View Full Version : Plywood dust frames?
Dave Westover
11-21-2008, 5:24 PM
Im building a chest of drawers for the shop and will use dust frames to carry the drawers. I have some 5/8 ply to get rid of, could I use that for the dust frames joining them with a tounge and groove? I milled up test pieces and the strength seems ok, but Im not sure ever seeing a t & g joint used on ply aside from flooring. I wondered why not.
On my test pieces, the dust frame is 2 1/2" wide with the tongue and groove at 3/4". Am I ok with this?
Many thanks.
Bill White
11-21-2008, 5:35 PM
I'm sure it would be strong enough unless you're gonna store bricks.
Only downside to tongue and groove in ply is whether or not ya run into a lot of voids in critical areas.
Bill
Dewey Torres
11-21-2008, 5:37 PM
You can do it but plywood is not "choice" for dust frames.
5/8 ply will tend to sag over time. If your drawers are inset I would not recommend it. If they are overlay you are a little better, but again I would prefer solids for the dust frames.
If you must use plywood consider 3/4
my .02
Michael Donahue
11-21-2008, 5:39 PM
Im building a chest of drawers for the shop and will use dust frames to carry the drawers. I have some 5/8 ply to get rid of, could I use that for the dust frames joining them with a tounge and groove? I milled up test pieces and the strength seems ok, but Im not sure ever seeing a t & g joint used on ply aside from flooring. I wondered why not.
On my test pieces, the dust frame is 2 1/2" wide with the tongue and groove at 3/4". Am I ok with this?
Many thanks.
I've seen Norm do tongue and groove plywood dust frames, but he always used 3/4" from what I can remember.
Chris Padilla
11-21-2008, 6:03 PM
I've seen Norm do tongue and groove plywood dust frames, but he always used 3/4" from what I can remember.
That is what I recall. 5/8" plywood is a little bit on the rare side.
Before we can guess if it'll work or not, what kind of span will they have?
Frankly, if they seem strong enough to you, I say go for it. If you hit a void cutting t or g, you might consider a #20 biscuit.
Dave Westover
11-22-2008, 12:09 AM
The span was only 16". I hit too many voids forming the tongues so I'll have to rethink the situation. Thanks folks.
Bob Genovesi
11-22-2008, 7:05 AM
Dave,
It's a narrow span so you'll be fine.
You might consider slotting both pieces and add a hardwood tongue, it's simple and much stronger.
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