Question: Attaching the bottom to a small box.

[Paul Johnstone]

Ok.. Let's say you make a small box, maybe about 6" by 6".
The sides are solid wood and dovetailed at the end grain.

You want a bottom that will extend past the sides of the box, with a decorative routed edge.

What's the "best" way to attach the bottom, since you can't avoid having a crossgrain joint?

My guess was to only apply glue on the two sides which have the same grain direction as the bottom, but I was wondering how experienced people do this.

The attached picture is similiar to what I want to make (note how the bottom protrudes).

[Bob Reda]

I'd recess a couple screws into the bottom then plug them.

Bob

[Mark Berenbrok]

Use one screw per side. Drill a shallow 5/16" hole in the underside of the bottom using a brad-point bit (just enough to countersink the screw head). Finish off the hole with a 1/8" bit. Use a #6 screw. I've used this on about 20 lap desks (the bottom is about 12 x 16") without a problem. The construction of the desks is the same as your box.

[Randy Acton]

dowel it and get away without any metal in the project

[Matt P]

Isn't it true that if the box is small enough you CAN glue across the grain without worry.. ?

[Bob Reeve]

I have made several boxes in that style and size. Just glue it and forget it. I have had zero problems. Glue is strong and the box is too small to worry about wood movement.

Bob

[Paul Johnstone]

Isn't it true that if the box is small enough you CAN glue across the grain without worry.. ?

Well, I read in a book about segmentation turning that any cross grain joint that is greater than 3/4" is testing your luck.. It may work fine, but it's not guaranteed. Now, I imagine that book is on the conservative side, but I didn't want to risk a crossgrain joint of about 6 inches. Figured someone else had already solved the problem. :)

Thanks guys for the responses.