What do you call this antique case goods construction?

[John Vannoy]

Most antique case goods we see (dressers etc.) have side panels made of alternating 1/4" thick boards and 3/4" thick boards with 1/4" grooves cut in them. The 1/4" boards slot into the grooves and by alternating them this way, the panel can be of any length. This was apparently the norm at one time, but I guess it went by the wayside when plywood came along. Anyway what was that technique called?

[Mel Fulks]

The term I ve heard most is "flat panel construction". I associate its start with 19th century "Empire" style. Much of that
was bought by emerging "middle class"

[John Lanciani]

Panel-in-frame.

[Edward Dyas]

It's not so much that plywood wasn't available, solid wood was deemed better quality and was more readily available. Today we think of furniture companies as big factories where in the late 19th and early 20th century it wasn't uncommon to have little local shops and they were often milling their own lumber out of logs where plywood would be something they would have to buy.

[Mel Fulks]

Well, some of those Empire pieces are 1830- 1840. Never heard of plywood that early, except some small special use things made by the guy using it. But I won't say they didn't have it. Most of those Empire things ,even
the most humble painted pine or poplar pieces ,have hand dovetailed drawers. Hard to sell that stuff now even at really
low prices. My neighborhood board is showing a high style beautifully upholstered Empire sofa at only ....$6400 !!
As nicely done as it is ,I think it would sit for months in a shop with a $500 asking price.

[Jim Becker]

Frame and panel is still used today in both fine furniture and cabinetry. It's true that "today", in many cases, the panels are veneered sheet stock for both cost and stability reasons, at least in the mass market, but individual makers still often make the panels from solid stock. In either case, wood movement needs to be taken into consideration during assembly because this construction method absolutely features cross grain situations and/or differences in seasonal expansion/contraction.

[Gary Ragatz]

I may have misunderstood John's original post, but I thought he was describing something like a tongue-and-groove panel, where the "tongues" are 1/4" stock that is actually a part of the panel. I've never seen anything like that (I'm an antique, but not an antiquer.)

[John Vannoy]

I may have misunderstood John's original post, but I thought he was describing something like a tongue-and-groove panel, where the "tongues" are 1/4" stock that is actually a part of the panel. I've never seen anything like that (I'm an antique, but not an antiquer.)

I should have been clearer about what I was talking about. This picture is an example. It's the side of a small chest of drawers.

[John TenEyck]

That is classic frame and panel construction, done to accommodate seasonal expasion/contraction of the stile/rail joints and of the panels within the rails.

John

[Tom M King]

We have a roll top desk, that belonged to my Grandfather, from the late 19th Century, that has Oak plywood panels on the ends of both the base, and top. All the other thin wood parts are solid wood. Looks like still the same 1/4", and 3/4" construction, but the panels are too large, and still flat to be anything but plywood.

[Tom Bender]

That's a great method for solid wood construction. Everything can be prefinished, with a little care in the frames and tenons if glue is to be used. The panels can be finished then installed loose. Expansion will not reveal any unfinished wood.

[John Vannoy]

Here is an example disassembled