How to - fasten trim piece to end grain?

[Terry Achey]

Thought I would post this question to the residnet panel of experts here at the Sawmill. I'm building my first base cabinet. Actually, it's going to be a free standing 4-door / 4-drawer appliance cabinet. I'm planning to use a 1" thick butcher block type material for the top. Believe it or not, the stock is actually laminated planks used for heavy duty truck beds. I've used this stock for workbenches and shelving and it's actually pretty nice looking. I'm told it's made from a variety of South American hardwoods. My cabinet is maple and I'd like to glue a maple trim board to the edge of the table top to hide some of the laminate seams, etc.

My question: The sides of the top (end grain) are about 21" deep. Do I need to be concerned about glueing across the end grain with the maple trim? If so, how would you recommend that I fasten the maple trim across the end grain?

Thanks in advance for your comments.
Terry

[Jamie Buxton]

Yes, with a 21" width, you should allow for expansion and contraction across the grain. Me, I'd just let the end-grain show. However, if you want to put a piece of trim there, with its grain direction running the 21" direction, the joint between it and the butcherblock should be sliding. You could use the joinery details from a breadboard end -- a deep tenon into the end, secured only at one point.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'd dado the ends of the top to form a tenon.....mortise the trim. Drill and peg in 3 places....after drilling through the trim and the top for the pegs, remove the trim. Leave the middle hole in the dado it's original size. Enlarge laterally the holes at each end of the dado. The pins could be made of a contrasting wood. Glue the pin in the middle. It's job is to prevent side to side movement of the trim. The enlarged holes on the other pins would allow for expansion and contraction of the top and yet prevent the trim from coming off. I hope this makes sense.

[Chris Friesen]

Yes, you should worry about movement.

The best two options are to use sliding dovetail keys or breadboard ends. The dovetail method is described in FWW #122 and looks like this from the end.

http://www.chbecksvoort.com/images/edgemldg.jpg


Either method would work, but for a regular cabinet where the top is basically the same size as the sides I'd be more inclined to go with the dovetail. If you're planning a to have the top overhang the sides significantly, then a breadboard would work.

It's also possible to just glue/nail the trim piece in the middle, and use nails only at the ends. This will work, but the nails will tend to work their way loose over time.

Lastly, you could use screws in oversized holes or slots, with plugs to hide the screws. This is not as elegant as either of the first two options, but would do the job in most cases.

You mentioned that the cabinet is freestanding. Is there a "front" to the cabinet?
If so, you'll want to glue the front couple inches of the joint, so as to force all the movement towards the back. If there isn't a front, then you could pin or otherwise fasten the joint in the middle to keep the movement equal on both sides.

[Terry Achey]

Thanks for the sound suggestions. I'll give it some more thought and select one of the options.

Terry

[Frank Drew]

Do you plan to trim around the entire top, or just the ends?

In any case, as the others have said the top is going to expand and contract across its width and the trim piece won't. I'd do without the trim and just let the end grain show.

[Terry Achey]

Yes, Frank. I was hoping to trim around the front and two sides. And, your suggestion is certainly going to go into the mix for consideartion.

Actually, that was my original plan but I thougth I would hide some joint lines by trimming the top. Perhaps I need to simply better hide the joint lines. :D

Terry