# Attaching plywood back panel to plywood carcassed cabinet



## rubber_ducky (Dec 30, 2015)

Hi all,

I recently build a cabinet out of 3/4" ply for my bench mount drill press. As the DP is heavy, I thought that it would benefit from the added strength of a rabbeted back panel. So I routed a 7/16"x7/16" rabbet all the way around for a 1/2" (7/16" actual) plywood panel.

I'm looking for advise as to the best way to fasten this panel. I'm tempted to glue and nail it, but thought that I would seek the collective advise of the LJ community before going ahead with that

TIA


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

Another thought would be glue and trim head screws…


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## JBrow (Nov 18, 2015)

rubber_ducky,

I see nothing wrong with gluing and nailing the back to the cabinet. Since it is a cabinet that is supported mostly from the bottom, the back could also be screwed in place. If it were a cabinet that hangs on the wall using the back to secure it to the wall, gluing the back would be a good idea.

I now personally glue parts together as infrequently as I can for shop built furnishings. Sometimes, perhaps even after years of use, I decide to eliminate a previously built cabinet. In fact I did this last year. I had a tall tool cabinet that had to go to make room for a new tool. The cabinet had plenty of material that could be used for something else in the shop. When I began dissembling the tool cabinet I was worried I may have used glue, since that was my practice years ago. Luckily I did not. I removed the screws holding things together and salvaged all the good parts. Had it been glued, the entire tool cabinet would have ended up in the landfill.

If you go without glue, I suggest using screws to secure the back. Screws hold well and can be removed with little effort. Since the back will set in a rabbet, the rabbet plus screws would be more than enough to overcome racking forces.


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