Thread: Ply vs mdf vs melamine for shop cabinets?

Melamine is stable and strong; I have many cabinets in my shed made from it. For under bench storage drawers beat cupboards.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Melamine is stable and strong; I have many cabinets in my shed made from it. For under bench storage drawers beat cupboards.

Good to know, thanks. What did you use for joinery? I guess you can’t glue it! Do pocket holes work?

Pocket hole joinery needs solid wood so no; they won’t work with melamine coated chipboard.
You can use simple butt joints with 50mm chipboard screws; 5 to a side (two and each end and one in the middle). You’ll need to drill proper countersunk clearance holes in the face side and pilot holes in the edges.

Biscuit joinery is the quickest if you have a biscuit joiner and clamps; although you can use a couple of screws in lieu of clamps.

Heavy duty European made cabinets are constructed using dowel joinery; strong and secure but slow; and again you need clamps.

Nothing wrong with MDF as long as you take precautions with breathing the dust.

I have chummed up to a local kitchen maker and too often "got another load for you Tonz' 3,6.9,12, 18mm yes the edges can be rough and sometimes you need to quietly dispose of some really rough stuff but its free .....well a Christmas slab works wonders. Sometimes even get slightly marked white melamine sheets as well.

Another bonus the majority of us aussie workers is we are not posers showing off our showroom workshops, its a workshop for making stuff not youtube videos

Ive got about a dozen drawers made from recycled ikea desks, ie chipboard construction held together with pocket holes. The drawers are quite small (300x200x80mm) so that might be the deciding factor

I made them about 6 years ago and still as strong as the day they were made. Would i make them the same way again?

Probably not. Purely because i dont like the look of them. I made them mostly because i had a couple of desks destined for the tip and i needed storage. Pocket holes was choosen due to its quick construction. Given that im considering remaking the drawers, i kinda regret not doing them "properly" from the onset.

Choice of material is dependent on a bunch of factors, eg humidity in shop, frequency of usage, funds, aesthetics etc. Choose a material that ticks all the boxes as they'll be around for sometime.

I’ve just stumbled across The Wood Knight’s video series of him building cabinets for a mitre station out of 16mm melamine. He also has plans. I reckon I’ll follow with him. He does use pocket joinery all over so I’m assuming it does work ok in melamine.

the most important thing is to use clamps to avoid splitting the ends of whatever you use. Just put clamp on end and you won't get any splitting.

Originally Posted by lemerv

I’ve just stumbled across The Wood Knight’s video series of him building cabinets for a mitre station out of 16mm melamine. He also has plans. I reckon I’ll follow with him. He does use pocket joinery all over so I’m assuming it does work ok in melamine.

Also check out Dave Stanton. He has a good YouTube videos on making melamine draws using pocket holes. I used this when making draws (15 of them) for our walk in wardrobe. The 16mm melamine draw bottoms seem like an overkill for a wardrobe but wife like pushing stuff into draws to try to fit more in. Normal thin draw bottoms had a habit of breaking in our house. Not these draws.

Cabinets are just but joints & screws. No pocket holes required.

Some of the sheet suppliers can also cut them up for you, if you plan it carefully. That will solve at least a large portion of the dust problem, with you just having to cut up the custom-fit parts. Yes, you can glue mdf, but if possible, use some #6 or #8 gauge screws as well.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Some of the sheet suppliers can also cut them up for you, if you plan it carefully. That will solve at least a large portion of the dust problem, with you just having to cut up the custom-fit parts. Yes, you can glue mdf, but if possible, use some #6 or #8 gauge screws as well.

+1 for using a supplier who can cut your panels for you. I don’t like working with sheets, but when I do, I usually get some of the cutting done by the supplier. It isn’t always possible (or advisable) to have every part cut to final size. But I’ve found it’s incredibly helpful to have some primary dimensions cut by the supplier, for example the depth of the cabinets. Sometimes I get all the parts cut to size, and purposely oversize a few, knowing that those are the panels that can be trimmed-to-fit during assembly.

Of course, it’s possible to do it yourself too, but to be accurate, you really need a quality tracksaw and associated paraphernalia, or a sliding panel saw. And a lot of space.

Accuracy doesn’t always matter, but things can get pretty silly if you’re making a lot of panels and not keeping track of a known square reference edge.

Shout yourself a couple of corner clamps. Fix the two panels together with these and then screw the butt joints while the clamps hold the boards for you. Makes life much easier when working alone. Pocket holes in melamine is a bit chancy and a waste of time.

Melamine for sure and i would urge to to get the panels cut by a professional, they will be spot on square and can be edged if you desire. All the cabinetry i make is put together with brads (no glue) so if you have access to a compressor and a nail gun this is definitely the way to go. All this will be an added cost but the time saving is worth the money.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Some of the sheet suppliers can also cut them up for you, if you plan it carefully. That will solve at least a large portion of the

If you give your cutlist to the supplier they have clever software that will optimise the layout for minimal wastage and cuts.

Originally Posted by lemerv

I’m starting to design some shop cabinets to make some benches along the wall. I’ve watched plenty of instructional videos on this, but of course they are all americans using baltic birch ply.

Closer to home and closer to budget, my options are 17mm CD ply, mdf, or melamine. I’m not sure what to go for?

I’ve heard the CD ply can be pretty average and not stay flat. Plus it’s more expensive.

MDF ticks the boxes in terms of stability and flatness, but the dust is a concern. The cheapest option.

Not sure about melamine either way.

Any thoughts/recommendations for a first-time cabinet maker?

Cheers

Contrary to popular belief MDF ain't that flat. At least if you buy if from bunnings. It's actually kinked about 400mm in from both ends because of how they store it and length of time. It should be on a proper full length pallet not two 100x100, at you guessed it about 400mm in from each edge. And you ain't gonna get those kinks out no matter how hard you try... MDF dust isn't that much of a concern, just wear a proper respirator. Paper masks are as useless as a hanky tied around your nose.

Melamine board is probably the flattest and has the most durable surface, but you won't have the equipment to edge it properly. It's lighter than MDF and more stable. You can glue a wood edge on but it looks dated and daggy (YMMV). Also, unless you have the right equipment, it's a bitch to cut nicely; it'll chip like hell.

Ply is the strongest, and lightest, but isn't all that flat and the surface is not so desirable.

EDIT: Read some of the posts saying use a pocket hole system for knocking the cabinets up... Don't. Melamine board doesn't have the structural integrity for a pocket hole drill system. It needs screws driven in at right angles to be at their maximum strength. You could use biscuits but they won't be much stronger than the pocket hole system. If you are concerned about strength of the joint you have the choice or either a dado with PVA glue and screws. Or a butt joint using PVC glue and screws. PVC glue is strong enough that it'll rip the melamine coating off the board if the butt joint fails.