Plywood, available in most lumber yards, is sold with unfinished edges showing the actual plies; there are often gaps or “voids” between them. Some plywoods, like Baltic Birch, have very uniform edges with few, very discreet gaps, though it is more expensive. You could buy 3/4 -inch or 1-inch birch, or oak plywood for instance and use a table saw or Skilsaw to cut the notches (which you would cut rather tight,for instance no more than a 1/32 of an inch larger than the plywood you are fitting into the notch, so it wouldn’t wobble, and would sit at 90 degrees to the piece into which it is fit).
If you don’t like the raw edges, you would need to “edgeband”, that is, finish the edges of the plywood with a piece of wood so that the raw edges are not exposed. Edgeband material is usually sold as a “roll” of tape. Sometimes it is sold with an adhesive affixed on one side, otherwise you need to use an applied adhesive ( I like 3M spray adhesive called M90). Edge band tapes are economical and easy to use, but will often come loose or have edges that get loose after a couple years. The other option is to nail or glue a piece of matching 1-inch strip of solid wood to the edges. These pieces can be glued with contact cement or the same M90, or nailed to the plywood edge with “wire brads”, finish nails, or screws that could be either left exposed, or filled in with putty to match, then finished like the plywood.
Cabinet grade plywood can be finished in numerous ways: stain and varnish, stain and wax, paint, varnish only…stain only etc.
It is also possible to get a veneer wood on 3/4-inch, 5/8-inch or 1/2-inch MDF (medium density fiberboard) which is a very dense solid material used for cabinets a lot these days.The ends are totally solid and would look great. MDF is stainable, paintable, varnishable etc. It is a great alternative to veneer plywood, as it would not need edge banding or wood to cover the plies.
MDF comes in 4 x 8-foot sheets. However, most lumberyards will cut pieces to whatever size you want …sometimes for free, sometimes there is a cutting fee, but if you dont have a table saw, it can be worth the small charge.
As far as how it holds up, MDF is better than the IKEA melamine type materials, which is usually a not-so-dense fiberboard. MDF is prone to swelling if it gets super wet, and may not be the best for use in a bathroom or near the kitchen sink, close to the water source or on the floor. It can be finished with a sealer and varnish so it will not react so poorly with water.
Health check: if cutting vast quantities of either plywood or MDF, it is always a good idea to wear a good dust mask and wear eye protection..
Above descriptions via The improvised life
