I’m in the design stage of what threatens to be a large project, one I’ve wanted to do for 2 years… I need a cabinet to house DVD/CD player, turntable, tuner and records. Next to it will be a less wide cabinet/shelf combo with drawers below to store CD’s. Elsewhere in room will be a TV cabinet. Three pieces that are usuable in other locations, because I don’t plan to stay in this location for the rest of my life.
So I assumed I’d use a nice ply for the cabinets (cherry?), MDF and hardboard for shelves as per article on engineering a stereo equipment center, until I fell in love with the look of Shaker furniture in a book on Friday. How much more work is it to use boards? four times? How much more expensive? I probably shouldn’t even try….
I want to make frame and panel doors, I prefer the look for my living room.
My skills are low intermediate.? I’ve built cabinets, radiator covers, bookcases, and three rather awful drawers. I always use my own plans – never realized that you could buy them – since my dad always did his own. Took some classses built a small table, book holder, router jigs. I’m short some signifiant tools I think. I have table saw, router, orbital sander, jig saw, cordless drill, various chisels, planes and clamps. However, my workshop has gotten quite nice as a space to work in. I put in more lights, added space.
Comments? Advice?
Replies
Around here in Ohio we pay $65 to $75 for a 3/4" x 4' x 8' sheet of cherry plywood. that equates to 32 sq feet and 32 square feet of 3/4 cherry would cost $144.00 with no allowance for waste. Another way to look at it is one square foot of plywood is $2.03 ( based on $65.00/sheet) where as a piece of solid cherry one foot square is $4.50. Cherry is priced in the rough (4/4 select and better) at $4.50/bd.ft.
Hi! Depending upon the length of your entertainment center, you may want to use two layers of 1/2 " Baltic or Russian Birch Plywood for the base. Your records will add substantial weight which is fine. You could then veneer a cherry wood strip on this base with contact glue.
Interesting comment about the weight. I have worried about it. The cabinet is going to be about 30" wide, but I want two shelves for records. I have some good birch plywood I can use.
thanks
Sounds exciting! Your birch plywood should be fine for 30", two shelves.
According to the "sagulator" (a utility for computing the sag of a component with a given span, width, thickness and load) a 3/4" plywood shelf 30 inches long, 12 inches wide (for LP records) with a 75 pound load would sag about .05 inch (five one-hundredths). This is approaching a sixteenth of an inch, which will be easily visible. If the shelf is behind doors it may not be a problem, but if visible it would be unsightly.
The figures are for fir plywood, but since the hardwood veneers are very thin and the core plys could well be fir or a similar material, I suspect that the birch ply will sag a similar amount. For comparison, high density MDF would sag about an eighth of an inch, and solid birch would sag about one thirty-second.
If you want to check out the sagulator go to:
http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm
Dick Baker
Sunnyvale, CA
AmP,
"I probably shouldn't even try...."
Why not? None of us were born with the knowledge, tools and skills that we possess today. We came by them from involvement and a desire to succeed............and we're all still in the learning stage. That never ends for those who are dedicated, whatever their field of endeavor. No one ever "arrives".
I think you should go for what you want as a final appearance or you may regret not having done that for a long time to come.
Since it appears that you're currently lacking a couple of rather essential pieces of machinery that would ease working with solid stock, i.e. a jointer and a planer, you might consider jobbing out the basic millwork of any solid stock pieces to someone who's equipped and build the main carcass parts from faced ply. There's no shame in jobbing out that sort of thing when it's necessary relative to one's current income, space, skills, etc. I somehow doubt that you're intending to render your own shellac, lacquer or varnish from raw materials, either..............or make your own brushes or compressor and gun with which to apply it. :-)
I don't see why you can't build a shaker design incorporating manmade materials. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
The issue with plywood vs. solid lumber isn't just cost. It's that solid lumber moves around a lot with changes in humidity, so you have to design and build the piece keeping those tolerances in mind. This might mean using different kinds of joinery or being forced to use lumber that is quartersawn for certain pieces to minimize movement. The benefit of solid lumber is that you can repair it more easily if damaged, but even there I have seen experts repair damaged plywood to the point where you couldn't see the damage with the naked eye, even from two feet away.
In any case, it doesn't seem to me like an either/or proposition. You can do both.
It's time to ask yourself a soul searching question, that is do you like to work with wood? If it's just a way to get what you want at a price you feel you can afford, well then, go for the ply wood..
If you think you'd like this as a hobby and feel that there is a part of you that would like to create things and express yourself in wood then by all means go for the solid wood..
In my opinion, the best pieces are created without plywood/mdf etc. Not to say that things made with plywood/mdf cannot be well made, there just is a quality about solid wood that I prefer..
The tone of your post suggests that you feel the same way.
Good luck with your project.. (I hope you don't wimp out and just buy something that will do)
The old masters, that so many try to emulate,worked with the best tools and materials available to them at the time. I see no reason not to follow the same path.
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Guys we're showing our age. What's a record/LP? I would assume is something like a CD/DVD/MP3.LOL
Absolutely I love working in wood, the smell, the feel, the whole aesthetic. I intend to keep at this a very long time (okay, so my comment about records indicates that I've already lived some time.) My subscription to Fine Woodworking is a treasure and already has improved what I do. So yes, I'll take on the challenge.
I think the comment about not having the right tools hits the mark. I have a woodworkers' club near me where I can buy time. It's also full of people who have answers to questions. I'll make drawers and doors in wood, use ply for cabinets, and mdf and hardboard for acoustic shelves. For the record shelves maybe the double birch. The sag is hidden behind doors so maybe I don't need to worry.?
Meanwhile I'll start saving for jointer and planer and keep my eyes peeled for second-hand tools. (we sold my father's drill press for $50 bucks at a yard sale - before I had interest in keeping it!)
Thanks all for the help. Stayed tuned for my next questions. : )
Here's food for thought. If you like the look of "solid wood boards" you could buy the Plywood and rip it to 4" widths (or 3½" if you want it to be dimensionally the same as a 1" x 4"). Then intermix them so that none are beside the same pieces you cut. The look when edge joined is identical to real wood.
I've done it (router table tongue & grooved) and after stain & poly applied - I swear you can't tell the difference. Tongue & Groove improves the strength of the product. I ended up with 3 3/4" widths with ¼" tonge & grooves.
In my application, I created a 24" high x 15" deep x 96" long cabinet/sitting bench with the above procedure for the top and exposed sides. I put raised panel doors on the front.
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