Veneer, Half Blind Dovetails & MDF

[Glenn Samuels]

I would like to make the drawer fronts of my chest of drawers using a mahogany veneer. I've read that MDF is the best material for the project. Since I've never used MDF for fronts, how will it hold up if I want to make half blind dovetails?
Will it cut smoothly and not crumble? I am also concerned about how it will look from a side view. I am attempting to make a copy of a 1780's style chest on chest so even the drawer side edges need to look good.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Leo Graywacz]

Who told you this? MDF has it's uses, dovetail joinery doesn't seem like one of them.

[Mel Fulks]

I like mdf for some things,but I don't think it is worthy of dovetailing.Unless you want to use some special figured veneer you might be better off just using solid Honduras mahogany .You can finish it to look fine with the African case.

[Dave Richards]

If your drawer fronts are going to be veneered, you can use a lower grade of mahogany or one of the mahogany substitutes like Honduras or Meranti, Lauan, etc. No matter which, you'll need to trim out the edges which has been traditionally done this way.



There'd be a veneer on the inside which I have omitted in the drawing.



the edging could be made wider and rounded over to create a cockbead molding around the drawer front.

Considering what you are building, I wouldn't use MDF anywhere in it.

[Mike Wilkins]

MDF is fine for veneering but not so fine for dovetailing. The pins on the drawer front would be extremely fragile. You have to consider what MDF is made of: sawdust in compression. Should you decide to place a cockbead molding around the perimeter, you could veneer plywood or solid wood and have a much stronger drawer. My .02 cents worth.

[Shawn Pixley]

I think the mdf is a no-no.

If you are looking for some "authenticity," then I would advise that you bite the bullet and used solid material for your drawer fronts. If that is out of your budget, then veneer over the top of a similar material. (Do front and back for balance). For authenticity, I would would not follow Dave's suggestion about the edging on the end grain unless cockbeading was part of the project. Dave's suggestion would minimize end grain, but I doubt it would be something true to the style. No offense, Dave. I would veneer the whole drawer front before cutting the HB dovetails.

You made me think though, what could I do to make MDF work for dovetails. Maybe if you impregnated them with epoxy? I may try it in order to satisfy my curiousity.

[Dave Richards]

Shawn, no offense taken since I didn't come up with that arrangement. I have seen it on a number of pieces from that time frame. You might want to let those who did a few hundred years ago know, though.

Saturating the MDf with epoxy could work but hardly seems worth the effort.

[Shawn Pixley]

Shawn, no offense taken since I didn't come up with that arrangement. I have seen it on a number of pieces from that time frame. You might want to let those who did a few hundred years ago know, though.though.

Maybe so. Early federal period is not my area of expertise. (There is perishingly little in California) I have never seen veneer over endgrain on early to late victorian pieces even when the front is veneered. I just looked at an orginal piece I have (man's dresser circa 1870) and the dovetails there, while hand cut, are far from perfect and the endgrain is not veneered. Many people here do far nicer dovetails. In fact while the show sides are pristine, the non-show sides are pretty rough. The veneer over endgrain is something I have only seen on cockbeaded pieces (typically Queen Anne revival).

[Dave Richards]

I guess I wouldn't have thought of the pieces on the ends, top and bottom as veneer but maybe they are.

You're right about the dovetails. I have seen many examples of dovetails on old pieces that look like the joiner made them by chewing them with his teeth. These days it seems to me that dovetails aren't needed for strength but they should be beautiful, slender things and not those obese things or the zipper teeth we sometimes see.

[Glenn Samuels]

I like the idea of using a lower priced (African Mahogany) as the surface and veneering on both sides. I want the dovetails to show so I don't think that I would veneer over them. Thanks for the suggestions. I really didn't think that MDF would be the ideal surface and now I know that it's definitely not.

[Dave Richards]

I don't think anyone suggested that you veneer over the dovetails.

[Glenn Samuels]

Dave,

I meant to say edging on the end grain. On your drawing, you show a cockbead molding on all 4 sides. Does the side molding cover the dovetails or is it cut much narrower than the top and bottom? I am fairly new to this so please excuse my incorrect terminology.

[Dave Richards]

Oh. No. the edging doesn't cover the dovetails at all. I tried to show that in the second, assembled view. In a case like this, The drawer front is veneered inside and out. Then the dovetails are cut. After the box is assembled, a shallow rabbet is cut on all four edges. On the top and bottom, the rabbet covers the full thickness of the drawer front. On the ends, the rabbet is only on the drawer front and cuts along the ends of the tails. When the edging is applied, it fills the rabbets and brings all the surfaces back out flush.

You can see the rabbet on the end in the exploded view. And there's little miters on the ends of the edging where they come together.

[Glenn Samuels]

Dave,

I can see the rabbets now and the whole process makes much more sense to me. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

[Dave Richards]

Glad to help. Good luck with your project.