rbterhune Posted October 12, 2014 Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 Hi All, I'm a relatively new woodworker, with only a handful of projects under my belt. I, of course, have many others on my my list that I would like to do. When thinking about one of them...a dresser...I got to thinking about backs. My rambling, and hopefully not confusing, question is as follows: With a dovetailed carcass/case, I see how easy it would be to do a frame and panel, ship lapped or plywood back set into a rabbet...but what about frame and panel pieces? A rabbet for most of the length of the leg doesn't seem appropriate to me for some reason. And let's say my piece has a 2" leg...if I do a frame and panel back with mortise and tenon joinery, will the back have the potential to get in the way of dust frames...I'm now down to 1.25" of leg that I can use for attaching dust frames if I use 3/4" stock for the back frame. Am I making any sense? Thanks in advance. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 I don't build a separate frame for the back. Just rabbet the back edges of the sides and top and bottom. I would use 1/4" plywood if it is a dresser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 ThinknInagree with Woodbutcher, but not sure I am clear about the question. Are you talking about making the back as a framed panel? Don't suppose you could post a sketch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbterhune Posted October 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Wtnhighlander...unfortunately no sketch. Yes, I've seen projects with the back panel made in 2 or more frame and panels, depending on the size of the piece. A large armoir I saw, for example, had 4 panels. The frame for these would obviously add some strength to the piece and help prevent tall sides from bowing. Yes, Woodbutcher's idea would serve the same purpose, but I like the idea of having an attractive back...I know it's a little odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 I don't think it is odd to have an attractive back as you can never be too sure what the user is going to do with the furniture. Some people use armoires, dressers or wardrobes as a room divider in large rooms for instance. I have built cabinets with attractive backs made from veneered plywood that are set into grooves. The construction of the rear panels used frame and panel techniques with mortise and tenon joints for the wood parts. There were grooves in each of the timber parts and the plywood simply set unglued into the grooves. Using grooves rather than rabbets hides any ugly ply edges (ply almost always gets some tear out when ripped). Of course you need to plan what to do first of all to make sure that you can actually assemble all the parts. Sometimes you can design things and find out you simply can't put them together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 You could use the back panel frame to support the dust frames. I would build a mock up of the joinery for one corner to make sure you can get a strong result. Furniture finished on all sides is definitly premium quality. It does require a different approach from the ground up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 You should check out Marc's video on the chest of drawers - it would be really helpful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbterhune Posted October 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Great responses...thanks for the insight! TerryMcK...did you have room to attach runners/dust panels at the rear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Yes there was a vertical support rail on one of the cabinets I made. As I recall I cut a series of mortises down that rail. Then the webframes simply sat in those mortises. There were corresponding mortises at the same height cut into the rear leg and front leg. These captures from my Sketchup drawing may help you. A view showing the drawers removed Zoomed in This shows the webframe removed and you can see the mortises. You can also see another piece of board with a rabbet cut in it. That adds additional support for the webframe and guidance for the drawer sides. Not strictly necessary as you can just guide with some small runners towards the bottom of the drawer sides. I made those boards from ply. Webframe detail I didn't fit dust panels on this particular cabinet but you could quite easily put ply in place prior to gluing up the web frames. The drawers simply run on the webframes and the webframes themselves add to the structural integrity of the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbterhune Posted October 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 TerryMcK...perfect! As you stated, the back of the web frame becomes structural when glued to your frame. You have provided a lot of food for thought. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 I've done kits and built furniture with the cheap/flimsy backs, either the paper board or 1/4" ply. Really starting to not like the look. If you are going to build it, I say build it. Include the back in the process. Doesn't have to be overly thick, but make it look like it belongs. (My two cents, already echoed by many above.) Even if it's never moved from the wall, I'm reasonably sure it won't fall apart on me. (Then again, it is something I built...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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