Plywood/Drawer slide question

[ron hokenson]

I am building cabinets on rollers for my garage. The garage has a higher than normal humidity as I live on the coast. I have two questions:

Not sure on type of plywood to buy for the cabinets. I don't want to paint the cabinets but will put a sealer on. I also want it to look pretty finished though I don't expect inside the house quality cabinet look. Which of the choices below would be best ?
Choices for the 3/4 are...

AC plywood $30
AB plywood $45
Birch plywood $40
13 ply Okume int plywood $41 (import from china)This is what the lumber company said would work well.
Oak plywood $52

The Drawers will be 1/2" with 1/4" bottms. What plywood grade would you suggest?

Finally, I will be using 22" full extesion slides and have found some at Grizzly advertised as Shop Fox. They are less expensive than others at $9.95 per set. Are these good quality and is that price about as inexpensive as I will find ?

thanks in advance, ron

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Ron, of the choices you list, I'd use the birch, if it has a lot of plys. Have you considered prefinished maple or equivilent though? Looks good, and NO finishing!

[Paul Greathouse]

Ron, I think you would be OK with Birch. Thats what I built all my shop cabinets with. The humidity level stays pretty high down here in southwest Louisiana most of the time too. I've had mine since 2005 and no problems yet. I left mine bare, no finish or sealer.

[Tom Godley]

Wow -- The $$$ you are getting that ply for is just not available in PA. I have to pay 2x and more for some of that :(

[Kevin Groenke]

I'd go birch, if the okume has equal thickness plys like baltic birch, it might be worth a try.

I would definitely use baltic birch or similar for the drawer boxes.

It seems there are all sorts of accuride "clone" drawer slides available these days, I've used many and haven't noticed significant differences. You can probably find 22" for less than $10/pr if you're buying 10+pr.

I've had good experiences with wwhardware

$5.57 - http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm/GroupID/Cabinet%20Drawer%20Slides/CatID/Drawer%20Slides%2C%20Full%20Extension%20Ball%20Bea ring/SubCatID/Economy%20Full%20Extension

[Gene Howe]

Go with the Birch.
That price for full extension 22" slides is pretty darned good.

[ron hokenson]

Tom, I live in Oregon where there are alot of plywood mills but many seem to be closing lately. I guess maybe the shipping cost would be less here. I'm not complaining.

...ron

[Tom Veatch]

...AC plywood $30
AB plywood $45
...
Forget the AC/AB plywood for anything that's not going to be painted. Once upon a time "A" meant it was pretty good. The last AC graded plywood I got was suitable only for shop furniture and then only if painted. The "A" side was full of contrasting football patches and the "C" side looked like what I'd expect on the reverse side of CDX. I even checked the Softwood Plywood grading standards and, sadly, those sheets were not misgraded. Personally, I wouldn't use softwood plywood for anything except painted applications. I think you'd be happier with a hardwood plywood like birch - especially since the price is comparable. I know I would.

The Drawers will be 1/2" with 1/4" bottms. What plywood grade would you suggest? If you're not too particular, AC could work for that in shop furniture but buy a large tub of wood filler. The interior plies are full of voids and WILL show on the cut edges. Also the endgrain on the cut edges looks more like corn cobs than wood and really cries out to be filled. I just completed 24 drawers for cabinetry in my shop using AC plywood. I couldn't not fill those edges even though they were painted and I was the only one who would see them.

As long as I'm spending your money, I'd go with a void-free product like Baltic Birch or Appleply if it's available. To me, the ply pattern on the edges of BB is attractive enough for clear coat finishes without edging.


Finally, I will be using 22" full extesion slides and have found some at Grizzly advertised as Shop Fox. They are less expensive than others at $9.95 per set. Are these good quality and is that price about as inexpensive as I will find ?
Can't speak to the Shop Fox slides. The best price I've found recently for full extension slides was the 100# full extension slides from Woodworker's Hardware (http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm/GroupID/Cabinet%20Drawer%20Slides/CatID/Drawer%20Slides%2C%20Full%20Extension%20Ball%20Bea ring/SubCatID/Economy%20Full%20Extension). I was very pleased with the 18" slides I bought there about a month ago. If the 22" slides are comparable to those, and I see no reason they wouldn't be, I recommend them without reservations at $5.57 per set ($52.40/10).

[Jack Ellis]

It sounds like you're not too concerned about cost but you still might want to consider going without slides and using wooden runners for drawers that are lightly loaded.