Media console / record stand - help with corners

I am looking to build a media console that will be a record stand. I'm thinking 2 foot deep, 6 foot long, and a total of three feet high. It will have solid walnut legs, with stretchers in between, and the carcass will be walnut plywood, with solid walnut face frame to hide the edges of the ply. It will hold a turntable on top, and have three bays below with shelfs, drawers, and doors. I haven't settled on a final design yet, but I'm trying to decide what the corners will be. I've never worked with hardwood plywood before, and I found beautiful material at Russell Plywood in New Castle, DE. (BTW - they have a warehouse in New Castle, DE, and up the road in Reading, PA - these folks were awesome to deal with, their prices were good, and their stock is awesome. They were very patient with me looking over the panels before committing, but it was all far and away better than the borg stores. I ended up taking a pile of baltic birch while I was there, just great stuff)

Anyway - the corners. Do I want to bevel those at 45 degrees, and either biscuits or dominos to align, or do I want to rabbet the corners, cut the top/bottom about 1/4 short and edge trim it in solid walnut (then do dominos or dowels on the joint) - please advise me. How do I hide the ply on the corners? I am afraid that a mitred joint might be vulnerable if I don't get it perfect. Or damage to these corners will make the ply show. I can't relieve the edges with a chamfer or a roundover, it'll show the ply.

I've tried looking at pieces on instagram maker pages, watch youtube videos, etc. I don't see how these nice pieces hide the ply in the corners. What's the best strategy here?

William, please help me to understand. You say you will have frames to hide the edges of the plywood and, also, ask if you should bevel the plywood or use trim to hide the edges. Maybe a sketch would help me out.

I think the common method would be to bevel the ends of the panels at 45° and then use a spline. You can cut the slots for the spline at the tablesaw. The edging pieces applied front and back will cover the ends of the slots.

I will make a face frame for the front to hide those edges on the sides of the plywood. I'm talking about how to hide the edges where the plywood meets to make the carcass. I have to make a box of some kind, the question is mitres vs. some other method to at least obscure the ply. My concern with the mitres is they have to be bang on in order to work, and any minor impact on that sharp edge will reveal the ply.

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Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins

William, please help me to understand. You say you will have frames to hide the edges of the plywood and, also, ask if you should bevel the plywood or use trim to hide the edges. Maybe a sketch would help me out.

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Thanks.

Is a spline preferable to biscuits? This is my first time doing this on a piece where really care about these details. In the garage I just did pocket screws to make cabinet carcasses, with zero regard to hiding anything about the construction.

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Originally Posted by Dave Richards

I think the common method would be to bevel the ends of the panels at 45° and then use a spline. You can cut the slots for the spline at the tablesaw. The edging pieces applied front and back will cover the ends of the slots.

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I don't know that a spline is preferable to biscuits but I'd rather use a spline. I suppose you could do either as long as your biscuits are small enough that you aren't going to have them break through the surface.

It isn't easy whichever way you do it. If you miter, practice on scraps to make sure your setup is perfect. One of the things to watch out for is inconsistency in the thickness of the core of the plywood. If it's veneer core, start thinking about plan "B". MDF core would be the best choice, although it might make some people howl.

Back in the day, we would rabbet the two pieces together, cutting away all but the show veneer (+ a hair) on one piece. That covers the end of the adjoining piece. It's extremely fragile until you glue it together, but it won't slide around on assembly and it won't need addition reinforcement from biscuits or spline.

Attachment 387796

Bob Lang

If you're putting a face frame with doors on the front you could carry the theme of the doors through and make frame and panel end panels. Eliminates having to miter or ??? your plywood ends. Also would let you use thinner 1/4" plywood instead of more costly 3/4" if you use a flat panel style door. Don't know what you have in mind for doors.

Alternatively, you could edge the visible ends of the plywood with solid wood. Wood edging could be thicker, 3/4" ish, so it looks like a panel coming from a different direction, or it could be thinner, 1/32" ish, to minimize visibility. You could do the same with the top if you're using the same material as the case.

Thanks for the suggestion and the diagram Bob. I like this, and I suspect it’ll be a challenge on the larger pieces with the equipment I have. I used your suggestion on a smaller box I was making yesterday it worked very nicely. Those pieces were small so I had good control as they passed over the dadoe stack. The large panels may be another matter. But I like this! Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Bob Lang

It isn't easy whichever way you do it. If you miter, practice on scraps to make sure your setup is perfect. One of the things to watch out for is inconsistency in the thickness of the core of the plywood. If it's veneer core, start thinking about plan "B". MDF core would be the best choice, although it might make some people howl.

Back in the day, we would rabbet the two pieces together, cutting away all but the show veneer (+ a hair) on one piece. That covers the end of the adjoining piece. It's extremely fragile until you glue it together, but it won't slide around on assembly and it won't need addition reinforcement from biscuits or spline.

Attachment 387796

Bob Lang

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Thanks Tim. I think the final solution will be a combination of your suggestion and Bob’s suggestion. I’ve been watching a cabinet maker on YouTube do edge banding and he makes it look so easy (famous last words).

The carcass will have three bays - one with drawers, one with a door, and one open for vinyl record storage. I will have the drawers and door cut from the same panel so all the grain matches. Should look sharp once I get past this corner dilemma.

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Originally Posted by Tim Bueler

If you're putting a face frame with doors on the front you could carry the theme of the doors through and make frame and panel end panels. Eliminates having to miter or ??? your plywood ends. Also would let you use thinner 1/4" plywood instead of more costly 3/4" if you use a flat panel style door. Don't know what you have in mind for doors.

Alternatively, you could edge the visible ends of the plywood with solid wood. Wood edging could be thicker, 3/4" ish, so it looks like a panel coming from a different direction, or it could be thinner, 1/32" ish, to minimize visibility. You could do the same with the top if you're using the same material as the case.

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Originally Posted by William Chain

Thanks for the suggestion and the diagram Bob. I like this, and I suspect it’ll be a challenge on the larger pieces with the equipment I have. I used your suggestion on a smaller box I was making yesterday it worked very nicely. Those pieces were small so I had good control as they passed over the dadoe stack. The large panels may be another matter. But I like this! Thanks.

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A featherboard (or other hold down) directly above the cutter will help. Or, you can make a rough cut first with the dado stack on the table saw and finish with a router. Best results would come from a router table setup where the finished face is down and the cutter is above. That would ensure that the little flap is a consistent thickness whether or not the entire piece varies in thickness. It would be a good idea to add something to the outfeed side of the router table fence so that the core is supported. Probably a good idea to do that on the table saw as well -- the face veneer that is left is very fragile.

Bob Lang