Got a router, or a table saw with a dado blade? Glued and screwed/finish nailed "rabbet joints" work well for plywood boxes, and even if you leave one end of the box open, the joinery is plenty strong for seating. Not to say that you can't use some cleats in the internal corners if you feel you need them..
If finished appearance is a must, finger joints are strong and eye-catching for any type of box, but you will need to use a good grade of plywood to keep the splintering down. Same goes with dovetail joints.
Then there's always biscuits and butt joints, providing you're set up to do them. If you don't have a biscuit jointer, maybe now's you're chance to get one.
No need to ask. She's been watching some of the TV shows like Trading Spaces. I understand.
I'd use 3/4" plywood glued and screwed. I'd ass some internal bracing with either corner gussets cut from a 2 x 4 or just put some 1 x 2 pine in critical areas. They will be able to take a lot of weight even with no bracing.
Dead easy - you have the whole of the insides to work with and the outside isn't visible. Big glue blocks inside, with screws into them from the outside.
I'd fit a base too, although this would just be a narrow ring with the centre sawn out.
Sat, Jan 8, 2005, 9:17am (EST-2) snipped-for-privacy@dimensional.com (Vince=A0Heuring) claims: They need to be sturdy, and thus will need some kind of internal reinforcement.
Reinforcement? You've totally lost me there. Why the reinforcement, you gonna sit elephants on them?
No need for internal reinforcement if there's a designated top and bottom. Box joint sides - use a router jig with a spiral bit and backer board for negligible tearout - fully glued and flush trimmed top and bottom. If no designated top or bottom, I'd rabbet in the ends.
Made some 1' x 1' x 1' boxes for robotics out of that thinner than 1/4 five-ply underlayment, using 1/4" bit, and in the load direction, they could hold a ~300 lb TA I caught using one as a stool....
Half inch with good ply, 3/4 with voids will do anything, I should think.
This is not rocket science, but If you had a plate joiner, you'd be able to make great cubes out of 3/4" crappy plywood so long as you can cut it square. Use 3/4 and throw in some cleats and it won't rack even if Dom Deluise sits on it. Gonna take a few drywall screws too.
One other issue would be legs, and what you could do is simply buy some 2X2 oak at home depot and use the oak for the vertical cleats, extend them down as far as you need in leg length.
And the last thing would be to maybe throw some 1X2's along the edges so that the bottom edge is 1½" thick. SWMBO will be thrilled that the softer fir will accept a staple quite nicely, whereas plywood won't.
There is no need to make this any more difficult than it needs to be. If they are no larger than 14" I'd just use 3/4 plywood. If this is just a six sided box, that is not open, the sides will give you all the strength you need and also keep the box square. Just cut the sizes and glue and staple all 6 sides together. Screw them or nail them if you don't have a staple gun. If they are going to be covered there's no need to worry about how they look. If you want to round the edges so the material covers more easily it might be worth the effort. The 3/4 chip board floor on a new home spans nearly 24" so 3/4 plywood can certainly handle 14" with no problem. I guarantee they will be strong enough. Any other reinforcement (assuming the box is nailed on all 6 sides and is made of 3/4 material) IMHO is just overkill. If you need to use 1/2" or 3/8' material then reinforcement might be needed.
I think rabbit joints for the corners and for the center I would make a cross support. Two pieces of ply with a slot in each one half way from the edge. Insert this into dados in each side and top and bottom. This will prevent racking.
You might also want to use tin corners to make it bullet proof.
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