Edge joinery with tongue and groove

[Jason Buresh]

So i need to make a "cabinet" of sorts for my mother. It will have 2 swing open doors in the front, a solid top, and needs to be on wheels. Dimensions are 24x36x24 roughly. I plan on using 1x6 stock for the "carcass". I have been debating how to construct it. I want to avoid plywood, and to be honest i kind of want to play with my new tongue and groove plane.

If i do tongue and groove though, i am stumped on how to join the edges. Obviously a dovetail wont work, and i have been thinking about rabbet joints with nails or nice screws. I dont want the inside to have big ugly framework when you open the doors. I am starting to think it may be unavoidable though. Should i use (4) 2x4's standing vertically to nail the slats to, or what is the traditional construction method?

I am trying to avoid this looking like something someone slapped together in a garage with a cordless drill, table saw, and construction lumber. Its not a family heirloom, but i want it to be nice.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks for the help!

[steven c newman]

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A groove...meets a tongue..
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To form a square corner..
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And is easy to glue together.
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Or just stack them up as a panel..
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Corner joints?
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I used this to make a few drawers..
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Where the "tongue" is just a rebate, that fits into a dado....

IF you go to The Woodwright's Shop site...and look up "Campaign" furniture building....and watch C. Schwarz make a "dovetail" corner, that looks just like a lap joint from the outside...as the half blind dovetails are concealed inside the joint...IIRC, this is in the first of the 2 episodes....skip the second, as it only deals with installing all the brass hardware.....

[Jason Buresh]

Steven,Thank you! It never occurred to me to use a rabbet and a dado to join the corners. This seems like a good option for both strength and speed.

[mike stenson]

I have a bookshelf that was made quite some time ago (probably the 1930s, I know my great uncle made it before he joined the war). The basic construction is that the two sides are stop-rebated for the shelves, and those shelves are then glued and nailed into place. From there, the back is tongue and grooved and those have a chamfer and are set so that there's a small gap for movement. Those are then nailed to the shelves. The top and bottom are nailed on to the carcass. All the nailing is with headless finish nails that are sunk. It's a fairly common building technique, or at least was. This allows the larger piece that is the back to move, and still maintain a solid appearance.

[Kevin Adams]

443555
A groove...meets a tongue..
443556
To form a square corner..
443557
And is easy to glue together.
443558
Or just stack them up as a panel..
443559

Corner joints?
443560
I used this to make a few drawers..
443561

Where the "tongue" is just a rebate, that fits into a dado....

IF you go to The Woodwright's Shop site...and look up "Campaign" furniture building....and watch C. Schwarz make a "dovetail" corner, that looks just like a lap joint from the outside...as the half blind dovetails are concealed inside the joint...IIRC, this is in the first of the 2 episodes....skip the second, as it only deals with installing all the brass hardware.....

Steven, do you ever wish for a dedicated t&g plane or the 45 is all you need? Do you use it for dados, as well?

Thanks.
Kevin

[steven c newman]

All I need is the 45.

Was using it for dados, then the #39 showed up.....

[Jim Koepke]

In a lot of case work the backs were often thin pieces ship lapped without being glued to allow for expansion during changes of weather.

If you do use finish nails you may want to try "blind nailing" > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?232798 < This was a small cabinet with a simple molding made using a Stanley #45.

jtk

[mike stenson]

Yea, I've made quite a few pieces like that. I suppose that really the only reason I brought up the one my uncle made is it's now almost 90 years old.. and still going strong.

Also, sort of now a 'family heirloom' I guess. Nails totally have their place in furniture making :)

[James Pallas]

Miter the edges so the tongue and grooves line up. Then you could use your t&g plane to cut a groove for a spline to reinforce the miter joint. Match your boards and you will have a bit of a waterfall effect.

[Tim Best]

I am likely missing something important, but I’ll ask the question anyway...

Generally speaking is a M&T frame and panel design out of the question for a build like this? OP could still use the T&G plane to create/assemble the panels for the sides and backs.

[Jason Buresh]

Tim,

This is certainly an option, but i didnt know if there was a way to join the panels without a bunch of interior framework. Steven suggest the rabbet and dado, and i might five this a shot.

[Tim Best]

Floating panels that sit inside grooves plowed in the inside of the frame pieces. Just a thought.

[Jim Koepke]

Floating panels that sit inside grooves plowed in the inside of the frame pieces. Just a thought.

That sounds like the traditional construction of case work.

Then there is at least a dozen ways to make the panels.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

You might consider a biscuit joiner. They work really well for edge glue joints. You might have to do some sanding occasionally.

[Jason Buresh]

This also never occurred to me, and is probably the best choice for what i am trying to do

[Jason Buresh]

You might consider a biscuit joiner. They work really well for edge glue joints. You might have to do some sanding occasionally.

Biscuit joiner? Sander?

I thought this was a hand tool thread?

In all seriousness i have used biscuit joiners back when i worked with power tools and they weren't really my thing. They are helpful for aligning long pieces in glue up, but after a while i ditched the joiner and used cauls. For caul's, i just flattened two boards and wrapped them in packing tape so they wouldn't stick to the glue and then clamped them cross grain on the top and the bottom, and this helped prevent cupping from the clamping pressure.

[Jim Koepke]

Dowels are always good for hand tool work. One of these makes it easy:

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Making a tongue and groove might be easier.

jtk