Pwalter5110 Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 My wife wants a kitchen pantry cabinet built. She wants it to be about 4 ft wide, so I probably need a center divider. There will be shelves dadoed into both sides of the center divider. My question is. Is 1/4 dadoes on both sides of a 3/4 shelf alright to use? 2 things I am worried about. The strength of the shelf may not hold a lot of weight from a shallow dado. And I am worried that only leaving 1/4 of material in the 3/4 divider may not be enough either. Opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I would only put enough fixed shelve in to keep the sides from bowing. Movable shelves for the rest make for better conveniece. Dado depth is based on final width and plywood thickness. Dado is stated in remaining material. For example. 3/4 ply we don't care about depth. We care that 3/8" or 1/2" is remaining. This makes design and building to exact size easy vs dealing with odd plywood sizes and thickness variations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I would only put enough fixed shelve in to keep the sides from bowing. Movable shelves for the rest make for better conveniece. Dado depth is based on final width and plywood thickness. Dado is stated in remaining material. For example. 3/4 ply we don't care about depth. We care that 3/8" or 1/2" is remaining. This makes design and building to exact size easy vs dealing with odd plywood sizes and thickness variations. That actually makes a lot of sense, worrying more about the remaining material, than depth. I plan on using adjustable shelves, for the top shelves, and fixed shelves for the bottom 2 rows for support. But I am worried that running dados on both sides of the divider will make it weak. I attached a picture to better explain. Is that acceptable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 You wont have 1/4 in the center so only go ply thickness - 3/8 / 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Pictured. .736 - .375 = .361 .361 / 2 = .180 a little under 3/16. If you deal with the flex then 3/16 will hold plenty of weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I posted explanation at same time. Look up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted March 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Pictured. .736 - .375 = .361 .361 / 2 = .180 a little under 3/16. If you deal with the flex then 3/16 will hold plenty of weight.image.jpg Now I understand! Thanks for clarifying. Will I have to worry about the plywood flexing much on a shelf 2 ft long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I would either stagger the shelves or use 3/4 x 3/4 cleats on both sides of the center divider. My dos centavos. Rog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 If you glue your 24" x 12" plywood shelf into a 3/16 dado you should be fine . I ran it on the "Sagulator " up to 85 lbs per sq ft and it passed. I usually attach a fixed shelf to the back and both uprights to add rigidity to the cabinet and shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisG-Canada Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 4' is pretty wide for a shelf. You might consider pullout drawers on full extension slides. I've attached pictures of one of my kitchen pantry cabinets - built by a friend who's a professional cabinet maker. This particular cabinet isn't 4' wide but I have one that is approx 40" wide (sorry no pictures available) but is basically the same. Just for your consideration... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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