DON'T USE 3/4" PLYWOOD If You Don't Need It...TRY THIS! (1/2" Plywood Vs. 3/4" Plywood--When to Use)
Why Woodworking Stack Exchange recommends it
Woodworking Stack Exchange answerers point people to it to back up the claim that 1/2" plywood is strong enough for cabinet carcasses and similar loads where 3/4" is not required.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2022 to 2023.
What it is
A five-minute video from The Honest Carpenter arguing that 1/2" plywood is often a better choice than 3/4" plywood for small DIY and cabinet projects. It covers when the thinner sheet is strong and stable enough and when 3/4" is actually needed.
What people said
Cites Volfram K · 2022-02 · Woodworking Stack Exchange · on “How to mount angled shelves in a cabinet?”
I'm still figuring out how thick I want to have the outer part of the display cabinet, it's probably not going to be the 1.5 inches in the image above 3/4" plywood is very strong [LINK] :) But probably 1/2" plywood would be ok for expected load! See video [this video] from The Honest Carpenter. Could I get away with just using shelf pins Much modern kitchen storage is made from weaker material than plywood, with shelves held by pins. Based on loads these shelves can hold without problem yes you will get away with just using shelf pins.
Cites Graphus · 2022-12 · Woodworking Stack Exchange · on “Kitchen/Workshop unit design”
however I would like a drawer at the top with 2 doors below. a 1m long drawer seems a little drastic A 1m wide drawer is perfectly doable if you have the confidence to build one. Think about wide plan chests with their full-width drawers built in the days before modern power tools.... However, with modern construction methods experienced builders warn that it's difficult to make and install very wide drawers so that there are no sticky points. a 1m long drawer seems a little drastic, and might not stand up to the amount of weight I put in them Well how much weight were you planning on loading into it? You're presumably building from plywood, MDF or chipboard/particleboard, standard for frame
Cites gnicko · 2023-08 · Woodworking Stack Exchange · on “Thin wood (~12mm) for drawer boxes”
Since your concerns seem to be centered around the thickness (or thinness) of the material, let me start with the fact that I've built "plenty" of drawers out of 12mm (1/2") material using several methods and they have all proven to be very strong. Much of my shop furniture and the cabinets in my wife's studio were built with 1/2" thick plywood drawers and 1/4" bottom panels. They have held up quite well over the years. Preference for Plywood over MDF Plywood is much stronger than MDF because it is made of actual wood layers, or "veneers"; the grain of each layer runs 90 degrees to the layers above and below it. MDF is made from fine wood pulp and glue like cake batter that gets pressed into