Sheet Goods for Shop Cabinets
A Systainer bank carries real weight, so the material matters. Here is what to build the carcass, trays and backs from, how thick to go, and why the thickness you pick changes the cabinet size.
The short version
Build a Systainer bank carcass from three-quarter-inch, about 18 to 19 mm, cabinet-grade plywood for the best strength-to-weight, or melamine-faced board for a cheaper wipe-clean surface. Use lighter half-inch, about 12 mm, material for the pull-out trays, and a quarter or half-inch back. Whatever you choose, the thickness is not just a strength decision, it changes the cabinet dimensions, so keep the cut list in step with the sheet you actually buy.
| Carcass sides, top, bottom | three-quarter-inch, about 18 to 19 mm |
|---|---|
| Pull-out trays | half-inch, about 12 mm, is plenty for the box weight |
| Back panel | quarter-inch, about 6 mm, or half-inch, about 12 mm, to brace the box square |
| Best all-round | cabinet-grade plywood: strong, light, holds screws |
| Cheapest wipe-clean | melamine-faced particleboard: heavier, needs edgebanding |
In this guide
Plywood, melamine or MDF
Almost every shop cabinet is built from one of three sheet goods, and each has a clear personality once you have carried a few loaded drawers.
Cabinet-grade plywood is the strong all-rounder. For its weight it is stiff, it holds a screw in its edge far better than the others, and it does not sag under a stack of loaded tool cases. It costs more and the edges need edgebanding or a clean sand, but for a bank that lives on its shelves full, it is hard to beat.
Melamine-faced particleboard is the value pick. The plastic face wipes clean, comes in white or colors, and needs no finishing. The trade-offs are weight, it is heavier than plywood, and edges: the particleboard core chips and holds screws poorly, so joints rely on dowels, confirmats or dominoes rather than edge screws, and every show edge wants edgebanding.
MDF is dead flat and cheap and takes paint beautifully, which makes it a fine choice for doors and applied panels. For a loaded carcass it is a weaker option: it is heavy, it holds screws poorly in the edge, and it does not love moisture. Use it where flatness matters more than a screw grip.
What to use for each part
A Systainer cabinet is not one material job. Different parts do different work, so it pays to match the stock to the part.
| Carcass sides, top, bottom | Three-quarter-inch plywood or melamine. These carry the load, so this is where strength counts most. |
|---|---|
| Pull-out trays | Half-inch material is plenty. The tray is a low wall the box sits on, not a structural drawer, so lighter stock saves weight and height. |
| Back panel | Quarter-inch back for economy, or half-inch if the back also squares and stiffens the cabinet. A quarter-inch back usually needs a nailer strip to screw to the wall. |
| Adjustable shelves (uppers) | Three-quarter-inch so a shelf spanning the opening does not bow under a row of Systainers. |
The uppers deserve a note. A wall cabinet just carries the boxes on adjustable shelves, so the shelf sits on pins in the drilled hole grid. Those holes are the same 32 mm pattern used across frameless cabinets, which is worth understanding if you want shelves that adjust cleanly and hardware that always lines up. There is a full explainer in the 32mm system guide if you want the background.
Why thickness changes the fit
Here is the part people miss. Material thickness is not only a strength decision, it is a dimension in the cabinet. The carcass side thickness gets added to the outside width twice, once on each side. The tray thickness adds to the width on each side and lifts every box a little higher in the stack. So the sheet you pick literally moves the cabinet size.
Worked exampleSwitch the carcass sides from three-quarter-inch (about 19 mm) to half-inch (about 12 mm) and the outside cabinet width drops by about 14 mm, roughly 7 mm per side. A thicker tray widens the opening and raises each box, so fewer boxes fit the same height. Small numbers, but they decide whether the wall finishes flush.
This is exactly why a planner beats a static drawing. When you assign a material, the tool re-runs the width and height math on that thickness, so the cut list and the sheet layout always describe the sheet you are actually going to cut, not a generic guess.
Edgebanding the open rack
A Systainer cabinet is an open rack, no doors, so the front edges are on show. Edgeband them. On the carcass that means the front edges of the two sides and the top and bottom. On the trays it means the front of each tray bottom and the front nose of each low tray wall. The long top rim of a tray wall is usually left raw because you never see it.
Plywood edges can be edgebanded for a clean look or left crisp and sanded. Melamine and MDF edges really should be edgebanded, because the bare core both looks unfinished and chips in use. A planner that knows which edges are exposed can add the edgebanding to the buy-this list automatically, so you order the right length of edgebanding.
Match the plan to the sheet
Assign your material, get the exact cut list
Pick the sheet goods you will actually cut and the planner recomputes the fit and lists the parts, edgebanding and sheets to buy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best material for shop storage cabinets?
For a Systainer bank that carries heavy tool cases, three-quarter-inch, about 18 to 19 mm, cabinet-grade plywood is the strong all-round choice for the carcass: light for its strength, holds a screw well, and does not sag. Melamine-faced particleboard is cheaper and gives a wipe-clean surface but is heavier and weaker at the edges. MDF is flat and cheap but heavy and a poor screw holder, so it suits doors and panels more than a loaded carcass.
How thick should the cabinet sides be?
Three-quarter-inch stock, nominally about 18 to 19 mm, is the standard for cabinet sides and carries a full bank of loaded Systainers comfortably. Pull-out trays can be lighter half-inch material, about 12 mm, and backs are commonly quarter-inch, about 6 mm, or half-inch, about 12 mm, if the back also braces the cabinet square.
Does material thickness change the cabinet size?
Yes, and this is easy to miss. The carcass side thickness adds to the outside width twice, once per side, and the tray thickness adds to the width and lifts each box a little. So switching from three-quarter to half-inch sides, or a thicker tray, shifts the cabinet dimensions. A planner recomputes the fit when you change a material, so the cut list always matches the sheet you actually buy.
Do I need to edgeband the parts?
Edgeband the exposed front edges so the raw core does not show and does not chip. On an open Systainer rack that means the front edges of the sides, top and bottom, the front of each tray bottom and the front nose of each tray wall. Plywood edges can be edgebanded or left clean; melamine and MDF edges should be edgebanded because the bare core looks and wears poorly.
Keep reading
Sources & references
The thicknesses and the way they feed into the cabinet dimensions come from the verified geometry model in the StackDesign planner and from standard shop cabinet practice. Sheet-good behaviour is general woodworking knowledge; test a screw grip or a load in your chosen material before you commit a whole bank to it.
- StackDesign geometry model: the three-quarter-inch carcass, half-inch tray and quarter and half-inch back thicknesses, and how each feeds the width and height math.
- Common cabinet practice for plywood, melamine-faced particleboard and MDF strengths, weights and screw-holding.
- The 32 mm cabinetmaking system for the adjustable-shelf hole grid used in the wall cabinets.
Systainer is a trademark of TANOS GmbH. StackDesign is an independent planning tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by TANOS or Festool; those names describe the cases the planner fits.