I am putting a Tung Oil finish on this valet, a project for a grandson. I decided to apply the finish before assembly so as to avoid having to deal with wiping oil into and out of interior corners.
To protect the glue joint faces, I taped off the ends of the front and back pieces that fit into the dadoes in the sides. I also taped the 3/8" dadoes on the inside faces of the sides (face down in this picture). I did not tape the 1/8" x 1/8" grooves that the box bottom and tray bottom fit into - figuring if I was careful, I could keep the Tung Oil out of those narrow grooves. I was wrong, after four coats, most of the groove surfaces have oil on them. The bottoms are 1/4" ply with a rabbet on each edge to fit into the grooves. I was planing on gluing the bottoms in place for added strength as the dadoes in the sides for the front and back are only 1/8" deep deep.
Two questions. Will the oil in the grooves adversely affect the glue joints to the point the joint is likely to fail? If so is there any way to remove Tung Oil from a 1/8" groove without damaging the finish on the adjoining faces?
Thanks,
Tom