January 2, 201214 yr I am building a toy box for my granddaughter,  16"x16x"x36", out of pine panels. My choice of wood was due to ease of construction and that she is 5 years old. I'm sureit will endure some rough treatment.  The front and side grain all runs east and west.What is the simplest and best way to secure the bottom to avoid the problems thatcome with contraction/expansion. I am going to use buscuits/dowells to secure the sides to the front and rear.Thanks
January 3, 201214 yr Ron, have you given any thought to cutting a rabbet around the side panels and letting the floor float? Ron DudelstonAbove and Beyond WoodWorks
January 3, 201214 yr Author Sounds good, how much of a gap do I leave between where the bottom will float/fit in the dato/rabbets?
January 3, 201214 yr I usually leave an inch on the cedar chest I build.John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
January 3, 201214 yr Ron I usually cut dados for the bottom to sit in. I leave about a inch from the bottom to the dado. I do stopped dados on the sides. I usually do dovetails in the corners so I don't go through my dovetails.John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
January 3, 201214 yr I'm going to be different here. I would say the movement is going to be negligible in this piece. And I am going to assume your using flat sawn as that is the most prevalent in pine. Flat sawn moves the most, quarter sawn moves the least. If your fortunate enough to have some quarter sawn Ron, then forget the movement altogether with a 16" deep chest. Maybe leave an 1/8" on each side just to give ya the warm and fuzzys. Remember, all your movement is going to happen across the grain, not with the grain. With the grain will be microscopic, if you do get movement, it's across the grain. Take your pick, 1/16" 1/8", it'll work. With a 16" deep bottom, you got nothing to worry about. Not to mention your in dry climate as well like me. And if that chest ever made it to the tropics, again the movement across the grain wouldn't be much. Your material is kiln dried I am assuming, this helps allot too. So, a little gap on the sides across the grain, don't sweat the end grain sides, they won't move at all, and let the movement if any happen in the dadoes. John MorrisThe Patriot Woodworker
January 3, 201214 yr When I built the 2 for my grandsons, I do stop dado's and grooves. I gave them a 1/16 of an inch for expansion and so far everything is working out just great. I also made the bottom panels out of 1/2" birch ply. The rest of the box was select pine. Hope this helps.Wayne MahlerGod bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.
January 3, 201214 yr Author Thanks for all the info. I had no idea how much it may move. John is correct about the sow humidity here, it is nearly constant indoors, year round. Now I can proceed without much worrying.Â
January 3, 201214 yr Ron, I am so sorry, I was reading that whole message wrong. I was giving you how far up I put the dado on the side not the space between the bottom and inside of the dado. Sorry my friend, I was apparently in a brain lock. When I do the cedar chest, I use plywood for the bottom and then cut cedar into thin veneer and cover the bottom with that. Since it is plywood and not too worried about the movement, I usually just leave about an 1/8" and may silicone balls and put in there for spaces.John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
January 3, 201214 yr Ron, According to my movement app, on Western White Pine, if the humidity is 20% and the temp is say 75 degrees and it is flat sawn, the movement on a 6" board is 1/32.Not sure it that helps at all.John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
January 3, 201214 yr Ron, it looks like you have a MC variance of about 3% per season in Colorado which needs to be calculated into any project your building. Using the Charts I've listed below you should easily get by with 3/16" to 1/8" on Tangential movement if you use a Pine glue up panel-http://workshoppages.com/WS/Articles/Wood-Movement-Charts.pdfhttp://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf  ( Table 2 / Page 4)Smitty
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