# Looking For Help Choosing Wood (Please)



## joanieloveswood (19 May 2020)

Hi To All , Hope i am not in the wrong place I am looking for some help, well proberly a lot of help really.
I am trying to start making some cabnets and other things. I Hope
i dont have much experience with wood but my Husband did have a small workshop which I have cleaned up I have added some more bacic tools as well.
Dont ask me why I am doing this other then that i just love wood ,the feel of it and the smeel of it. Also I have time on my hands 
All my knoweldge is coming from You Tube videos . I sit down most nights with pen and paper and try and learn.
its nearly all Amercian I cannot find British/ Irish Videos on line.
So I am ready to start making something . a kitchen cabnet .I had taught of using Plywood but came accross a you tube video today that said do not use Plywood especially for Doors it will warp.
Can anybody advise what is the best wood to use for projects like this ?
Thanks in advance.
If I shouldent be here as a begineer please tell me and sorry if I am.
Joanie


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## Freddyjersey2016 (19 May 2020)

Look for the Paul Sellers videos - he is an english woodworker, and has a lot of good advice for beginners


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## joanieloveswood (20 May 2020)

Thanks , Freddyjersey2016
I will look that up, do you know if Birch Plywood will warp if I use it on Kitchen cabnets?


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## Trainee neophyte (20 May 2020)

joanieloveswood":shtx6ec0 said:


> Thanks , Freddyjersey2016
> I will look that up, do you know if Birch Plywood will warp if I use it on Kitchen cabnets?



I would (and did) use birch plywood for my kitchen cabinets specifically because it won't warp. Couldn't rate it highly enough for a kitchen.

The entire point of plywood is that the many thin layers of wood have the grain running in different directions, to make it stable. More stable than that would be MDF, which has had the wood reduced to a powder, and then reassembled. It's not really wood any more, but it probably won't warp, unless you get it wet. Chipboard the same, only REALLY don't get it wet. Plywood is more resistant to water than MDF, which is why I favour it. I have never seen the point in putting absorbent material in a kitchen, next to all that water and plumbing. Taps leak, sink drains can develope leaks, or have to be taken apart to retrieve wedding rings etc, cooking involves spilling things. Too much water involved, over the years your cabinets will be in place. My cabinets are 15 years old and still in perfect condition, despite the fact that I did all the plumbing, too. We have had our share of floods.  

I bought hardwood doors because I wasn't experienced enough at the time, and didn't have any tools. These days I would make my own, or die trying. If the doors get tatty enough, I probably will make new ones, but for now it is all in excellent shape, and the carcases are indestructible. You could use plywood to make doors, unless you wanted something more traditional. You could make a"shaker" style door (sorry, Mike, but it's an easy shorthand), with a solid wood frame around a plywood sheet. Here's a random picture stolen from the internet: 






Sorry, this went on longer than anticipated. Hope some of it helps.


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## MikeG. (20 May 2020)

Some of the answer to the ply question depends on whether or not the kitchen is being painted. My kitchen is redwood and ply, painted, and no, there is no danger of warping. If you were to have bare wood for some reason, then you have a potential danger of delamination and deformation if you have a leak, or an area which gets regularly wet, but who has bare wood in their kitchen? As TN said, ply peforms at least as well as all its rivals in this regard, although there will be advocates for MRMDF who will claim it will make your morning cup of tea for you and fetch your slippers.


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## Andy Kev. (20 May 2020)

Another good UK woodworker on YouTube is Richard Maguire ("The English Woodworker) and Matt Eastlea has a few videos too.


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## Doug71 (20 May 2020)

Unless you use good quality plywood (birch ply) the edges of plywood are hard to finish and can splinter/look messy, this is why MDF is often used for doors. Moisture resistant MDF (MR MDF) is much better then the normal stuff.

Peter Millard does some good videos on simplifying cabinet builds.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Fksr ... oWTiG501LQ


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## MikeG. (20 May 2020)

Doug71":ulcbmw6x said:


> Unless you use good quality plywood (birch ply) the edges of plywood are hard to finish and can splinter/look messy.......



Oh, you must never use ply on its own without a frame. My answer (previously) assumed that all edges were contained in a frame, or with an edging strip.


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## thetyreman (20 May 2020)

Plywood is a lot more stable than solid woods, especially good quality ply, but high end ply is eye wateringly expensive as I found out, like B/BB grade birch ply.

you can probably make some kitchen cabinets out of melamine faced chipboard and just screw it together, pocket hole joinery seems common in kitchen fittings so that it hides the screws, 

poplar for the frames with pocket hole joinery seems like a sensible way to go, with plywood for the panels and also for the main cabinet carcass, re-inforced with timber if necessary. I wouldn't use joinery because it would be just too time consuming, and if I'm being honest I'd also rather get someone else to do it than do it myself.


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## joanieloveswood (20 May 2020)

Hi To all 
Just want to say a big Thank You for all you who answered my question. I will use birch plywood B/BB and paint or varnish it. 
I will take my time and do one bit at a time 
Thanks again a big HUG to you all
Joanie


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## woodbloke66 (21 May 2020)

joanieloveswood":2if9yz90 said:


> All my knoweldge is coming from You Tube videos . I sit down most nights with pen and paper and try and learn.
> its nearly all Amercian I cannot find British/ Irish Videos on line.
> 
> Joanie



A quick word of warning about UToob. As you mention, much is American from the other side of the pond and their 'shop practices can be very different to ours, no to say absolutely dangerous!
As has already been mentioned Richard Maguire is pretty down to earth and well worth a view but Peter Sellers is the only one I occasionally have a look at :lol: 
If you're keen to learn about woodwork, a decent UK book is in IMO a better bet. There are plenty to choose from and one I can recommend to start with is Chris Tribe's (of this parish) 'Complete Woodworking' - Rob


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## MikeG. (21 May 2020)

joanieloveswood":29aahpe9 said:


> ......... a big HUG to you all
> Joanie



I'm eligible for that, as I've had Covid 19 already. The other will just have to wait!


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## Bm101 (21 May 2020)

Mat Eastlea was mentioned above. Have a look at his website Joanie. 
https://mattestlea.com/
There's lessons there for the complete beginner and good advice on tools and ideas. He's started a 'free online school'. I'm a bit of a realist, my Mrs bought me a coffee cup with _*Cynic*_ on it last birthday. You get the idea. :wink: But it looks like he's a good guy with an engaging and positive style. He's there to make a living but fair enough good luck to him. Nothing wrong with that if it's valuable to you.
I suggest him above others because his website is so geared towards step by step progression. 
Welcome and good luck. As another beginner you are in exactly the right place so don't worry. Some good sorts on here. 
Chris


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## Lonsdale73 (22 May 2020)

Representing the Irish and mking everything look dead easy is John McGrath and his Man in Shed channel on youtube


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## Max Power (22 May 2020)

MikeG.":wprhs6oq said:


> Oh, you must never use ply on its own without a frame. My answer (previously) assumed that all edges were contained in a frame, or with an edging strip.


Why not, there are kitchen companies that specialise in just that


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