"Adam" wrote in message

My gut is telling me I probably should reconsider....

Pretty well done it all when it comes to kitchen cabinets, more than once.
Two examples are on my website below, so you're getting "BTDT" and no
conjecture.

The reality of the situation for wooden doors, even for those who do it for
money, is that it is generally cheaper, quicker, and ends with a higher
quality product, if you can find a local shop that specializes in doors.

Why? - simply because, as an individual paying full retail price, the
finding and milling of the wood, not discounting waste, warpage, etc., is
often more expensive than having them made in a speciality shop to start
with.

Even for those of us who are practiced in setting up and have the equipment
to do a door and drawer front run for a complete kitchen, it rarely makes
economic sense to do so in this day and age.

There is absolutely nothing shameful about buiding the cabinets and
outsourcing the doors for anyone who works on a business/business like
footing.

What about MDF cabinet doors?

I would recommend the mdf approach as long as you want to:

1. paint your doors
2. DIY inexpensively
3. Perhaps have another option for drawer fronts
4. Use Euro 35mm door cup hinge system

I've heard of some problems with them,
how much truth is in it?

mdf is stable, and when properly sealed, primed and painted, makes a very
nice door for very little cash outlay. Not the "cachet" of a well made
wooden door, but acceptable for most folks who need to be cost conscious.

Would they be acceptable for use in a kitchen with care?

Absolutely. The stability of mdf alone is worth the price of admission when
compared to some of the problems even the experienced can run into with
doors not remaining flat for any number of reasons.

If you really have the itch to do the doors yourself, it would be a
relatively cheap way for you to find out with a 2 x 4 sheet of 3/4" mdf, a
router and table, and a collection of bits.

Just cut the mdf to the dimension of a door, route a profile on the front
and/or edges, and see if you like/can live with what you have wrought.

If not throw it away and try again ... cheap prototyping is one of the
benefits of MDF.

I would get them raw and finish (paint) them myself. Does anyone have
good info on priming/painting MDF? I hear it can be tricky. I do have
a spray setup - HVLP pressure and gravity fed.

When used for doors, mdf is usually sealed with glue size, shellac,
spackling slurry, or somesuch; lightly sanded; then primed and painted with
one or more coats.

Now ... what are you going to do about drawer fronts to match?

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Last update: 2/20/07