Plywood will also warp if not balanced. Veneer both sides and finish both sides, too
Plywood will also warp if not balanced. Veneer both sides and finish both sides, too
How many ammo cases do you own?
Definitely a construction issue. Float the panel and the panel material won't matter.
A lot, maybe 20ish? Never enough
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Exploring the veneer route, but there's a lot to learn there. Don't want to go the floating panel route as I want it to look flat / continuous along the sides. Not like a rail/stile cabinet door, unless I'm misunderstanding the floating panel concept. Maybe a picture would help?
I floated the top / bottom panels of my archery case:
wfa-archerycase-final.jpg
wfa-archerycase-final_open.jpg
Just used 1/8" plywood and put a 1/8" groove 1/8" in from the top/bottom
Here is a box I made with a solid wood floating panel. As you can see the surface of the panel is flush with the sides of the box itself. The way I did this is make a 1/2" thick panel that is 1/2" larger in length and width than the inside dimensions of the box. Cut a 1/4" x 1/4" rabbet on all four sides of the panel. Cut the tongue on the long grain edges slightly more than 1/4" wide. Cut a groove in the box sides 1/4" x 1/4" deep just 1/4" down from the top (or up from the bottom) to fit the rabbet on you panel. This allows the panel to float. You will see a slight gap along the long grain edges of the panel if the panel shrinks a bit.
Make your box as a closed container then cut the lid free from the box bottom after assembly to get a perfectly matched top and bottom. Be sure to allow for the kerf in your design dimensions.
cutterbox.jpg
By the way this box is at least 15 years old and the lid is still flat.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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