"George E. Cawthon" writes:
You should have said the sides would be plywood!
Sleeves would have to be metal at least an inch long which would be a
pita.

Forget the pins and move to a different system if you stay with
plywood.

Per your excellent suggestion in another post, I do plan to do a test.

However, how much would I gain in moving from say plywood sides to
poplar sides? Would the resistance to pin tearout be significant
enough to justify the significant premium for 1x12" poplar?