Hard or soft maple for kitchen cabinet face frames? Would soft maple suffice for this sort of application? Any other paint grade wood I should consider?
I kinda cringe when I see someone refer to soft maple as "paint grade wood". Anyway, soft maple is actually harder than cherry, so if hardness was the concern it should do just fine. I think I would consider poplar as well…though it may not save any money over the maples, and it is quite bit softer.
Thanks. As long as soft maple is "hard", I'm good with that. The poplar I have used on all my built ins thus far is just too soft. Any bump against a shelf easily dents it. I'm ready for a more durable wood. Soft maple is cheaper than hard maple around here.
I cringe because some of the nicest maple I've seen was soft maple….to me it's much better than being consider a "paint grade" or secondary wood. Truthfully, most of the hard maple I've seen was much more plain in color and grain….maybe it's a regional thing.
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