I need to build a wall cabinet to hold my hand planes and other miscellaneous hand tools. The lumber for this project will come from some beams out of a very old barn that I will re-saw down to 4/4. I would like to make a bracket or holder to store the planes vertically on the back and then make the doors deep enough to allow storing extra chisels, back saws, layout and marking tools.

If I was building this out of plywood, it would be easy. But since I am going to use solid wood I am concerned with wood movement and joinery strength. What I am not sure of is how to construct the doors and the back of the cabinet.

If I make a big panel for the back and doors, then I need to size the grooves to allow for movement. If I do this, is there an issue with overall strength of the cabinet? Basically, all of the weight is then dependant on the strength of the groove walls. If I do a ship-lapped back, then the weight and strength is directly related to the mechanical connection of the back to the case itself. I suppose, the third option is to make the back plywood, but it would still have the same issues as a large panel, just with out movement.

I was thumping through the Tool Box Book and have not seen anything definitive on how to create and attach the back. Am I being unnecessarily concerned? Can you provide guidance and examples? Thanks in adance!