"Special" Half Blind Dovetails

[ChetlovesMer]

Just curious.

I want to make some special Half-blind dovetails on a desk drawer. The drawer is Cherry on Cherry and I want to cap the end of the part with the pins in Walnut, maybe ebony. The drawer will be used a lot. Is there any worry about attaching the end grain of the cherry to the long grain of the decorative piece?

I assume you just glue the end piece on and then cut the pins as normal? But I've never done this technique before. I'm looking for watchouts. The effect I'm going for is similar to what is shown in this photo I'm attaching.

Thanks for any and all input.

[Beechwood Chip]

End grain glue joints aren't very strong. You are essentially applying a veneer to an end grain, and I'd be concerned that the glue bond would fail. Unfortunately, I can't think of a way to re-enforce it. Maybe rough up the surfaces and use an epoxy?

[CessnaPilotBarry]

If I'm understanding this, you want to trap the decorative wood in the dovetail?

If so, I think you'll be OK. "Prime" the end grains with glue before attaching the part with more glue. Once you assemble the joint, it'll all be glued and trapped nicely.

If I didn't understand... neeeeeeevermind........

[ChetlovesMer]

I think I'll just try it and count on the dovetail shape holding the decorative end in place.

I fiddled around with trying to cut some splines into the back of the piece and it became really ugly really fast.

Epoxy might be a good idea.