Thread: Ideas/advice on join plywood panels without external screws

Glue plus 3-4 x 18 gauge air nails per edge. Practice on scraps to get the depth setting correct and will hardly notice the nail head sitting flush with the surface. Or you can drive them slight below and backfill with wax (or a glue and sawdust mix )

A lot depends on how well made you want it, what your level of skill is and what tools you have available.
Personally I would either biscuit joint or make a routed housing joint.
Pinning and gluing would work as would using internal screw blocks as already suggested.

Butt joins with dowels works very well with sheet goods such as ply or mdf. Dovetail or finger joint (box joint) would be a very nice way to assemble the box both structurally and aestetically.

Another vote for finger joints.

Or you could just glue on a 20x20 corner block on the insides to increase the gluing area and call it a day! (You don't really need to use any fastenings other than glue)

Wow, thanks for the suggestions. My skill level is pretty low. I'm a beginner really. I'm going to consider each suggestion and see what I think I can best pull off.


I didn't realize glue would hold strong enough. Just regular wood glue or are we talking something more akin to liquid nails?

Definite no to the liquid nails

Yes to wood glue Pva titebond etc.

Originally Posted by mrmilkman

Wow, thanks for the suggestions. My skill level is pretty low. I'm a beginner really. I'm going to consider each suggestion and see what I think I can best pull off.


I didn't realize glue would hold strong enough. Just regular wood glue or are we talking something more akin to liquid nails?

Originally Posted by mrmilkman

Wow, thanks for the suggestions. My skill level is pretty low. I'm a beginner really. I'm going to consider each suggestion and see what I think I can best pull off.

I didn't realize glue would hold strong enough. Just regular wood glue or are we talking something more akin to liquid nails?

Glue will do it - be generous enough so it squeezes out the edges when clamped together - so you will need some clamps.
Aquadhere, or any good quality PVA glue is what you want - not liquid nails..... For added strength some pieces of 45 degree mouldings would support the internal corners without looking too chunky....

Have a look at this as a glue introduction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fftbphh3Swc

i've made a quite a few boxes out of plywood and joined them in 3 ways

1. simple butt join...when you are not that bothered what it looks like or you dont want to conceal its made of ply. i use biscuits for alignment but have to make sure biscuits are smaller that the thickness of the ply otherwise you will see them. i can join 12mm ply with size 0 biscuit = win

2. rebate.. use this when you wont be seeing the top or bottom of the cabinet. I have reinforced this join with screws BUT i have also just left it with glue before (when the ply was thinner and i didnt want to risk splitting the board). The non screwed version was for a paying client...a bookcase 2.1m tall by about 1m...WITH NO BACK. I was worried this would not hold up, but it been fully loaded for over a year now and no sign of failure (they are friends so i get to look at it regularly)

3. mitre....looks the best, as long as you can accurately cut the mitre the length of the cabinet (tracksaw for the win). Again i use biscuits for alignment. 1 issue with this, its very difficult to conceal its ply, so i make it a feature. The reason its difficult to conceal is that you need to chamfer/round off the edges otherwise the edges are razor sharp on the mitre. Depending on the thickness of the face veneer it will show when you round over the edge (as you will go thru to the next veneer). As said i make ply the feature...so the edges are exposed on the face of the cabinet and the mitered edge will show the veneer below the face veneer.

If you dont use biscuits the glue up will be stressful as the boards will "float" on the glue and look like a dogs breakfast if you're not careful (and i dont even give my dog breakfast)

PVA on ply is fantastic. The glue is easily absorbed into the end grain...super strong, done well no need for additional fasteners

Dovetails.....someone above suggested this, i would say "no". Absolutely possible but difficult. Even on the "best" quality ply you will find voids in the veneers. Super hard to chisel without breakouts or bruising the wood (as evben hardwood ply is pretty soft in my experience. Can be done but i would even question the strength of the join as the veneers would be weak, and im not sure it would even look good (jury is out)

If you are thinking of making a number of other projects, I'd suggest pocket hole screws, which go on the inside. No extra clamps required. The Kreg brand jig is still the best on the market, available from Carbatec on line or from several other suppliers locally and overseas. Glue is optional with these, I have made several sets of book shelves with just screws in the top, bottom and one intermediate shelf and they are holding up fine.

The basic jig plus one clamp is all you really need:
http://www.carbatec.com.au/kreg-jig-jr_c11255


The manufacturer's web site with their full line of products, project ideas and shiny stuff, try not to get too distracted
https://www.kregtool.com/default.aspx