cabinets
I just purchased a somewhat old China cabinet. It has 2 heavy, thick glass shelved. One shelf is cracked so I plan to replace both shelves with painted wood shelves.
The width is 40 3/4 inches by 15 inches deep. The glass shelves are held in place by 4 metal pegs, 2 on each end.
Could someone tell me what material I should use for the shelves? I don't want the shelves to sag or collape.
Thank you
Several different factors weigh in to what size of board you need.
Did you have a rough order of magnitude for the weight you'd like to hang? Just shooting from the hip, I'd think you'd be OK with a 1x4, or a 1x6 if you wanted to be safe.
If you don't want to use european style hinges, you need to use an overlay hinge such as this type
These can be found ast sites such as Rockler, or in many DIY centers.
Best Answer
Since you're painting anyway, it doesn't make much sense to use the more expensive hardwoods like quarter-sawn white oak or blistered maple - quite ordinary poplar should do very nicely unless you plan to put a huge amount of weight on those shelves. Poplar is strong and dense, and it paints exceptionally well.
Note that you'll need to edge-laminate two or more planks to get your full 15" depth if you use poplar.
Another entirely viable option would be to use 3/4" MDF. It comes in sheets (you can often buy half-sheets and quarter-sheets). It's very heavy (about 96 pounds per full sheet). It's also very rigid and dense and takes paint very well. So well, in fact, that it's sometimes used as an inexpensive siding on condos. It doesn't tolerate moisture, though, so be sure to fully paint all surfaces.