Rob Price
08-14-2009, 2:56 AM
I am building some modular storage for my sons' room. 29x20x15 bases with drawers and square shelves on top. See the diagram.
The bases I'm building are basic 29"w x 15"tall x 20" deep boxes. They will have a single drawer in each unit. The sides are going to be plywood, but I wanted to make the top (20x 29) out of solid oak because the boys will be playing/climbing/banging toys etc and I'm afraid the veneer just wouldn't hold up to that kind of abuse (although with some poly, their existing plywood funiture has held up for the last 2 years.)
my concern is wood movement, and attaching such a wide top to the box. I had planned on running some shallow rabbets on the edges of the top and then gluing the top to the box (I'll be hiding the joint with some molding), but with the grain running side to side, the top is going to need to expand and contract front to back. Gluing the entire joint is probably not a good idea. I thought about pocket screws front and back to keep it secure, maybe one in the middle. Or do I just scrap it and use plywood for the tops and a generous coat of poly. this isn't fine furniture, it's a storage unit for their toys.
The bases I'm building are basic 29"w x 15"tall x 20" deep boxes. They will have a single drawer in each unit. The sides are going to be plywood, but I wanted to make the top (20x 29) out of solid oak because the boys will be playing/climbing/banging toys etc and I'm afraid the veneer just wouldn't hold up to that kind of abuse (although with some poly, their existing plywood funiture has held up for the last 2 years.)
my concern is wood movement, and attaching such a wide top to the box. I had planned on running some shallow rabbets on the edges of the top and then gluing the top to the box (I'll be hiding the joint with some molding), but with the grain running side to side, the top is going to need to expand and contract front to back. Gluing the entire joint is probably not a good idea. I thought about pocket screws front and back to keep it secure, maybe one in the middle. Or do I just scrap it and use plywood for the tops and a generous coat of poly. this isn't fine furniture, it's a storage unit for their toys.