Re: Request for advice on my armoire plans

You have TurboCAD? I have plans for a similar idea I am doing Right now. See my post on the subject. Plywood and Pine was in my original Idea. Then I discovered the cost was almost the same for a solid wood cabinet! Of course I did find some very cheap wood. Try to fit the dimensions for the Best use of the plywood. Luan for the back would be cheaper. Just as an alternative. With 6 ft to work with, 5 shelves (counting bottom?) may leave wasted space. How tall is your average "stuff"? I settled on adjustable shelving. Probably size/size comparison of MDF vs. Ply wood. 3/4 ply would not sag quite as much as 3/4 MDF, but they would both sag @ 40" with canned goods on them. You may want to think about something thicker/stronger.

2 doors would be fine. 1 would be rather big and unbalanced when open.

My thoughts

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Young Carpenter
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Thanks for the reply. :)

No, I don't. :(

Most of the "stuff" that will be placed on the shelves will fit in 9" high gaps, but I also need space for a few larger items. I think I can get away with five shelves, plus the bottom. That gives me enough for four 9 or 10" gaps, as well as two larger (~13" gaps).

Good point. After a little more research, I discovered a "rule of thumb" for maximum shelf spans under moderate load (which matches mine) of about

20lbs/foot

- 3/4 MDF: 28"

- 3/4 Ply: 32"

- 3/4 Softwood: 36"

- 4/4 Softwood: 48"

- 3/4 Hardwood: 42"

- 4/4 Hardwood: 48"

This leads me to think that I'll either need to go thicker with plywood, switch to solid wood shelves, or use some sort of braces mid-span.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew

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