Picked poplar over birch ply for a bathroom vanity last week, and I'm still going back and forth on it
Client wanted paint grade and I told her poplar would save her about $60 on the sheet goods, but the grain tore out on me twice near the sink cutout even with a fresh blade. I got it sanded and filled so she'll never know, but now I'm wondering if I should've just eaten the extra cost and gone with the birch. Anyone got a go to for paint grade boxes that doesn't fuzz up on you?
The tear out near the sink cutout is the blade's fault, not the wood's. Poplar gets a bad name because guys run a 40 tooth combo blade through it and then blame the species when it fuzzes. A sharp 80 tooth or even a zero clearance insert and that cutout comes out clean every time. Eating $60 on birch for a box that's getting painted is money down the drain, and birch has its own issues, it chips out just as bad if you look at it wrong. You made the right call, you just need to fix your cut, not your material.