what is best and hardiest wood to make set of shelves or cupboard?
Answers:
I'm biased I guess, but recently I've been looking at my ancestors who worked with wood from the 1700s right down to the 20th Century and they regarded the European Oak as the strongest, hardiest of woods and would always use that if they could for anything from wheel axles and hubs to fine cabinets and chests - and they had a reputation for building things that lasted...
I suspect even oak can't resist constant battering though... maybe the challenge is to come up with a design for whatever wood pleases you (and is available) featuring a plastic (or even metal) trim round the base which can be removed when your 2 year old is more inclined to understand and appreciate the beauty of wood?
It's a UK site I'm afraid, but you can look up the characteristics of a whole host of hardwoods from the address below - I'm sure there's probably a similar site in the US if you search.
Other answers:
Oaks nice
Oaks nice
maple, oak is harder but it is ugly
maple
oak, hickory or ash are all good hardwoods, then put a good urethane finish on it
the best available is Red oak , but a good plan is to use the melamine thats composite materials in the depot, it has sizes to make sides and shelves in differant lenghts ,and comes in black and white, but they sell the fasteners there, and you and use it ,with heavy door hinges to make a front set of doors ,get some spray paint and make a color statement,, but remember to buy a bracket to anchor the top, or the inside shelf to the wall ,so the child cannot tip it on themselves the anchor should hit wood,, to find it use a stud finder ,or a electric shaver, they change pitch on the wall as you press and slide them across, or the wood should be 16 on centers from a corner of the room just measure across 16-32-48 see , good luck ,an olde dude
Oak
Use 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood. It comes in 5' x 5' sheets, is 13 plies of birch (no filler plies) and has no voids, so the edge can be sanded smooth or routed without banding. It is beautiful, tough, and lot less expensive than solid oak or maple (won't shrink or warp, either). A lot of cupboards and shelving units in daycare and preschools are made from baltic birch. A good building supply (esp. a local outfit, not lowes or HD) should be able to cut the sheets into the sizes you need for your plans, or you can DIY with circular saw and guide, or table saw.