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I’m trying to design a cabinet which would have frame and panel sides. Side note: I’ve noticed in Krenov’s books that he sometimes has “full-width” rails which are joined to the ends of the stiles, rather than inside (long grain). I thought I’d try this. The rails will also be of slightly thicker stock than the stiles. Rail edges which are adjacent to flat, floating panels will be chamfered to same plane as panel and stiles.
At any rate, the cabinet bottom will be solid material, and will also function as the bottom shelf. So, what I have is the end grain of the bottom, meeting the long grain of the bottom, side rail. Traditional joinery for tops and bottoms of carcase to sides is dovetail, right? I’ve not seen in any of my books where dovetail is used to join end and long grain. I also thought about a sliding dovetail, but I’m somewhat concerned that the long grain dovetail slot will be too close to the edge, and will be a weak point. I plan on having a frame and panel back, glued into a rabbet at the back of the carcase, so that should help strengthen the carcase.
Suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Dale Krech
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dale
of course the big concern for this joint is the different rate of movement between the bottom rail & the bottom of the carcass- i have 1 material suggestion and 3 jointery suggestions:
you could use 1/4 sawn material (i'm not sure what kind of wood you're using) for the bottom of the carcass which will seriously minimize movement across the grain- and minimize jointery headaches.
then you could use dowels to join the 2 sections if you'd like the bottom to be part of the exterior design-
or you could house the bottom in sliding dovetails cut into the lower inside edge of the rails- here you could just glue the front of the bottom in the dovetail groove and let the rest slip fit.
or you could reconfigure your panels so the the long grain of your stiles met the bottom ( still made of 1/4 sawn material) and join the sections in the above mentioned manner(s). if i were to choose the dowel joint method, i might go for this panel reconfiguration..
hope some of this will help.
have fun
alex
*Alex,Sounds like good advise. I'm using Claro Walnut. The sliding dovetail will be stopped so it won't show from the front. As for the glue, makes perfect sense; a little dab will do you.Thanks again.Dale
*Dale, Alex - As an aspiring beginner, I just noticed your thread, and wanted to ask either of you why the dovetails aren't a good idea in this situation (Dale: It sounds like a nice piece you're making). I'm using some techniques described by Robert Treanor in FW No. 109 (Dec, 94), which discusses half-blind dovetails joining the solid-panel side to the solid-panel bottom of a carcase -- a situation where end-grain and end-grain are dovetail-joined. On your project, what potential problem or drawback would you anticipate with half-blind dovetail-joining long grain to end grain?? Wouldn't all those interlocking pins and tails sufficiently resist moisture-related expansion and shrinkage?Thanks, Erik Andersen--It's snowing outside, and I'll be in the workshop!
*Erik,I'm not too sure you can do anything to eliminate seasonal movement. But it seems to me the big problem with dovetailing end grain to long is the different rates of movement. I think Alex's suggestion about gluing 1 end of a sliding dovetail is probably the safest bet.Sorry about the snow, I'm in sunny California.Dale
*hi ericalso note that cutting dovetails in long grain would leave only a precious little bit of remaining long grain for those pins & tails to hold on to- all of your hard work would snap right off your panel as you assembled it. sunny & warm with vicious allergens in txalex
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