Wood choice for kitchen cabinets and max width of solid wood panel?
I am starting my biggest project yet, building new cabinets for our kitchen. I plan to build full overlay frame and panel doors with a medium brown stain. My wife would prefer if the grain could be largely concealed. My first choice of wood was cherry but it is very prone to blotching. Maple is the same way, IMHO. Are there less blotchy alternatives to maple and cherry? Would the grain in alder or birch be easier to conceal?
The doors to the cabinets will be constructed with full overlay and floating solid wood panels. Some of the doors may be about 22″ wide which would make the panels about 18″ wide. Aside from aesthetic issues, is there a rule of thumb as to the maximum width of solid wood panels beyond which wood movement becomes an unmanageable problem?
– Lyptus
Replies
Perhaps I should have rephrased my question. My desire is not to completely conceal the grain, I just want an even finish that minimizes grain contrast. Unlike my other projects where my focus was on highlighting the figure in wood by design, my goal for the cabinets is speed, high quality construction, and the satisfaction that I built them. I'm also trying to prove to my wife and family (and myself) that I can build a piece of furniture in less than year.
- Lyptus
Check out Charles Niel's blotch control. Good stuff. Then you can use either maple or cherry.
Another option
Which is what I would do would be to choose the wood when you buy it and only get boards that do not have grain that is too intrusive and then use a satin or semi gloss finish. I don't see the point of buying cherry or maple and then staining it, for that might as well buy a cheap wood that is stable. Best of luck.
The less expensive hardwoods available near me are Ash, Birch, and Soft Maple. Any suggestions among these three? Poplar is inexpensive and available but I feel it is too soft for stained kitchen cabinets.
- Lyptus
What I would do would be to buy a couple of BF of each, joint and plane them, maybe size them with glue dissolved in water and then try your stain on each of them to see which one is best.
You and your wife should rethink the design problem. What you propose about staining to obscure grain is to make your custom cabinets look as if they were cheap knockdown boxes. You don't want to give up the opportunity to have really high end cabinets that you have built yourself. It costs very little more either just a bit of time and awareness.
Cheap commercial cabinetmakers do that because they don't want to spend the time it takes to select woods that match so they just cover everything up. You as an amateur can easily make the effort to match the wood grain and colors to get a pleasing effect without having to virtually paint the wood. You can beat the all but high end pro's by spending an extra hour selecting the wood.
Commercial cabinet makers also spray finishes with color included to avoid the blotching problem. They seldom use the kinds of stain we think of. Instead of staining, you can minimize blotching by using dye to establish the basic color. It's won't accentuate differences between early and late wood either. I think that's the way to go to get what you want without heavy staining.
There is also oak. Oak doesn't blotch with stain either. It does have open pores that do place some limits on how you finish the cabinets. Again dye on oak provides the more even look, without accentuating the grain but without obscuring it either. Since dye sometimes doesn't "take" on the insides of pores, after dying you may have to lightly seal the wood, and then use a similar colored pigment stain that will lodge in the pores to color them. Since the wood has been sealed the pigment will stay most in those pores and not accentualte grain elsewhere. The key is just to match the pigment color and shade to the dyed wood.
Something I have done in the past that works well with maple or cherry is to seal the wood with light shellac or clear coat like GF water born finishes. The brand that I am use to working with is general finishes. I like the GF water born finishes because I have had good results spraying them and they clean up and dry fast and easy. Mix the clear coat and the color of dye (Max 3:1 ratio) and apply multiple coats until you get your desired color. If you want some of the grain to show don't seal the wood first. There may still be some blotching but it will be limited. Repairs are difficult to do but its not a table top so you should be OK. If it were me I wouldn't spend the money on nice wood and then cover some to all of it up. Have you considered some type of opaque or translucent finsih?
Regarding your other question, an "average" figure for wood expansion/contraction is 1/8" per foot, but that can vary significantly for different species and whether the wood is quarter or flat sawn. With a wide enough door frame, you can make the panel groove deeper if necessary. Consider also that wood contraction in winter may expose unstained wood if you assemble before staining and finishing. Rather than using averages, better to check out or buy a copy of R. Bruce Hoadley's book and make calculations based on your geographic area. There are also recommended maximum door widths based on the style and brand of hinge you use, at least for European style cup hinges. Finally aesthetics can play a role based on the overall design of banks of cabinets.
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