What wood to use for a cabinet

1575 posts in 1413 days

135 days ago

I am building a cabinet to house an 100 gal aquarium. I figured I need 3 sheets of 3/4” plywood to sheath the cabinet. The finish is to be a medium dark Oak. 3 sheets of a cabinet grade Oak would cost more than I can spend, so I’m down to 2 choices; one is the Chinese Oak panels sold by Lowes and HD which can be poor quality; or I can use the Araco Pine panels that come from So. America and are good quality as far as delaminating goes. I’m inclined toward the Araco panels, but will I be able to apply a convincing Oak finish to them? This is not a fine piece of furniture; just I want it to look good. I’m thinking a shellac filler coat followed by an Oak stain and followed by a polyurethane sealer.

3 replies so far

Howie home \| projects \| blog 2449 posts in 1093 days #1 posted 135 days ago	Have you considered oak veneer? -- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd
Zboom home \| projects \| blog 54 posts in 524 days #2 posted 135 days ago	MrRon I built a tand for my 75 gallon. I just used 2×4’s for the frame and then skinned it with 1/4 inch HD birch plywood. I will post a pic if you want to see it, just don’t want to hijack your thread -- Michael, Nueve Mexico www.facebook.com/flatlandersww
Lee Barker home \| projects \| blog 1889 posts in 1020 days #3 posted 135 days ago	Oak isn’t a color, so “oak stain”, whatever that is, will not magically make another species look like oak. The typical appearance of oak comes from open grain and its characteristic two-color response to any kind of finish. Kindly, Lee -- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

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What wood to use for a cabinet

3 replies so far

Have your say...

Woodworking Skill Share Your woodworking skills are displayed for several lifetimes in each project. Have you had to compromise your project...

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Joinery Have a question? a tip/strategy to share? a challenge, perhaps? Share your "joinery" discussion here.

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