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Thread: Oak Sideboard

  1. #1

    Oak Sideboard

    Hello, I'm new to this forum, been reading it for a while, but this is my first time posting. I've seen some very nice projects on here and you guys seem to be experts at this, so I figure you will know what I am doing wrong.

    I am working on a design for a mission-style sideboard that I plan on making using red oak. I'm designing in sketchup and the picture shows what I have so far for the carcass. It is my intention to use Solid Oak, and also Oak-veneer plywood (3/4), which is the more yellow color in the picture. I will be using mortise and tennon joints for the mission style parts on the bottom, and I will likely use pocket screws on parts that will not be visible from the outside .

    The question I have is, how would I attach the plywood to the solid wood frames? I'm worried about the expansion/contraction of the solid wood pieces. They are 1x3s. Legs I plan on using 2x2s. Length of the sideboard is about 50". The second picture is what I'm roughly trying to duplicate. Is there a different way I should be making the ends? I've only made one real piece of mission stile furniture, but it was an end table and had no plywood.

    Thanks for any advice!

    sideboard.jpgHallway Cabinet.jpg

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    Napa Valley, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Troy Sherman View Post
    The question I have is, how would I attach the plywood to the solid wood frames?
    There are several ways this can be successfully done. My personal favorite is to use 1/2" material--not 3/4-- and cut a groove in the stiles/rails and a rabbet in the panel, like this:

    panel 11-16-13.png
    You don't need to worry about expansion/contraction of the stiles/rails here because:
    1. They are narrow, so they don't move enough to cause a problem
    2. They are not constrained by the plywood---they can expand to the "outside" without issue.

    If you were using solid wood panels, you would want them to be able to "float" and expand/contract independently of the stiles/rails. Since you are using plywood, which doesn't move like solid wood, you can glue the panels into their grooves.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    I do as Jerry shows although I don't use plywood for my show panels. As to pocket holes, they were in use long ago and were and still are a good joinery method for some situations. I find them particularly handy if I want to add an additional non-show stretcher(s) for strength or in preparation for shipping.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #4
    Ok, I think I get it. Is there a general rule of thumb for how wide a piece would be when you start worrying about the wood movement? For instance if I wanted to add a 1x6 stretcher as a bottom shelf, would that be wide enough that I would not be able to simply put 3 or 4 pocket screws on each end?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    I don't know of any generally accepted "rule of thumb," but for me, 6" and above is where I start to be concerned. You can probably get away with a 6" board. Beyond that, I start to worry. Remember that a "quarter sawn" board will move about half as much as a "flat sawn" board, so for safety, a QS board would be preferable here (or as close to QS as is available---many FS boards have near-QS grain at their edges).

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Stony Plain, Alberta
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    2,702
    Here is a QSWO sideboard I make a few years ago that has solid panels which as others have said float.
    The plan, I believe, came from wood magazine.

    IMG_1619.jpg

    Looks pretty close to what you are trying to replicate.
    Welcome to the Creek and have fun with your build.

    .

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