Bottom Shelf

The bottom shelf will be hidden by the cabinet doors so it was a good place to save time and money. I went to Lowes and fished through all the 2' by 4' 1/2" pieces of birch plywood until I found the prettiest piece.

Then I glued new rails on the inside of the walnut rails to support the bottom shelf, using the brad nailer instead of clamping. These new rails are lower than the walnut rails, so the plywood top will be flush with the walnut rail tops.


Next, I flipped the carcase on its side and drilled pocket holes to attached the bottom shelf with. Then I cut the plywood with my circular saw, applied some glue, and screwed it down from the bottom.


All came out well except the gap between the plywood bottom shelf and the bottom walnut rails. I knew about this before attaching the plywood shelf but there was nothing I could do.

The 2' plywood was about 1/8" shy of spanning the rails, but I was not about to buy a full 4' by 8' sheet just for the 1/8". My plan is to fill the gap (1/16" on each side) with homemade wood filler.