This weekend I realized that the 3″ casters I bought for the printer stand / drawer cabinet are not ideal. Concealing them behind a skirt forces me to place them too far away from the edges, which has the potential to make the cabinet tippy. With an HP 4050TN on top, this is obviously undesirable. So I ordered the same brand of casters but in 2″ wheel diameter. I also ordered another set of the 3″ casters, and I’ll use both sets of 3″ casters on the base cabinets for the bookcases. The base cabinets are much deeper and also shorter, so tippiness shouldn’t be an issue. They also need the additional strength of the 3″ casters.
I bought and cut the pieces for the second bookcase, and also cut the slot for the back panel using the dado cutter in my table saw. I did the same for the rolling printer stand / drawer cabinet. I glued up the latter, using Loctite PL. The main reason for Loctite PL here: strength and resiliency. I also wanted a little expansion in the slots for the back panel. It’s a PITA to clean up versus yellow or white wood glue, but this cabinet’s insides won’t be visible.
I also ordered nut inserts and bolts for the casters. The nut inserts may or may not work out; they’re intended for softwood, but I’ll be using them in plywood. It’s been a long time since I’ve used this type of nut insert, so I don’t remember if they work in plywood. It all comes down to how well they handle the glue in the plywood. The plywood itself is a softwood. The idea here is that I need a doubled-up base for strength, and plywood is cheaper and more dimensionally stable than solid wood. In the last 10 years or so, when I’ve installed plate casters in wood, I’ve just used bolts and nuts with a recess cut with a Forstner bit for the bolt head and a washer. But here I want a completely concealed fastener.
I’m still debating what I want for the top of the printer stand / drawer cabinet. I know I want a marble-look porcelain tile in the center (looks nice, very durable). But I want one piece, and I haven’t found one I like that’s big enough while not also being too big for my tile saw. I’m pretty sure I can find one though. However, I haven’t yet decided how I want to trim it (species of wood), nor how thick I want it to be overall. I really love padauk, so I might go that route despite it being considerably different than oak.