zeboim Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Hi everyone, I'm working on my first project, so please forgive me if I get some of the terminology wrong or for asking dumb questions. I'm starting out simple with a 2' x 2' x 8" frame made of 3/4" pine plywood. It will have a 2' x 2' back made of the same material and a single shelf made of a 1" x 8". My question is, what is the strongest way to attach the corners? I made a prototype build using rabbet joints, just using glue. It seemed to hold decently enough, but I was able to push on the two boards and snap the adhesive pretty easily. I'd like to practice my mortise and tenon skills, but I don't know how well that will hold up with the plywood material. Should I use dowels or will that cause structural issues with the ply material? It is going to be holding my wife's tea cup collection, so I don't want it to buckle under its own weight, breaking her stuff and ending my life. Any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Plywood is not the best with mortise and tenons, but a rabbet like you're talking about should be fine. consider reinforcing it with some screws. You will find that once you attach the back panel the entire shelf will becomes much more rigid. Have you considered a solid-wood face frame? That might help stiffen it up as well. Consider putting a dado in the sides about 2" up from the bottom of the cabinet and making the bottom shelf attach there. That will give you 2" of wood supporting that bottom shelf, as opposed to a fairly small rabbet. The top joint should be fine with just a rabbet though. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Pocket screws and glue.. If it's a shop piece or you don't mind screws showing, butt joint and screws would do great as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeboim Posted June 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 I had originally purchased some solid wood planks, but they were so terribly cupped they'll probably end up thinner than the ply. I may be exaggerating, but I decided to switch to ply for the time being. My thought was that it would be lighter, as it will hang on the wall, and the materials would be cheaper (since I'm a total newb and will surely be going through this stuff like toilet paper at first) and I would have to spend less time on the milling process since I don't have access to a planer or jointer (yet). I was thinking about trimming the front with some type of solid wood, but I haven't had a chance to hit up the wood store yet. I figured I'd wait on that until it was together. The piece is going to be hanging in the dining area of our home. I was hoping to avoid using screws because I don't want to be reliant on them in the long run and was hoping to get in some practice with other methods of joinery. It seems as though my choice of building materials may have limited my options, however. I may have to see about getting some pre-milled wood from the lumber yard and switch to some form of solid wood now that I have a little experience in cutting and routing with the ply. Thanks for the advice, I knew I came to the right place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponderingturtle Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Hi everyone, I'm working on my first project, so please forgive me if I get some of the terminology wrong or for asking dumb questions. I'm starting out simple with a 2' x 2' x 8" frame made of 3/4" pine plywood. It will have a 2' x 2' back made of the same material and a single shelf made of a 1" x 8". My question is, what is the strongest way to attach the corners? I made a prototype build using rabbet joints, just using glue. It seemed to hold decently enough, but I was able to push on the two boards and snap the adhesive pretty easily. I'd like to practice my mortise and tenon skills, but I don't know how well that will hold up with the plywood material. Should I use dowels or will that cause structural issues with the ply material? It is going to be holding my wife's tea cup collection, so I don't want it to buckle under its own weight, breaking her stuff and ending my life. Any advice would be appreciated. That is why you need some cross braces like the back, that is strong joint in some directions but as it lacks depth it isn't going to be great at racking torques. A back pannel will give it a lot more strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 A dado and tongue joint is hard to beat and it's self aligning. http://www.woodsmithtips.com/2010/08/26/tongue-and-dado-joint/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeboim Posted June 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 A dado and tongue joint is hard to beat and it's self aligning. http://www.woodsmithtips.com/2010/08/26/tongue-and-dado-joint/ oh, that's a new joint (for me). I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeboim Posted June 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 That is why you need some cross braces like the back, that is strong joint in some directions but as it lacks depth it isn't going to be great at racking torques. A back pannel will give it a lot more strength. I was thinking about insetting a 3/4" panel as the back and just gluing it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foo Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Hi everyone, I'm working on my first project, so please forgive me if I get some of the terminology wrong or for asking dumb questions. I'm starting out simple with a 2' x 2' x 8" frame made of 3/4" pine plywood. It will have a 2' x 2' back made of the same material and a single shelf made of a 1" x 8". My question is, what is the strongest way to attach the corners? I made a prototype build using rabbet joints, just using glue. It seemed to hold decently enough, but I was able to push on the two boards and snap the adhesive pretty easily. I'd like to practice my mortise and tenon skills, but I don't know how well that will hold up with the plywood material. Should I use dowels or will that cause structural issues with the ply material? It is going to be holding my wife's tea cup collection, so I don't want it to buckle under its own weight, breaking her stuff and ending my life. Any advice would be appreciated. Use box joints at the corners. Place a 3/8ths x 3/4 rabbet at the inside edge peripherally at the back of the frame pieces before assembly--this allows the back to be inserted into the rabbet after the frame is assembled, and helps you to insure your box is square. The whole thing can be put together with glue and clamps and will be nearly bomb-proof once the glue is set. Better quality plywood--such as baltic or russian birch can be quite attractive with just a clear finish in applications such as yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponderingturtle Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 I was thinking about insetting a 3/4" panel as the back and just gluing it in. In terms of fighting racking the panel does not need to be that thick. though build right it would help with load across the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeboim Posted July 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2015 In terms of fighting racking the panel does not need to be that thick. though build right it would help with load across the back. I only chose that size because it came from the same board as the rest of the frame. I don't have a variety of woods yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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