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Thread: Nightstand top attachment ????

  1. #1
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    Nightstand top attachment ????

    I am building a simple solid cherry night stand. I was planning on attaching the top directly to the side panels using dowels. (Both the sides and top are solid cherry). After doing some research, I am now not sure this is a good idea, as it might not allow for wood movement on the top. The reason I thought that using dowels would be good, is that it would ensure a tight fit of the top to the sides. Should I really use something like the figure 8 clips or a tongue and groove blocks?

    I have attached a sketchup drawing for visual reference.

    TIA.

    Earl
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  2. #2
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    I use figure 8's. I have also used Z-clips, shop made wooden clips or screws/pocket holes with enlarged or elongated holes to allow for the movement. Your design is similar to one I have done in that there is little clearance between the tops of the drawer sides (or the kickers if used) and the top. This makes figure 8's a logical choice. The position in the example assumes front to back movement (grain direction side to side).
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    Last edited by glenn bradley; 01-11-2013 at 7:18 AM.
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  3. #3
    Assuming the grain runs parallel to the long direction of the sides and the top, movement won't be an issue. They'll move together so dowels would work. Glenn's suggestion of figure-8s is good, too. I'm interested to know how you plan to attach the vertical drawer divider to the top. That seems like more of an issue to me than the top and sides. Would you use a dowel there? Also, what are you planning between the sides and the base? If the grain runs vertically on the sides and horizontally on the base, you will have some movement issues there to consider.

    Are you planning inset drawers and doors?

    By the way, I notice you have trouble with your miters in SketchUp like a lot of folks, me included sometimes, have in the shop. Some strange nesting of those parts, too.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the feedback. The grain on the sides, runs top to bottom, on the top, it runs left-to-right. Essentially the grain is all in the same direction. I am expecting the movement to be front-to-back. Based on your and Dave Richard's comments, I think that I will go with the shop made clips and revise the design to add a cross member at the top and push the drawer down 3/4" of an inch to allow room for the clip.

  5. #5
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    Dave,
    greatly appreciate your feedback. Based on your feedback, I am going to revisit the design and see if I can get my wife to approve a few small changes, like adding a cross member to the top above the drawer to allow room for a shop clip.

    I had not concerned wood movement between the base and sides. Hmmm. Given that the base is only 3" high, I do not believe that there should be any significant wood movement. The grain will be 90 degrees to the side panels. I am still planning to use dowels to join these two pieces.

    SketchUp does give me fits trying to get everything to line up correctly. Guess I need more practice :-) My mitre joints also drive me crazy as well.

    I will post a revised drawing and some pictures once I am done.

    Thanks for the feedback.

    Earl

  6. #6
    Earl, keep in mind that the greatest dimensional change in the wood is across the grain so that joint between the side panel and the end of the base is going to be most likely to fail if you don't make provisions for that movement. It's not the three inch dimension that is problematic. It's the depth of the cabinet and the length of that side base piece that is.

    As to your miters, try this as one way to do them.



    Starting from the front and working back,

    Draw the parts so they overlap making sure each is a component.
    Open one component for editing and draw a diagonal line across the joint defining the miter.
    Use the Push/Pull tool to push away the waste side of the miter.
    Repeat the process for the other part.

    Out of curiosity, when you draw your models are you drawing the parts in place or are you drawing them wherever and assembling the project after you've made the parts?

  7. #7
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    Dave,
    when I draw the model in SketchUp, I draw the first part in place, make it a component and then copy and move.
    Thanks for the information regarding drawing the mitre.

    Any suggestions regarding attaching the base or do I just need to recut the base with the grain running the same up/down direction as the side panels?

    Earl

  8. #8
    Earl, that's good. So if you are drawing all the components in place, that should make those miters easy.

    So back to the base. No, don't run the grain vertically. That'll create other problems. You could do several other things, though.


    Tour version is on the left. You could make the base narrower left to right as in the middle. This would allow you to attach the base to the bottom of the cabinet and use elongated screw holes toward the outside. This would let the case expand and contract on the base. Or, if you want the sides to go straight down to the floor, make them in the same way typical kitchen cabinets are made as shown on the right.


    Alternatively you could put a spacer between the case and the base. This would allow you to keep the ends of the base flush with the case sides and yet provide a way to attach the base to allow for seasonal movement.

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