in small spaces?

 

[transatlantic]

I'd personally stick with 18mm, unless you're going to be attaching it to the walls. There often isn't much of a difference in price, at least not to justify a weaker build.

I'd pop by your local furnature store, find something you like (something that isn't solid wood, yet is still rigid!), and take the measurements of what they used. Also look at some of the finer details, like how they worked around hiding the board edges (by using some kind of edge tape), the types of hinges used etc

 

[Mark A]

Unless you have top-quality machinery and dust extraction it doesn't matter what material you use, it would still produce lots and lots of dust. Don't underestimate how much of the stuff a router or standard circular saw makes!

Also don't underestimate the difficulties in manoeuvring large sheets and later, assembled carcasses in a restricted space.

Personally I would use moisture resistant MDF (MRMDF) and
contact a company like Avon Ply to supply and process it to your exact dimensions on their super precise CNC saw, leaving you to do all the joiny stuff. It would save the dust, hassle and monotony of sawing sheet after sheet.

Mark

 

[Adam9453]

Mark A beat me to it, I was going to suggest you design your piece and then get someone to cut all the sheet materials for you.
They deliver all the sheets cut to your specified sizes (importantly nice and square) then as Mark A said, its up to you to do the joiny bit lol.
You need to think the whole project through from fundamental design to every joint detail when you are getting someone else to manufacture part of the process for you.
Whereas if you are cutting/machining everything yourself, you can make it up as you go along (providing you don't run out of talent).
How do you plan to join the pieces together?

 

[transatlantic]

contact a company like Avon Ply to supply and process it to your exact dimensions on their super precise CNC saw, leaving you to do all the joiny stuff. It would save the dust, hassle and monotony of sawing sheet after sheet.

Mark

Out of interest, how much does something like that cost roughly? is it priced per cut? I'd assume it's a fairly chunky load on top of the material price tag itself?

 

[skipdiver]

Or just use 18mm MFC boards. That's what i used for mine.

 

[Alikingravi]

Thanks everyone for the very useful tips. I can see the experience of everyone speaking up!

I was initially planning on using plywood and go with pocket holes/glue for joining the pieces together. I am not sure how well pocket holes will work with MDF. I believe MDF material will make a weaker pocket hole joint than plywood. On the plus side, I do see a point in using MDF since I will be painting the wardrobe .... so it makes more sense. My concern is how strong is MDF in holding a clothes rack/bar and is it able to take the weight of winter clothes etc? I could use extra support pieces of timber inside the wardrobe to provide such support. Any thoughts/ideas on this? If I can join MDF together securely then it can be the way to go forward.

 

[MattRoberts]

MDF isn't great. It's weakest when it's stressed in small surface areas - this means around joints, screws, pocket holes etc. It's also a bit crap to paint unless you're using a gloss.

 

[Wuffles]

I paint birch ply, nothing wrong with it. Comes up a treat.


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[MattRoberts]

I paint birch ply, nothing wrong with it. Comes up a treat.


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You been on the beers Wuffles?

I was talking about painting MDF

 

[Alikingravi]

Yes, I am a little concerned using MDF due to weaker joints, although I have seen MDF wardrobes on this forum. If I go with birch ply then I also have the option to stain it. Will look very nice.

 

[Wuffles]

I was responding to the OP who appeared to have been pointed towards MDF. Our posts crossed by 2 mins, Tapatalk clearly doesn't warn when you post and someone else has posted meanwhile.

We're on the same page.


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