Advise needed - drawer front construction

[Samuel Butler]

I am creating drawer fronts as the final step in a new kitchen. They are 20 inches wide and 7 inches tall. The design calls for a breadboard on each end. This piece will be 3 inches wide by 7 inches tall. I plan to use dominoes to attach the breadboard edge. I plan on gluing the middle of three dominoes on both pieces but am worried about gluing the outside dominoes. Do you think I should be worried. The wood I am using is walnut and it is acclimated. It will be finished with water based poly.

Should I not glue the outside dominoes and instead pin them with dowels or brads?

[Jim Matthews]

Will the grain be oriented traditionally, with the large part of the panel horizontal and the ends vertical?

If so, route overlarge pockets for the "top" and "bottom" domino. I fear this is setting you up for drawers that rattle.
If the end pieces cup, they'll leave an uneven reveal. If these are flush fit, you'll have closure problems in Summer.

[Matt Day]

Also, is the middle panel walnut as well, or are you using different woods for contrast?

If you orient the grain on the ends the same direction as the middle, even with different wood types I would think you could glue all 3 dominoes.

[Samuel Butler]

Both will be walnut, the grain on the end pieces will be vertical the middle will be horizontal. I am worried about expansion of the middle piece. I was planning on extending the upper and lower mortise on the vertical end pieces so that the middle piece can float. But do I have to worry about wood movement that much if the span is only 7 inches and it is dry now and finished well?

[Lee Schierer]

To avoid any problems attach your breadboards with sliding dovetails and then only glue the top 1" on each breadboard. This will let your center panel move with the seasons and any signs of shrink or expansion will be on the bottom of the drawer front where it won't be noticeable. Sliding dovetails won't rattle or let the ends fall off.

[Jim Matthews]

With breadboards, you pin or glue the center. This allows the board to expand outward (hopefully) in equal measure from the center.

If you're dealing with stock thinner than 3/4, this will permit expansion without splitting at the ends.

[Steve Baumgartner]

If you glue your breadboard at the center domino, you can think of it like two 3 1/2 inch table aprons side by side. How much would you worry and what would you do about cross-grain expansion where a 3 1/2 inch apron meets a leg? Do the same here and you should be fine. A 7 inch board will see around 1/16 inch seasonal change, 1/32 on each side if you fix the center. If you allow that much in the outer domino slots, it should be ok even if you glue the outer dominos.

[David Peterson MN]

+1 on a sliding dovetail

[Samuel Butler]

Thanks
Good point regarding apron. I will expand the outer domino slots but still glue the outer dominoes.

[Conrad Fiore]

A little more work, but you could treat the dominos just like the tenons of a true breadboard end. Glue the dominos in the center section to become a fixed tenon, then pin the breadboard end from the rear. Elongate the holes in the two outboard tenons and expand the mortises as well.

[Sam Murdoch]

Sliding dovetail is a nice idea, but the Dominos lend themselves to this application very well. Who designed this detail anyway :rolleyes:? If i were doing this I would keep all the dominos in the bread board and the center one of the drawer face tight and glued. The 2 dominos in the end of the drawer front would be in elongated slots (the shorter option) and unglued.