I am planning on building some kitchen cabinet's out of Rustic Alder and am looking for advice for what to use for shelves.
Thanks,
Jerry
I bought the pre-edged 3/4" melamine and used that. Couple of reasons. Pre finished and pre-edged. I didn't see any reason to do any more work on the shelves. Also - if any wear out - very easy to change. You could use the prefinished plywood - you'll just have to edge it.
what are you building the cabinet boxes out of?
Thanks John! That is an option I was considering.
The boxes will be made out of Rustic Alder.
1. Do you want easy cleaning? (melamine or prefinished plywood)
2. Do you care if the shelves are a different material than the rest of the carcass?
3. What's the longest shelf length? (need for wider edge to prevent bowing of shelf under heavy loads, like plates, etc.)
60" would be the length. Would that be too much for melamine?
60" is a long span for any 3/4 material. Consider adding a center divider to split the span in half.
5' span on a shelf ? Id use plywood and edge both front and back with solid 1x2 alder ( pieces without knots to weaken them )
Would the little shelf support brackets in the middle, be enough?