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Materials other than MDF
Alejo I:
In defense of plywood, it's much easier to fix a serious screw-up with putty. That's something it has over any other material.
As far as alternatives go, I'd like to cast a vote for Valchromat. It's 30% stronger than normal MDF, comes in a variety of solid colors dyed through the entire material and can be finished like actual wood. It's not cheap and I believe it's harder to find in the US (although Amazon carries it from time to time), but being MDF-like, it's extremely good if you want to get original with curved router bits/CNC as it's splinter-free and allows for some pretty extreme shaping.
Again, it's a pretty specialised material, so it may not be the best alternative for a normal build. Unless you are Arroyo.
jennifer:
:)
RandyT:
As long as money is no object, just use MDO. Gorgeously smooth and paintable surface with plywood underneath. It's quite likely the actual material used for real arcade machines.
MDF is the poor man's MDO. Much easier to finish and make pretty, painted indoor structures with than plywood. But you can't just start driving screws into it all willy-nilly. You need proper planning, special fasteners and a CNC machine doesn't hurt.
It's also not all created equal. There are tons of varieties from many manufacturers, and it comes in many densities and styles. Just because someone used the cheapest stuff and doesn't know how to work with it correctly, doesn't mean it's a poor material. To me, nothing looks cheaper than seeing wood grain through paint, and I just don't like how long it takes to finish plywood to get rid of this appearance.
But the way I see it, it's your cabinet. If it looks good to you, costs what you can afford, and stays together, you built it with the right material.
DaveMMR:
Adding my 2 cents kind of late in the game here but whatever. I hate MDF. There. I said it.
I know some woodworkers enjoy working with it since it's inexpensive, it machines beautifully and it looks great with even the sloppiest of paint jobs. But they're also not building human-sized boxes with weird angles.
The money I saved building my first cabinet out of MDF was lost having to buy more material because of mistakes I wasn't able to fix like I could with plywood and random damage incurred simply by moving a sheet a few centimeters across the garage. Hell, a minor water spill rendered pieces of my MDF practically unusable. And I most certainly didn't enjoy MDF in my snot for weeks after. Yes, I wore a dust mask. Doesn't matter. It finds a way inside. Thank goodness I had cheap tools at the time because removing that dust sometimes was near impossible.
And, finally, when the cabinet was done it was incredible difficult to move, even with three people. Got to the point where I just decided to destroy it instead of moving it a third time.
Some good suggestions up there. I don't have anymore to add. But don't be tempted by the price. MDF has it's place but for a cabinet, go with the more expensive but friendlier alternatives as mentioned.
Ond:
I had a read through this thread, wanted to add some comments/observations. I totally get the criticisms of MDF and the preference to use furniture grade plywood etc over it, however... MDF can be a really good choice as well in making cabinets. I regularly use all kinds of timbers MDF, different grades of plywood, solid timber - hardwood, softwood, whatever.
I agree absolutely with Alejo I's comments. MDF in combination with the right surface treatment yields really nice results. It is grain free and can be shaped really well. Whilst it does not hold screws well, can de-laminate when subjected to pressure along its edge, absorbs moisture and swells and has a binding agent which is a toxic lung irritant it still has desirable features over other materials in certain instances. It works really well with fillers like Bondo and high-build automotive primers. I've found (much to my annoyance) that plywood can warp underneath a finish and distort it. This never happens with MDF given the same treatment. Panels that are glued with MDF glue are really strongly joined together especially rebated joinery.
On kitchen cabinet builds. Here in Australia MDF is generally not used to make kitchen benches or cabinets, instead high density (chip) particle board is used. The same stuff they used in making original arcade cabinets. Cheap loudspeaker cabinets are made of the same stuff. High quality speaker cabinet makers choose thick MDF to build with as it has excellent acoustic properties and is better for rounded off edges.
Should you use it to build your cab from? Maybe. If you intend to laminate your cab or just use a roller paint treatment I would say no, go with a reasonably good plywood instead. If you want to produce shaped forms, curved edges or cut-outs and intend to seal and spray paint the surface, MDF is an excellent choice. You need to use proper PPE with MDF, that's kind of a no brainer.
It does NOT look great with a sloppy paint job, it looks terrible, kinda fuzzy and rough!
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