Pine cabinets - any thoughts?

[lhrocker]

Does pine shelving make good cabinets? Most people use plywood, but I can get 1x18 sheets here. Any thoughts? Would it be too soft, not sturdy, etc...?

 

[GlennW]

#1 clear white pine is about $5 a liner foot here. It's supposed to be stable.

You're probably looking at #2 with some knots. If it's straight and flat, a rare combination, it would be ok for a guitar cabinet.

For a serious bass cabinet I'd stick with a high grade of 3/4" plywood. 11 1/4" isn't really deep enough for a bass cabinet.

If you can get the stuff free, I'd try it out a while before investing the time and money in covering it. It would surely be fine to make some experimental boxes.

Yellow pine is very heavy, but I doubt if that's what you have.

 

[lhrocker]

I can get some 18" x 4' boards for 6 dollars each board. Not too many knots either. I was just wondering if they would work out if they were straight.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Pine doesn't have the stiffness of plywood, so it would have to be extremely well braced, which also would be necessary to prevent warping. That price is competitive with plywood, though quite cheap for pine.