Glue, No glue, some glue..... What to do..

[Bill Huber]

I am just starting to plan on building a blanket chest, there is lot of that going around right now.

So I have a basic design in mind (see image below), it will be walnut all around with the bottom and back to be walnut plywood. Top solid walnut and the sides and front of panels.

The panels will be made of 1/2 in. walnut boards somewhere around 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide, set in 3/4 in rails and stiles, they will be set 1/4 inch in so the inside will be flush.

Now the question.

I plan on making the panels with 1/2 inch walnut boards that have had a 1/8 bevel placed on each side of the front and are tongue & grooved.

Should I glue the panels together and then rout the tougue all the way around the outside for the groove in the rails and stiles?

Or should I do all the work on each board and then just set them in the rails and stiles like you do a cabinet raised panel door and not glue them at all?

74431

[Gary Breckenridge]

:cool: I wouldn't use glue because of possible expansion and contraction problems. I might use a tiny bit of flexible silicone sealer just so they won't rattle. :cool: I am also concerned about end use where somebody will throw in some moth balls (naptha) which may ruin the interior finish if one has been applied.:cool: Have you thought of a cedar floor for the chest?:cool:

[Bill Huber]

:cool: I wouldn't use glue because of possible expansion and contraction problems.

That is my concerns also but I wasn't sure. If all the grain in the boards are running the same way and glued up would they all expand at the same rate as one unit. Then the panel would just set in the rails and stiles like a cabinet door.


Have you thought of a cedar floor for the chest?:cool:

That is what I was going to go with but the wife does not like the smell of cedar so that's out.

[Jim Kountz]

In reality this would be no different than any other frame and panel door. I would glue up the panels so it would react as a single panel. The whole idea for frame and panel is to allow for expansion and contraction so by design the same principles apply to your chest. Just because they are at an angle would make no difference since the groove the panel sits in is the same all the way around. Right-O??

[Greg Robbins]

In reality this would be no different than any other frame and panel door. I would glue up the panels so it would react as a single panel. The whole idea for frame and panel is to allow for expansion and contraction so by design the same principles apply to your chest. Just because they are at an angle would make no difference since the groove the panel sits in is the same all the way around. Right-O??

My thoughts exactly!

[lou sansone]

My thoughts exactly!
Ditto

I agree
lou

[Danny Thompson]

Right, treat it like a normal edge-glued panel floating in the frame.

This works because the glue joints between the strips will be in line with the grain. Since you normally only have to be concerned about expansion and contraction across the grain, and the overlapped tongue-and-grove will expand at the same rate, gluing the strips together would not be a problem.

For the diagonal panels, since the grain will be diagonal rather than vertical or horizontal, you shouldn't glue or tack the middle of the panels to the frame. If the panels sit in a dado . . . let 'm float. If they sit in a rabbet, tack or glue them in two of the corners . . at the ends of the longest board in the panel. That way, the panel will be free to expand and contract across the grain. Make sense?

I think I'd go the dado route, or rabbet with a wooden strip in the back to hold the panel in place. In a rabbet alone, the panel will be more prone to cupping.

[Jesse Cloud]

It would work fine either way, except for the diagonal version. In that case if you don't glue it, I fear all the panels will shift toward the lower left, due to gravity and you may even have a gap at the other extreme.

Another caution, if you don't glue them, be sure to apply finish to the whole tongue, or when they shrink you will see bare wood. DAMHIKT:o

[Bert Johansen]

Hi Bill,
I agree that it makes sense to glue the boards and rout the edges. However I have another suggestion (one you didn't ask for!) that refers to the solid top. I'm assuming you will be gluing up walnut panels to make the top. You might consider (if you haven't already done so) attaching a pair of hardwood cleats to the underside of the top to minimize the prospect of warping. Just be careful to slot the screw holes so the top can expand.
Bert

[Bill Huber]

Hi Bill,
I agree that it makes sense to glue the boards and rout the edges. However I have another suggestion (one you didn't ask for!) that refers to the solid top. I'm assuming you will be gluing up walnut panels to make the top. You might consider (if you haven't already done so) attaching a pair of hardwood cleats to the underside of the top to minimize the prospect of warping. Just be careful to slot the screw holes so the top can expand.
Bert

I have been thinking about the top also and I may just go with walnut plywood and use an edge banding router bit that I have been looking at.
http://www.eagleamerica.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_100-9015F_A_cn_E_55995
I think the B model would work out really well.

As stated this is in the planning stage, which means for me that I will more then likely start it sometime in the late spring. I have to plan a project to death before I start it, that way I only screw up 3 or 4 times.

[Bill Huber]

Thanks guys....

I guess I will glue the boards up into one panel and then work it just like any other panel.

Again thanks a lot, it sure help to have someone to bounce things off of.