[Mitchk1303]

One of the nicest DIY conversions I’ve ever seen was done with bamboo ply. He has had zero issues with it after more than five years.

Nice! Do you know if he used mostly 1/2 inch? I have never loved doing cabinetry in 1/2 inch but the bamboo is really strong and I’m trying to save a little weight

 

[Mitchk1303]

We are experimenting with a fresh-cut set of 1/2" Bamboo Ply cabinets in the shop over the past few weeks. We've assembled them and finished them with a polyurethane coat and they seem solid, if not quite as solid as our usual 1/2" Baltic Birch. We haven't hung them up yet.

I wonder why they wouldn’t be quite as solid as birch. The ply is even denser I believe. Do you pocketscrew everything?

 

[Mitchk1303]

The real question is if anyone successfully sourced plyboo or similar in their area or internet? I had no luck in Denver but as a hobbyist I have no retail buying power.
(Edited: or better yet I will just buy the kit from Matt^^^)

I can get it shipped by cali bamboo but it definitely isn’t cheap

 

[Mitchk1303]

We did. The material just seems more flexible over longer spans. The cabinet doors are can be bowed much more easliy, for example.

Ah that is interesting. Maybe using 1/2 inch for all my cabinetry will be a little bit of a pain with all the flexing

 

[Mitchk1303]

I've used 1/2" bamboo ply for cabinet ends (attached to 80/20) in the past.

It was fine but I'd be careful with your choice of sealant. I found that the bamboo ply was much more susceptible to drying out and bowing with extreme temperature changes when compared to 1/2" or even 1/4" Baltic birch. We're in the mountains so we can have a 30 degree night and a 70 degree day quite often.

I wouldn't recommend using 1/2" bamboo ply for larger pieces but it was fine for smaller trim when it can be attached in multiple spots.

Interesting, I will need to make sure its good and sealed then. Do you have a recommended sealant. This talk about warping is making me think 3/4 for the cabinets might be simpler...