Particleboard or plywood?

[# Fred #]

I'm in the kitchen show room looking at cabinets but how can you tell if the box construction is plywood or particleboard when both has a nice veneer and the edges are not visible?

[Swingman]

You can ask, but looking at the back edges of side panels and partitions will usually allow you to see the un-veneered material.

IME, you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the manufactured cabinet business who bothers to veneer the back edges of panels that will never be seen.

YMMV ...

[SonomaProducts.com]

[SonomaProducts.com]

[Robatoy]

If you can't get to the back of the cabinet, see if shelf holes were used. Most 32 mm sytems will drill holes which aren't always used. With a $ 375.00 flashlight *G*, you will be able to peek inside the hole and see if it is PC or ply. Knocking on it with your knuckle will tell the difference too, but you have to know what the different sounds are. PC is a much duller thud.. plywood often has a bit of a 'ring' to it..subtle as the 'b' in the word subtle. Also, where the cabinet hangs over the kick, feel underneath ...the gable bottom...nobody edgebands down there.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Hole saw and cordless drill.

[# Fred #]

And I'll end up buying the display units. LOL!

[<marierdj]

I may be old fashion. I still use sound as a non-destructive test. If I knock with my knuckles or a mallet first on particleboard then on plywood, the responding echo is not the same. Once my ears are tuned to the sound of particleboard, plywood with soft and hardwood core and solid wood I can then make up the difference. This is more so when there are voids in plywood core or fibreglass. This approach is still in use when surveying boats. Some pro are using a Mechanics? listening tool (Stethoscope).

To be 100% sure a destructive test is the best. Some have a core drill to extract a carrot sample and to look at it. When lots of money is involved its worth doing... The hole (may be about ¼ ID) can always be filled with an appropriate plug.

[D Smith]

Someone may already have drilled some holes in the thing. Look around screw holes or hinge holes and see if enough of the core is exposed anywhere that you can tell what is inside it. The canibinet has to have some hinges on it somewhere!

[# Fred #]

Bingo, big European hinge holes! Now only if have an invisible cordless screw gun.

[J. Clarke]

I always have such on my person. It's called a "Swiss Army Knife", the "Cybertool" version. Not quite invisible, but definitely up to the task of pulling a screw to examine the construction.