Shop cabinet question

[Kris Bjarnason]

I am building a flip-top stand for the planer. Sides and top are 3/4 BORG ply, doubled-up. I want to put a face frame on the side, and edge-band the top - just for looks. Can I get away with only using 1/2-inch maple for this, or should I stick to 3/4?

[Jim Becker]

You could use anything from thin veneer on up for a decorative face frame.

[glenn bradley]

Your doubled sides are twice the thickness of mine and I have never had a problem after hundreds of flips. Your frame is just decoration. Do as you see fit looks-wise.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Sides and top are 3/4 BORG ply, doubled-up.

Best double and triple check the actual thickness of that stuff.
If it's the cabinet grade, then it's 18mm,(.070") not 3/4" (.075").

You'll need to account for the difference when/if you double it up.
18mm is slighlty less than 3/4" - twice that figure skews the dimensions to the point where it's noticable.

If you're going by plans drawn up/layed out by someone using Baltic Birch, there's going to be enough of a variance that it will result in a loose assembly.

I have two sides (30"x24") and two tops (24"x24") that account for the better part of a 4x8 sheet of that stuff sitting off to the side waiting to be used somewhere else.

The other thing to be aware of is if you use any dado joints in the assy.
Don't use a 3/4" router bit (unless you're curious to actually see how much slop there is ;)).

BTW - what Glenn said.
Unless you plan on mounting something excessive on the flip top, a single layer of 3/4" (or 18mm) for the sides should be plenty.

For an edge treatment on mine, I simply plan to fill it with drywall mud, sand it smooth and paint it "shop gray" or safety yellow enamel w/black bands.
Sides and other flats - seal, stain & finish with poly.

[Vijay Kumar]

Hello,


Best double and triple check the actual thickness of that stuff.
If it's the cabinet grade, then it's 18mm,(.070") not 3/4" (.075").

You'll need to account for the difference when/if you double it up.
18mm is slighlty less than 3/4" - twice that figure skews the dimensions to the point where it's noticable.

If you're going by plans drawn up/layed out by someone using Baltic Birch, there's going to be enough of a variance that it will result in a loose assembly.

I have two sides (30"x24") and two tops (24"x24") that account for the better part of a 4x8 sheet of that stuff sitting off to the side waiting to be used somewhere else.

The other thing to be aware of is if you use any dado joints in the assy.
Don't use a 3/4" router bit (unless you're curious to actually see how much slop there is ;)).

BTW - what Glenn said.
Unless you plan on mounting something excessive on the flip top, a single layer of 3/4" (or 18mm) for the sides should be plenty.

For an edge treatment on mine, I simply plan to fill it with drywall mud, sand it smooth and paint it "shop gray" or safety yellow enamel w/black bands.
Sides and other flats - seal, stain & finish with poly.

Rich you are off by 2 decimal places in your conversions:)

0.75"= 3/4 " = 19.05 mm
0.71" = 18 mm

Vijay

[Kris Bjarnason]

Thanks all. I guess I wasted a little plywood by doubling up the sides. Oh well. For the dadoes, I did realize the stuff wasn't a true 3/4, so I snuck up on the width for a tight fit. When I asked the question about facing the edges, I was stuck in the train of thought that I would pocket screw the frames together and wasn't sure how thin I could go. I realize now that there's no need for that, so I will just use the 1/4 maple I have around and just go with glue.