Drawers (Again)

[tim walker]

Is 1/2" drawer carcass with 3/8 or 1/2" bottoms good for drawers that are medium duty service, 29" wide and 26" deep? 3/4 ply is $49/sheet and 1/2" is $27.89 at my local distributor(Dakota Hardwoods) (for Primo Ply - Magnolia core, Birch finish) (C+ birch veneer or UV 1 side for $3 more). Euro Birch, as they call it these days, is almost $94 (18 mm - 4x8) and $75 (12 mm 4x8). I have used it before for shop furniture, which this is, and it was fine with no noticeable voids.

[Jim Becker]

When I was building all the tack trunks (for equestrians) that I took commissions on back when the business was still a thing, I built a whole bunch of very large drawers for the "bottom" unit in a stacked setup. These drawers were not quite 36" wide by not quite 24" deep with full extension slides. I built them of .5"/12mm veneer ply with glued and screwed butt joints and with a .5"/12mm bottom that was exact size to fit into the assembled sides/front/back. It was also glued and screwed (#7 trim head screws hidden by the slides and false front along the bottom. Tim, I could stand on those drawers once the glue dried--I weigh 200 lbs--and the folks using those trunks tend to put a substantial amount of weight in the drawers as well as the rest of the trunk which used the same assembly method. (fasteners on the carcass hidden by .25" decorative overlays for a frame and panel look). The bottom line... half inch plywood is "darn strong" if used well and it weighs a lot less to process and build with.

[tim walker]

Thanks Jim, 1/2" 12 mm it is.

[Jim Becker]

Glue and tight tolerances for components make for a very strong structure! BTW, another place I stick with .5"/12mm material is for upper cabinets. They do the job and are a lot easier to hang!