MDF - Suitable for base cabinet sides

[Ron]

I'm building a set of three kitchen base face frame cabinets.

I'm planning on using 3/4" Red Oak for the rails, stiles, drawer fronts and door panels.

I was originally going to use MDF for just the backs, and 3/4" Red Oak plywood for the sides. None of the sides will be visible and I'm planning on using simple butt joints with pocket holes. Would MDF we suitable, hold screws well enough, to be used on the sides or should I just use regular 3/4 plywood for the sides instead of the Red Oak variety.

Also, I'm going to sliding build a tray/shelf for pot and pans. Whose slides would you recommend are Blum, Hafele or Wood Technology worth considering? Are Hafele's face frame hinges any good?

ThankX Ron

[mel]

MDF will be fine and I'd use 18 ga brads instead of screws to avoid splitting

[Trent©]

In the kitchen, there's ALWAYS a possibility for water leaks...both minor and major. I personally would never use MDF in the kitchen. How much more can it possibly cost for a cheap grade of plywood?...for the extra peace of mind.

And I wouldn't trust it for pocket joints...I've seen too many pull out. If you go that way, make sure you use the coarse-thread screws.

Don't forget the glue!

I just built a cabinet for my kitchen. I don't even know the name of the slides I got. I just used the brand that HD sells...bottom mount...and mounted them to the sides of the cabinet.

If you mount them to the sides on spacer pieces (for want of a better name) so that the shelves will clear the stiles, makes the pieces much wider than you'll need...so that you can easily mount the pieces with the slides to the cabinet. You may hafta adjust the position of the slide...and its a lot easier if you can easily get at these mounting screws rather than hafta monkey with the slide itself.

Dunno. I used hinges from Lowe's...from the bin. And I used full-front hinges...mounted to the front and to the front of the door. I wanted a rustic look...and this worked really well for me. Doors are made from Kreg'ed furring strips.

Good luck. Let us know later how it goes.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[Richards]

MDF works great for cabinets. Pocket holes work very well, are easy and reliable. I've used conformat screws (7mm, the 5mm seem to be too small) for those places where I need to use screws. Of course you'll need to pre-drill holes for conformat screws using a special stepped drill. Be careful to line everything up correctly to avoid a lot of extra sanding.

I've used a lot of different brands of full extension and 3/4 extension slides and European style hinges. Rather than recommend a specific brand, I would recommend that you compare what you're thinking of buying with a brand that you totally trust. If everything is comparible, buy whichever brand best meets your requirements. (In my area, Blum products cost more than twice as much as several other brands. In my tests -- building a test cabinet and abusing the hinges -- the Blum brand worked the same as several other brands, no better, no worse.)

[vmtw]

You might want to consider melamine covered particle board for the cabinet carcass. That way the insides of your cabinets would be finished with a smooth, easy wipe down surface. I used white in mine. they look great, and have held up well.

Pictures of vanity.

Scott

[Mike]

MDF would not be a good choice. Choose plywood or melamine coated ply or particleboard.

Any of the mentioned manufacturers make good hardware. I prefer the Blum Tandem 556 or (cheaper) Accuride 3832 slides, Blum Clip series hinges.

mike