Question out Attaching Things to Veneered Panels

[Bob Stanny]

Hello. I’m planning a chest of drawers with veneer-over-plywood side panels. I expect to cover the insides of the side panels with balancing veneer. I wonder if the balancing veneer could in any way interfere with the attachment of hardwood drawer runners to the insides of the side panels (or vice-versa).

Presumably it would not be optimal to simply glue runners to the veneer. Would attaching them with screws alone work over the long haul? Would it be better to rout dadoes through the veneer (thereby weakening the plywood) and glue/screw the runners into the dadoes? Might it be safe to dispense with the balancing veneer if the drawer runners are firmly attached the (plywood) sides of the chest? Am I worrying about this unnecessarily?

[Kevin Jenness]

Yes, you are worrying unnecessarily. Go ahead and glue and screw the drawer runners to the case sides. If the side panels are balanced the runners will not cause a problem. For registering location, cut some spacers indexed to one end of the panels.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

All you are doing with the backer veneer is adding a layer to the plywood. Assuming you are using good glue, not contact cement, your backer layer will be as strong as the factory layup.

[william watts]

Traditional quality construction doesn't have the drawer runners attached to the sides. The runners are attached to the front and back drawer dividers to avoid a cross grain joint. A dado in the side, without glue, can be use for alignment and vertical support for the drawer runner. I have always veneered both sides of a panel because that is standard practice, never tried just veneering one side. There is a much better chance to produce a stable panel if both sides are veneered You might be able to glue and screw runners to plywood side panels with out a problem but why take the risk on a nice project.

[Bob Stanny]

Thank you all for responding.

William: What I have in mind is a post-and-panel carcass with 3/4" plywood side panels whose edges are rabbet-dadoed and glued into 1.5” posts, and with web frames the runners of which are firmly attached to the panels as well as the posts.

I’m thinking that gluing and attaching all this stuff to the panels will not cause the carcass to self-destruct because the panels are plywood, and that the result will be a strong carcass. Unless I’m overlooking something.