Credenza Joinery Help

[Kevin Burandt]

My son and I are building a mid-century modern / contemporary credenza of walnut and steel without a frame for a clean look.


back and bottom - 3/4 ply
sides and top - solid 3/4 walnut
base - 1/8" x 1" x 3" steel




1) How can the top and sides be attached to take into account wood movement? I'm thinking of


a) bottom and back: using dominos to join
b) top: attach the center 6 - 8" of the top piece to the back and loose tenon the remainder of the back, attach the center of each side of the top to each of the sides (like breadboard ends of a table)
c) attach the bottom of each side to to the bottom piece


2) What is the best way to do sliding doors?


3) Do screws seem the best way to attach the base to the main unit?


Any help is greatly appreciated.


Kevin
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[John TenEyck]

I did a MCM set of wall cabinets a couple of years ago in walnut.

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The top, sides, and bottom are all solid stock. Only the back and center dividers are plywood. That allowed me to glue up the main structure of the cabinet w/o concern for seasonal wood movement issues. If you change your design to use a solid bottom the whole thing just gets a lot easier.

Both the glass doors and tambour doors in the end cabinets slide in dados milled in the top and bottom components. For the glass doors, the dados are milled about 3/16" deep in the bottom and about 3/8" or a little more on top. The glass doors fit into place with the cabinet fully assembled by inserting the glass up into the upper dado and then letting it drop down into the lower one. Of course, it has to be sized correctly, but you get the idea. It gives a nice clean look. Using solid wood for the bottom offers an advantage here, too, as the door slides easily and there's less chance of wear than might occur if using plywood.

Here's a photo that shows the lower dados a little more clearly.

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John

[william watts]

Your sketchup looks like the solid walnut top has the grain direction from front to back. If that's the case the major expansion/ contraction will be end to end. I have no suggestions or experience with that type of construction sorry. A veneer top could solve the problem. I just wanted to point that out, before you get replies, assuming the grain direction from end to end.

[Kevin Burandt]

Your sketchup looks like the solid walnut top has the grain direction from front to back. If that's the case the major expansion/ contraction will be end to end. I have no suggestions or experience with that type of construction sorry. A veneer top could solve the problem. I just wanted to point that out, before you get replies, assuming the grain direction from end to end.

The top grain goes side to side. The doors will too, but that's not a concern, just thinking that will look better.

Kevin

[Ethan Melad]

i agree with john - things will be easier if you just make a solid bottom (or using ply for the entire carcass would be even easier).
The vertical dividers can be installed with sliding dovetails.
Paraffin wax is helpful in getting your doors to slide smoothly.
I think screws for the base should be just fine.