Pull out tray fabrication question

[66HertzClone]

I have a corner at the end of a workbench that I want to make some pull out trays that will hold things like jack-stands, a trans jack, and some other bulky items. The trays will be 24" wide and 28" deep, I plan to use 3/4 plywood as the bottom and 1 x 3 or similar for the sides. Rockler has some 28" extreme heavy duty slides that overextend which should work great for this. Nearly every drawer I've ever seen has the bottom loose, it floats inside grooves around the outer frame. Given the weight of what these will carry, I think making these as one solid piece is a better choice.

What are the downsides of making it in one piece?

 

[jamesemery728]

The reason for the drawer bottom being loose is for expansion and contraction of the wood. Since this is not furniture and is more of a tray it probably will not make any difference. I would make it solid because of the weight of the items you are going to put in it.

 

[66HertzClone]

That's what I was wondering, given the potential for high humidity in the garage and the changes in temps, could I have problems using a one piece tray? Could the potential expansion cause the slides to bind if the tray increased in size with high humidity?

 

[jamesemery728]

I would think that if you make it from plywood and paint it inside and out that shrinkage and expansion should be minimal.

 

[tcianci]

Build it as you had planned, The plywood will be plenty stable and you will not experience binding of the drawer slides.