Weight Limit for 3/4" Baltic Birch Plywood

[jspelbring]

I've just purchased a monster of a sanding station:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...?v=glance&s=hi

(even got free shipping from Amazon :-) )

I want to build a stand/cabinet for it, but beast weighs over 250 lbs. Will 3/4" BB Ply be strong enough? ˆ'm trying to keep it very simple, as this will be my first "cabinet" project.

Thanks in advance for any and all help/suggestions/etc.

-Jon

[Tom Miller]

The amount of sag you get will depend on the geometry of your cabinet. If the top is just large enough for the footprint of the machine, you probably won't even need any reinforcement. If you want the top larger, then just reinforce the BB top with a few support ribs (~2-3" wide BB slats on edge) underneath.

Regards,
Tom

[LarryG]

Basically, what Tom said. Another factor is whether the front of the cabinet will be wide open (such as for storage) or will have a face frame, etc.

Looking at the unit, and guessing at the size of its footprint, if it were mine I think I'd keep the top's freespan as close to the actual footprint as possible and use a double thickness of 3/4" ply for the top. All the rest could be a single piece.

[jspelbring]

Thanks Larry and Tom. The front will be open - well, it'll have doors anyway, so I'll figure on some sort of frame. I was also considering a double thick top - think that's the way I'll go. There is a metal stand available (for $80), but I'm really geting tired of those things - so much wasted space. This one will have shelves/drawers to hold all of my sanding goodies.

[BobSch]

quote:Originally posted by LarryG

Basically, what Tom said. Another factor is whether the front of the cabinet will be wide open (such as for storage) or will have a face frame, etc.

Looking at the unit, and guessing at the size of its footprint, if it were mine I think I'd keep the top's freespan as close to the actual footprint as possible and use a double thickness of 3/4" ply for the top. All the rest could be a single piece.

And if you're going to make it moveable, use good, heavy duty casters. This is no place for HF cheapies [:0]

[stoli]

Check out the sagulator

-=[doug]=-