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Hello! Many thanks to those that have responded to earlier posts. You are part of a giving community and it’s impressive. And now….here’s some more problem solving!
Further to my earlier inquiries: I am making a mission-style entertainment armoir out of oak frames and I need to figure out how to best attach them. The vertical sides are solid oak frames with two oak-faced ply panels separated by a central rail. The horizontal tv shelf, top, bottom, and dust panels (for four drawers, placed two-by-two) are also oak frames with oak-faced ply panels. I am looking for everyone and anyone to weigh-in (for some diversity of approach) on what is the best way to attach the horizontal shelf, top, and bottom frames to the vertical side frames. All horizontal frames are mortise and tenon design and glued up, allowing an extra 3/8 width for a dado, dovetail slot, etc., into the side frames. There will be no face frame, only a rabbetted back with 1/4 ply. I am considering: A stopped dado, a stopped dovetail groove, pocket-hole screws, a loose spline assembly, biscuits, rabbets for the top and bottom frames, etc… It’s too late to mortise-and-tenon the horizontal frames into the sides in a practical way. I’d like to allow for movement in the stiles and rails as well as guard against racking.
Additional detail: The top and bottom and one shelf meet stiles and rails front to back, i.e., they would meet solid wood. Another dust panel meets two stiles and has a gap in the middle where the side-frame panel sits.
Part B:
If I do try a dovetail slot/groove, I’d appreciate if anyone has tips, hints (other than using a square bit first, which I’ve learned), measurements (I’m using 3/4 stock), methods, etc… they can give me to be successful. I have a router guide, a clamp-and-tool, some dovetail bits (which size is best for that stock???) and a general idea from my books on how to cut the mating pieces…but no specifics. Any help someone could give on an efficient and precise manner of doing this would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Thanks and Regards,
Scott
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Just one comment about your plans. I think your plans for a 1/4" plywood back might be a little ill-advised. Seems too puny for the project that you described. You don't want this beautiful, substantial Arts and Crafts piece to look like a dime store special when viewed from the rear. Consider ship-lapped 3/8" (at least) oak boards. You can drill your vent holes, wire holes etc. through these boards. Your project will look a lot better; if you are married to a plywood back then use 1/2" thick material.
*Howdy.I have a mostly academic question, since I've already done the thing I'm asking about in a certain way.The question pertains to dovetail joinery in carcase construction.My question is this: what are the arguments for putting the dovetails in the top/bottom pieces versus putting them in the side pieces? Graham Blackburn in his Designing For Furniture mentions that this is the way and I note that many old pieces of furniture are constructed this way (at least from the top view). However, while working on a bookcase recently I ended up doing the opposite, but not after some thought. The bookcase is a Stickly-inspired design and has the two lower arched rails that form through tenons on the ends. Ergo, there's no issue of dovetailing at the bottom. The bottom shelf is set into dados in the case's sides just above the arched rails. At the top, I decided to just use two rails instead of a solid board since a soid top is going to be used. It is in these top rails that I reversed the sense of the dovetails. Also, I have a divider board splitting the case in two, vertically, which is tied in via dados to the bottom shelf, the top two dados and a rail that runs along the back and which pulls the two sides together with stub tenons. The back rail splits the shiplap 1/2 boards that will form the case's back. I will pin the front rails' tenons and may pin the back rail tenons. I know this is probably difficult to visualize.Anyway, I figured that having tails on the top piece prevent the sides from blowing out whereas tails on the top would prevent the top from pulling away from the case. I kept invisioning movers, etc. trying to lift the bookcase up by the generous overhang on the top and breaking some dovetail glue bonds in the process. I feel the real issue is resistance to racking and it is on this score that I have difficulty determining the superior orientation of the dovetail. I'm hoping that with all my other bits of joinery that the carcase will be pretty solid for decades to come but I'm very curious to learn if anybody can explain the whys and wherefors of tails in the top piece.-jim
*Sorry about that posting. I thought I was starting a new message thread. Although it did strike me as odd, at one point, that there was no place for a subject line. Not too far off the subject, I guess.-jim
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