Re: Rebuilding a cabinet

Jim,
   
  I feel your pain. Having restored a number of cabinets, both particle board and plywood as well as buiding a few from MDF from scratch, I have some opinions.
   
  I'm assuming that originality is not your primary concern. Here is how I feel about the possible choices:
   
  MDF:
   
  Pros: Cheap, requires very little finishing for a flat surface, cuts easily. There are now MDF veneers available that have a thin layer of real wood on the outside that can be stained too look like more expensive plywood veneer.
   
  Cons: HEAVY, does not hold screws well, deforms easily on edges when bumped, splits easily, swells when exposed to moisture
   
  Particle Board:
   
  Pros: Cheap, cuts easily, holds screws relatively well
   
  Cons: HEAVY, Hard to get a smooth surface when painting, breaks easily on corners etc, swells when exposed to moisture (including paint if you're not careful).
   
  Melamine:
   
  Pros: Don't have to paint it! Otherwise the same as PB.
   
  Cons: Easily scratched, difficult to cut without chipping exterior surface, can't use wood glue, textrure can show though applied side art. Otherwise same as PB
   
  Plywood (I'm talking about cabinet grade maple or similar, not exterior grade):
   
  Pros: Much lighter than any of the other materials, stronger, holds screws well, not as fragile on corners, not subject to swelling, glues well.
   
  Cons: More expensive, reqires more effort to get a smooth finish.
   
  My own prefference is to use plywood. Once you've tried to move a 4x8 sheet of PB you'll appreciate plywood. -Malcolm
  

EvilJim <eviljim13@comcast.net> wrote:
  Morning all -

So, from all my experience so far, arcade uprights were made from
particle board. That same experience has shown that once wetted, PB
becomes crumbling junk once dry again. Even before it has dried, if any
soaking has occurred. Time itself does not seem to help this stuff,
especially in an environment like the PacNW, hardly any of it is still
smooth just from the moisture in the air.

I need to rebuild a cabinet and wanted to see if there was any consensus
on what to use when doing so. Was PB really the best product, or was it
just cheap? If I were to go to something else, would I be looking at
plywood or some other sheet product? Aside from the aging PB issues,
this cab also appears to have been butchered in a few ways over its life
and given the other damage/issues on the interior, I am planning on
creating a new cabinet, top to bottom, front to back.

Warning, non-Vector content: The game in question is a Tron (sorry if
some of you already read this on the other list), and if any of you also
own one of these, I would love any info you might be able to share on
dimensions, repro art and any leads on good, solid, empty cabinets in
the Puget Sound region are welcome as well.
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Received on Wed Sep 26 14:48:54 2007