wood movement when joining sides to top of dresser

[Paulh Tremblay]

I understand that you can't glue a natural wooden table top to an apron because the wood won't be allowed to move and will crack.

However, I have seen contradictory advice on joining the side of the carcass to the top for a dresser. One school insists that the pieces must not be firmly joined to prevent cracking. The other school claims the opposite, that you can join them with glue.

I have seen many quality projects that join natural wood with glue and some type of joint that would not allow movement, such as a dovetail (done for visual affect). If the grain goes the same way for both pieces, and both pieces consist of the same species of wood, then the wood should expand at the same rate and should not crack.

Before I knew better, I made a large pantry be joining 4 pieces of pine board with a glue block. The boards are only 12 inches wide, and I have never had any problem with them.

I would like to build a dresser by using natural wood, and joining the four sides with dowels and glue. I would like to glue in a plywood back with a rabbet joint. I am not sure of the special of wood yet, but I may use maple. I imagine the depth of the bureau will be about 18 inches. Do you think I will have wood movement problems?

[Steve Baumgartner]

I understand that you can't glue a natural wooden table top to an apron because the wood won't be allowed to move and will crack.

However, I have seen contradictory advice on joining the side of the carcass to the top for a dresser. One school insists that the pieces must not be firmly joined to prevent cracking. The other school claims the opposite, that you can join them with glue.

I have seen many quality projects that join natural wood with glue and some type of joint that would not allow movement, such as a dovetail (done for visual affect). If the grain goes the same way for both pieces, and both pieces consist of the same species of wood, then the wood should expand at the same rate and should not crack.

Before I knew better, I made a large pantry be joining 4 pieces of pine board with a glue block. The boards are only 12 inches wide, and I have never had any problem with them.

I would like to build a dresser by using natural wood, and joining the four sides with dowels and glue. I would like to glue in a plywood back with a rabbet joint. I am not sure of the special of wood yet, but I may use maple. I imagine the depth of the bureau will be about 18 inches. Do you think I will have wood movement problems?

There is no problem with firmly attaching sides to top when the grain runs vertically in the sides and horizontally across the top. Both pieces expand and contract front to back about the same.