Bottom of a 20x27” tray: how thick?

[Roger Feeley]

I’m making a maple tray for a friend. I have 3/4” wood but that seems excessive.

I think of this as a very shallow drawer. My question is for a drawer that size, how thick should the bottom be?

second question: the bottom will float like a cabinet door panel would. Should I run something under the drawer bottom to keep those 27” side pieces from bowing out?

[johnny means]

I use 1/2 inch for drawers that large.

[Mel Fulks]

I would keep it light and slim. There are already way to many clunky thick trays. You want it to be instantly recognized as a tray, the
recipient should not have to wonder whether to thank you for a tray ….or cutting board.

[Jamie Buxton]

... Should I run something under the drawer bottom to keep those 27” side pieces from bowing out?

On a panel that big, I glue the frame for a few inches in the middle of all four edges. The panel acts as a big gusset holding the frame square, and holding the corner joinery together. On the sides where the panel is cross-grain to the frame, I glue only a few inches because I expect the panel to slide a bit due to hygroscopic expansion. On the sides which the panel grain is parallel to the frame, gluing the middle will cause the frame to flex when the panel expands or contracts. But that movement is only a few thirty secondths of an inch, and the frame can bend that much without stressing anything unduly.