Any difference with different kinds of bracing?

[MONSONwarrior]

Just to get this out there before anyone makes the suggestion, I don't wanna do threaded rod, I want to keep the box clean on the outside. So now the real question, will I notice a different between using wooden dowels, 2x4's, or 2x2's as bracing in my box?

[Kangaroux]

unless you were competing, no you wouldn't. ideally dowels are the best because they are smooth, but 2x4's are the best for securing the box because of how big they are. if i were you, i'd brace the most important areas in 2x4's and use dowels for the rest, but its up to you

[kushy_dreams]

Nope, I like to use dowels because they dont have any hard edges and it doesnt eat up alot of space. I just did a box with 2x2 bracing and lost a lot of space from the bracing.

[Buck]

I do a lot of 2x2s because they can tie into each other, dowels really can't do that that.

[hispls]

I often use scrap pieces of 3/4 plywood (use mdf if that's what you use). A 3 or 4" piece will do the same thing as 2X4 or dowel as a brace and you generally have some leftovers if you build boxes. If you care about rounding edges it's easily accomplished with a router too.