I'm working on building a simple entertainment center, and would like
some advice. The sides and back are to be 1/2" red oak plywood, and
there will be three shelves the width and depth of the entertainment
center (minus the sides).

I plan on putting a large screen TV that's about 100-200 lbs on the
second shelf, and was wondering if the 1/2" plywood sides would be
sufficiently strong. The shelves themselves will be 1/2" plywood
supported by a 1x2 poplar frame with 1x4 red oak as a border. The top
shelf will carry some wonderfully heavy equipment, too. It'll be less
than 200 lbs, I think.

Any suggestions on attaching the shelves to the plywood sides? 1/2"
isn't very much material for a screw to grab in to from the inside, and
if a screw was inserted from the outside it'd show.

On a related note, this project marks my first real venture into
hardwoods. I had a good experience with the hardwood store, but learned
that 10' long boards just won't fit in a Prius. Next time, I'll peruse
the shorter boards /first/ and save myself a trip back in the truck.

Puckdropper
--
"The potential difference between the top and bottom of a tree is the
reason why all trees have to be grounded..." -- Bored Borg on
rec.woodworking

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm