Switched to prefinished plywood for drawer boxes and regret not doing it sooner

I was always a stickler for building boxes from raw birch and finishing them myself, but after a 30-drawer kitchen job last month I tried prefinished ply from my supplier in Portland. The time savings on sanding and lacquer alone were worth the extra 40 bucks per sheet, and I haven't seen any issues with glue adhesion yet. Has anyone else made the switch or am I just lucky so far?

2 comments

2 Comments

marywilson21h ago

Nah I get that but for me the time saved was huge on a big kitchen job too. I just run a sharp blade and take light passes on the table saw to keep chipping down. Has held up fine through assembly and install no issues yet.

stone.lisa22h ago

Hang on, I have to disagree with that. I tried prefinished ply once on a smaller job and had nothing but trouble with the factory edges chipping out on me, plus the finish itself felt too thin and inconsistent compared to what I can spray myself. The time you save upfront comes right back when you're trying to patch and polish those scratches and dust nibs, at least in my experience.