A question 4the "Pro's" re: Building a with plywood

Are you asking about the body/carcasse of the cabinet or the face frame?

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Also what will the cabinets be used for? What type of ply?

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Yes body/carcasses nothing fancy just shop cabinets at first then some bookcases later. 1/2” and 3/4” ply no voids that I am aware of.

-- Growing older but not up!

I use splines & PVA glue. If there is room I’ll screw a piece to the inside for added support

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

All of those methods are easy. You can just glue and screw the cabinets and nail the face frames on for something really basic. The advantage of having a dado or rabbet is that it provides a positive stop during assembly.You need to practice with the biscuit joiner to ensure alignment if you are a perfectionist.

The face frame is what gives the cabinet strenght.

You should add some type of back. Even just a rail that adds strength and give you something to attach to.

If I had to make something simple I would rabbet both ends of the sides. Glue and staple the top and bottom on. Screw and glue in a back rail and staple on a back. I would also probably just nail a face frame on the front in separate pieces and make a ply door.

If you spend any time on this site however it will probably end up being made of curly waterfall bubinga dominoed togegether.Raised panels and some type of crown molding.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Thanks guys.

-- Growing older but not up!

I just joined 2 pieces of 3/4” Oak plywood with biscuits and Titebond III for the back of a router cabinet and it worked OK for me. I didn’t jump up and down on it but it seems very sturdy for my use.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

I prefer to dado the box sides and screw into the dado, unless it is a finished end. If you leave 3/8 of material, your bottom fixed shelf will always be 3/4 less than what you want your total box width to be. Leave your dado height alone and run rabbits 1/4 in from the box back and you have concealed your 1/4 material. The 1/4 back is what squares up the cabinet. Don’t forget to put a nailer across the backs top so you can attach it to the wall.

-- http://www.efcabineture.com/ "ANYONE WHO HAS NEVER MADE A MISTAKE, HAS NEVER TRIED ANYTHING NEW"

Gizmo and Matter are both right. As with most woodworking tasks, there is more than one way to accomplish it.

If it is a simple box that is on the floor and not hanging, or has exposed sides. I will use glue (PVA-carpenters glue) and shoot it together with 1/4” crown staples. They hold better than you would imagine and is a quick method. As a pro I need to make money and I will do it appropriately but using the method that is the quickest.

Pocket hole screws will work and biscuits are amazing for strength and they are hidden if this is important.

One thing that I always suggest is to use your shop as a testing ground. Try to use all the methods possible to see how much time they take and how they hold up over time.

Here is a built-in cabinet that I stapled the boxes together. There was a small lower box and a larger upper box with faceframes. The boxes are not hanging and supporting any weight so the quickest method to assemble was with a stapler. In the end nobody can tell and they will never fall apart.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

John and Rhett got posts in by the time I got mine. Just proves there are many ways and they can all work well.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com