OSB Cabinets

[Lodgepole]

I am going to be making small, shop cabinets. Has anyone tried using OSB for this type of cabinet?

[Gene Howe]

OSB is meant to be used on the flat, as in sheeting. It's not structural and will not hold a screw, especially into the edge.
Use plywood for a more sound build.

[fjimp]

I am going to be making small, shop cabinets. Has anyone tried using OSB for this type of cabinet?

I have one OSB shop cabinet which is totally useless.

[charlese]

OSB is meant to be used on the flat, as in sheeting. It's not structural and will not hold a screw, especially into the edge.
Use plywood for a more sound build.

In this part of California, it is used structurally for the inside corners of garages and sheds for structural wall strength - to prevent racking. The bottom plates (usually 2X4s) are secured to the concrete base with special brackets and the studs are also plated on top and bottom. This is for earthquake protection.

In Texas, Plywood is used in the corners of houses and garages, but in California, OSB is used.

My shop is now paneled with OSB and I find it very tough and it is able to hole screws to support wall cabinets. Yes, I suppose you can strip a screw hole in the OSB, but if not stripped it has a lot of holding power.

I agree, OSB edges are quite fragile and for that reason wouldn't make a satisfactory material for making a cabinet. The only way I can think of to use it as a project material is to glue and screw a U shaped or L shaped length of solid wood onto the face and use that wood as an edge. You are better off to use plywood, unless your situation requires that you use up some OSB.

[tkhudson]

Kind of strikes me funny that OSB is not structural, as it is the most common web material in I joist construction today. In a former life I was in charge of a line that made I Joists and Large 32" deep Purlins, these things were engineered to a minimum value and we were required to exceed that value by 3.5 times. Ive witnessed many a destructive testing of these joists and the OSB web material proved consistently stronger than plywood.

It may not hold a screw well, but it will sure glue great

OSB is not my first choice for shop cabinets, Id rather use MDF and a biscuit

[swampgator]

Just a chime with my two cents worth--I had a garage built to Florida state hurricane codes in 1997. The requirement for the roof was OSB. It looks good except it is like the Navy ships of the Kennedy/McNamara era. The decking sags between ribs or trusses. And, in 2004, we had hurricane Ivan which downed a pecan tree limb. That OSB crumbled like a cracker. Every place the OBS cracked, it allowed water it. That whole side of the garage roof was replace with 3/4 inch marine plywood. When the next hurricane comes, we'll test.

I asked an inspector why they went with OSB, and his statement was they can turn it in either direction. Plywood has to be perpendicular to the trusses to provide that lateral strength. That's just my experience with the stuff. There are situations on which I would use it, away from the liklihood of water, only lateral holding and absolutely nothing else. Maybe a toy chest.

the old swampgator in Florida

[reible]

Hi,

I've used OSB for several projects. It is not like plywood and trying to make something out of just OSB may not be a good way to go. But if you have the OSB or like the low price or just want to see how it works then you might want to think about it working in a different way. As an example I have seen a lot of crates made using the material by having either in internal or external skeleton of real wood or plywood and the OSB as a sheeting.

I did a quick sketchup drawing of it with an internal skeleton of 2x2's. If you want some more help on the how to do this I can draw up how the doors might be done by adding some 1x4 strips to OSO panels....

[ATTACH]7868[/ATTACH]

Ed

[robinson46176]

I have used OSB for a lot of stuff. I find that the OSB produced today to be far better than that produced 10 years ago especially where exposed to weather. I have used it to build tool stands etc. and it worked fine. In that case I did like Ed showed in the sketch above but used ¾" X ¾" stock. I sanded the surfaces that came together and glued it all with Gorilla Glue and nailed it from the outside with an air brad gun. Based on those experiences I would have absolutely no qualms about building shop cabinets out of it. I do believe that I would use something else for the doors.
I have used it for utility ceilings with great results. We painted it heavily (light tan) before putting it up. It always paints better laying flat on its back. We used ¼" for ceilings and used contrasting color (brown) batten strips over the joints to sort of resemble a narrow version of English half timber look. Even in slightly damp locations we experienced no sagging. That might not be true if heavy insulation were tightly packed above it. We were installing over foam board.
I did use it for roof decking on a structure many years ago and what was made at that time was just awful. It sagged between the rafters as described above and feels "mushy" to walk on. Today however they make a rough-deck sheathing 5/8" that is a whole other product. It uses a lot more binder and is proving out well even at 24" OC installations.
OSB should not be confused with the old original "wafer-board" either. Not the same product.
It makes great shop walls too but you should really install it in warm weather so you can vent the room well for a month or two during any initial out-gassing.

[Gene Howe]

I should clarify my "Not Structural" comment as applied to OSB. I meant that by itself, OSB is not meant to be used as a structural component.
I've used it as sheeting on roofs, walls and floors with no problems. Always on 16" OC, though.
I find that screws will not hold in OSB unless the screw also penetrates a more suitable material behind or under the sheeting. I would not trust screws through OSB alone (between studs) to hold a heavily loaded shop cabinet.
I used TJs when building our shop and yes, they were constructed of OSB...4 ea, 1/2" layers wide for the I. I was warned by the manufacturer, in writing, to only fasten roofing/ceiling panels in the center of the TJ. Their warning also prohibited penetration of the web. And, I was advised to use a bead of construction adhesive along the top of each TJ. That has been my practice regardless of truss or joist material, anyway.
OSB boasts many valid applications. I just do not feel that cabinetry is one.

[robinson46176]

I should clarify my "Not Structural" comment as applied to OSB. I meant that by itself, OSB is not meant to be used as a structural component.
I've used it as sheeting on roofs, walls and floors with no problems. Always on 16" OC, though.
I find that screws will not hold in OSB unless the screw also penetrates a more suitable material behind or under the sheeting. I would not trust screws through OSB alone (between studs) to hold a heavily loaded shop cabinet.
I used TJs when building our shop and yes, they were constructed of OSB...4 ea, 1/2" layers wide for the I. I was warned by the manufacturer, in writing, to only fasten roofing/ceiling panels in the center of the TJ. Their warning also prohibited penetration of the web. And, I was advised to use a bead of construction adhesive along the top of each TJ. That has been my practice regardless of truss or joist material, anyway.
OSB boasts many valid applications. I just do not feel that cabinetry is one.

Also clarifying... While I said that I would have no qualms about using it for "shop" cabinets (and I still say that) I probably would not in general, especially on wall cabinets. There are better choices and the price difference is not all that large between OSB and some of the better choices. The amount of work is about the same.