Joinery?

[chopnhack]

I've been thinking about a blanket chest project for longer than I care to admit... I would like your collective thoughts on joinery for this project. Let me explain further:

I am interested in building a chest with panel sides and fronts and backs. The panel inserts will most likely be of plywood fitted into dados of the rails and stiles to make up the panels.

My questions on joinery is this: Would it look strange in this type of construction to use dovetails to join the side panels to the backs and fronts? Would it be more appropriate to use tongue and groove? M&T?

Thanks

[cabinetman]

Dovetails or box joints would make for good traditional joinery. Of the two I think I would use dovetails.
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[Larryl]

Blanket Chest

Chopnhack, This is the one I built with rails/styles and panels. I think this is what you are thinking about building.

[chopnhack]

Yes, Larry that is the style I was thinking of. Awesome shop by the way - so the question was on that style of chest, would dovetails be out of place? I am curious because I dont think I have ever seen a piece of that style with dovetails. Can you give me some more details on your build? How did you connect the adjacent panels? A tongue and groove joint or mortise and tenon or something else?

[JR]

There's no reason you couldn't use dovetails if you wanted to. Here is a set of cabinets my brother did last year on which he used dovetails.





I would personally be more inclined to build a mortise and tenon frame. I'd probably let dadoes into the stretchers and posts. Another alternative would be to forego the dadoes and just trap the panels with a molding (it would look similar to Larryl's molding).

Finally, you could just build the panels using rail and stile techniques, joining them together with dowels, pins, biscuits, etc.

JR

[cabinetman]

Yes, Larry that is the style I was thinking of. Awesome shop by the way - so the question was on that style of chest, would dovetails be out of place? I am curious because I dont think I have ever seen a piece of that style with dovetails. Can you give me some more details on your build? How did you connect the adjacent panels? A tongue and groove joint or mortise and tenon or something else?

The style and overall look you want to achieve may be on the craft side in which showing the joinery would be the case. Or, if a more formal look, then you could use joinery that not much to nothing would show. You could use a lock miter, splined miter (either through or blind), or rabbeted.

I wouldn't use biscuits or pocket screws. The frames can be assembled using half lap joints (which are easy to do), either full or blind, which is superior joinery to dowels or M&T, IMO.
.

[Larryl]

I've been thinking about a blanket chest project for longer than I care to admit... I would like your collective thoughts on joinery for this project. Let me explain further:

I am interested in building a chest with panel sides and fronts and backs. The panel inserts will most likely be of plywood fitted into dados of the rails and stiles to make up the panels.

My questions on joinery is this: Would it look strange in this type of construction to use dovetails to join the side panels to the backs and fronts? Would it be more appropriate to use tongue and groove? M&T?

Thanks

Sorry, I didn't answer your original question. I used rabbeted joints, I don't think strength is the guiding need in this type piece, it needs to compliment the more formal look of the panel construction. However, if your chest will be more a trunk then dovetails or box joint or some locking type jointery would be approperate. My $.02.

[atgcpaul]

There's no reason you couldn't use dovetails if you wanted to. Here is a set of cabinets my brother did last year on which he used dovetails.


[ATTACH]14861[/ATTACH]

JR

JR,

How did your brother cut those huge DTs? I've done handcut DTs with
mitered corners like that but none that big.

[JR]

How did your brother cut those huge DTs? I've done handcut DTs with mitered corners like that but none that big.

I'm not entirely sure. I know he has been working on his hand-tool skills, but working with him in the past he would have used a circular saw for quite a bit of the work. I think he used a combination of both. Unfortunately he lives far away and I can't spend time with him in shop.

JR

JR

[chopnhack]

Lots of food for thought here guys, thanks
Maybe I could do half lap face frames and then join them with rabbeted sides....