How to Build a Cabinet Door With Plywood Veneer

Measure the opening of the cabinet. If the door is an overlay door, measure it to be 1/2 inch wider and taller than the opening. If it's an inset door, measure it to be 1/4 inch less than the height and width of the opening.

Subtract 1 inch from your door dimensions to get the dimensions of the plywood panel you need to cut. For example, if you are building a door 18 inches wide and 25 inches tall, cut a panel 17 inches wide and 24 inches tall.

Plane some pieces of wood that are the same species as the veneer on the plywood. Make strips 1/2 inch wide, 3/4 inch thick, and 1 inch longer than the width of your plywood panel.

Spread glue on one of the 3/4-inch-wide faces of two strips of wood. Place them against the top and bottom of the panel, and clamp them on with bar clamps, being careful to keep the edges of the strips flush with the thickness of the plywood. Allow the assembly to dry for two hours.

Remove the assembly from the clamps, and trim the ends off the strips, so the ends of the strips are flush with the sides of the plywood panel.

Cut two more strips that are 1 inch longer than the height of the door. Apply glue to one 3/4-inch face of these strips, apply them to the sides of the panel, and clamp them on. Allow the assembly to dry.

Trim the ends of the two strips so they are flush with the outline of the panel. You now have a plywood panel door edged with four strips, creating a rectangular door 1 inch wider and taller than the panel, because of the thickness of the strips. The strips hide the cross section of the plywood and make the door look more finished.