"Alexander Galkin" wrote in message
...
I am going to build all my kitchen cabinets and I have some questions

1. What's the best material to use for kitchen cabinets drawer sides, back
and bottom? Maple, Burch, something else?

My experience indicates that the when pieces of wood that will come into
contact with each other and rub against each other there is friction. The
harder the wood, maple or oak, the less friction, The softer the material,
pine or poplar the more friction or drag. If you are going to use metal
slides, the material really does not matter. I prefer to use 1/2" Baltic
Birch plywood. Baltic Birch plywood is reasonably priced and you normally
can cut what ever size you neeed with out having to buy wide boards or glue
up boards if the drawers are going to be deep. I have very good results for
pots and pan drawers as large as 24" x 36" using 1/4" plywood for the
bottoms. I prefer a close grain wood plywood for this aplication.


2. I assume the most practical way to build cabinets cases sides , bottom
and back from plywood. What type and thickness of plywood is the best for
this?

I prefer plywood or lumber core that is 3/4" thick For the Backs I use 1/4"
thick plywood.


3. Is it best to build kitchen cabinet shelves from solid wood or plywood?

No. Both plywood and solid wood shelves will bow if there is too much
weight. I always use plywood with a solid wood front edge band to hide the
front edge of the plywood. If there will be long spans or if I anticipare
more than normal weight will be supported by the shelves I typically add a
1.5" x 3/4" solid piece of wood to the front and or back of the shelf to
help prevent sagging.


The cabinets drawer faces, doors and face frame will be built from cherry.

I highly discourage using any of the particle boards or melamine type boards
for the carcasses. This job is not a quick simple one and plywood is going
to hold up better 20 years from now.