Changed my mind about using prefinished plywood for face frames

I swore by solid wood face frames for 15 years. Thought prefinished was lazy and cost too much. Last month I had to crank out 12 kitchen cabinets for a job in Charlotte. Client wanted a dark stain but matched it wrong twice. Wasted a full week just on staining and fixing drips. Finally tried prefinished maple ply with edge banding after my supplier talked me into it. Saved me two days of labor and the color was dead on. Anyone else ditch solid wood for face frames on production work?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray8751mo ago

Solid wood is for people who hate their free time apparently, lol. Glad you saw the light before you went completely bald from stress.

foster.jordan1mo ago

Did you guys catch that article someone posted about how solid wood furniture is basically a status symbol for people who hate themselves? I read it last week and it stuck with me. The whole thing about having to babysit wood for months just to have a table that might still warp anyway. That butcher block story reminded me exactly of what the article said about how we romanticize real wood but ignore how much work it takes. Meanwhile that same article pointed out that engineered wood is actually stronger in some ways because it's made to resist all the stuff that drives us crazy. I've been happy with my laminate desk for three years and it still looks exactly like the day I bought it.

pat_stone1mo ago

Last summer I spent three weekends in a row trying to get a butcher block to lay flat. Ended up using four clamps and a prayer. My neighbor walked over and said "you know they sell those pre-made at Ikea right?" I just nodded and kept sanding. By the fourth weekend I had a nice 4 foot long firewood pile. Now I just buy the cheap stuff and spend my free time doing things like sleeping and not losing my mind. Whatever works is what works.