The original theater plan called for cabinets, but we decided to skip that rather large project to get the space usable before the holidays. So I installed the electronics and everything is now sitting on the floor. I decided to use some scrap 1/2 inch plywood to make a small cabinet for the receiver, bluray player and power conditioner.
Some quick measurements of the equipment and the plywood showed that the best use of the lumber would give me a cabinet 24 inches high by 20 inches wide by 18 inches deep. I planned to use my Kreg pocket hole jig to join the pieces.
The end result came out just OK. It will do the job for now, but it’s not going to win any prizes for pretty. That’s OK, because I was looking for some experience with the tools and construction methods before I tackle the larger cabinets. Here are my lessons learned:
- Face joining the 1/2 plywood top and bottom to the sides didn’t work. The manual said it wasn’t recommended, but I gave it a try. The material splits. Glue and brads did the trick.
- The pocket screws held the fixed shelves firmly to the sides, but if you overdrive the screws, it split the plywood and went through the sides.
- I was glad I glued all the joints, since not all of my pocket joinery worked well. Where I had to back out a protruding screw, I was able to use a brad to hold everything while the glue set.
I spent about 2 – 3 hours working on it Sunday. It seems sturdy enough for 1/2″ plywood. I’ll see what it looks like after it gets some paint. If it’s not too ugly, I’ll post a picture 
Posted by joebl0gg3r 