Gluing Pre-Finished Plywood

[amajors]

Norm used this stuff to build a kitchen, so it has to be what the cool guys use, right? Seems like I remember Norm cutting a continuous biscuit slot with the router, but I don't remember him talking about issues getting the glue to hold over the finish?

I was cutting biscuit slots when I realized "Tite-bond won't work over paint/finish." What do others do? Sand off the finish under the joint, use some other glue, or something I didn't consider?

[Dave H]

I beileive Norm used screws to attach the case sides through the dados into the bottom of the case, the continuos slot was to attach the face frame to the case.

[dhall9]

higtron is correct. The slots you speak of were for attaching the poplar face frames. Here is the basic construction Norm used for his cabinets.

Hope this answers your question.

[Jerry_in_SD]

I have used pre-finished ply on a built in and will use it again when I rebuild my kitchen. Really saves time and cost is very reasonable (about $40 sheet if I recall).

I did full dadoes with #8 x 1 1/2 screws driven from the outside (plus glue) since the sides were hidden. if the sides were show faces, I would evaluate the situation. If I thought there was a strength issue, I may just screw in anyway and then apply a face to the show face -- either 1/8" hardwood ply or a frame and panel -- depending on what it was.

The face frame application has nothing to do with whether plywood is finished or not -- you are attached to the edge which is not finished. I did use the technique to run a slot down the edge of the case for the biscuits because I was building a very large case (30" wide by 72" tall). For a small case I would just use the biscuit joiner.