Good morning,

A lot of you have helped me out with a post I recently placed entitled "Are 23" Miters possible." Thank you. I think I've decided on going with the full blind, or secret, dovetail. I'm a little nervous about attempting such a complicated joint, but I think with practice, I might be able to pull it off. My next question is a basic wood movement/case construction question. Actually, there's two parts to this question:

1. I believe that "panel" construction is the term that describes my face frame-less type construction??? I'll also be using Blum drawer slides. So, I will have no skeleton or webbing(is this the proper term?) within the case, and no face frame to help with the overall rigidity of the box. I've never built a case before and am wondering if there will be enough rigidity to the whole thing with only the 4 mitered joints connecting the top, sides, and bottom. Is there something I need to work into the design to stiffen the case up?

Which brings me to the second part of the question...

2. Is there a way to construct the back to help with the above problem? It, too, will be made from solid wood. Because I have to avoid cross grain movement(is this the proper term?) I'm imaging I'll have to float the back in dadoes running along the inside of the sides, top, and bottom, to allow for seasonal movement. Is this the way to go? What other methods are there for affixing a solid wood back to a case like this? And if I do float the back in dadoes, would I want to pin it in a single place in the center of the panel? And if I do pin it in the center, will this provide sufficient rigidity on its own?

Thanks to everyone for helping me through this learning process. I very much appreciate all of the knowledge that so many here at Sawmillcreek freely impart.

David