Monitor Shelf in a birch ply cabniet quesiton?

[rdowdy95]

Guys,

I am almost to putting in my monitor shelf.  Did you guys screw into the mounting strips from the outside to the inside like the Project Arcade book.  Or did you go inside to the outside.

Which would give more support?  I don't really mind countersinking and using woodfiller, but it would prolly look nicer if I did stuff from the inside to the outside so no one would see the wood filler blemishes.

What is your thoughts on this.  If you have used plywood on a cab I would like to know what you did.

I did drill from the outside in for the base so you can see the wood filler discoloration, but it is so low I figure no big deal.

[kingflynn]

Going from inside to outside will give plenty of support.  For peace of mind you can slap some glue on before you screw it.  And screws are cheap, so use a few of em.

[rdowdy95]

Anyone else have any comments about going from the inside to the outside?

[nostrebor]

Mine are put in from the inside. Pilot drilled holes and countersunk screws, a good layer of glue in the joint to boot. If you are worried about capacity, just use a wider board for the shelf support. I usually use 3/4" plywood or MDO for these types of supports, and might cut them 4" wide or so to give more surface area for the glue.

BTW the key to this working is the glue. It does the heavy lifting. Dry fit your support, screw holes and all, and then glueit and screwit.

Typically I also Dado a groove for the shelf or support to sit in, but if your cabinet is already assembled, it's too late for that.

[Dervacumen]

My cabinet is particle board, but I installed the cleats form the inside.  Like the crowd says, the glue is what's going to hold it.  I didn't even use screws, just some small finish nails to hold the cleats down while the Gorilla Glue dried.  Solid as a particle board rock.  Covered with gorilla glue that is.

Since this was on the inside of the cabinet, I didn't worry too much about the excess Gorilla glue oozing out.  I still removed the excess, but not nearly as obsessive over the end result as I would have been if this were visible from the outside.

[rdowdy95]

Okay guys I thought I would update you all.  I used 2x2 mouting strips on the inside of the cabinet.  They were glued to the sides with Gorilla Glue, and I had my dad hold the strip in, while I screwed into the wood.  Inside to the outside.  Then once the strips dried.  We glue the shelf to the top of the mouting strips.  We put bricks on the sides so it would get pressed onto the strips, then we put mouting brackets for extra support.  The thing is not going anywhere!  The TV I put in there fits perfectly with room on top. 

Originally I had to lower the monitor shelf down an inch because the TV was hitting my 2x2 mounting strips for the speaker shelf.  It looks good.  I am in the process of staining the remainder of the panel pieces.  Got to hurry and get this thing inside the house.  It is getting cold in that garage.

[theCoder]

A buddy of mine turned me on to a tool called a pocket jig.  It drills a hole at around a 10 degree angle.  A lot of furnature is made this way.  This is how I'm building my current project (Xcelerator).  It's a very clean way to do hidden "inside to outside" screws.





Look closely at the joint at the back and side pieces.  Very strong, no bracket.



You can pick one up on Ebay for around $20.