Thread: Sideboard Build

There's a couple of ways to tackle this.

build the side as a frame and raised panel, then attach legs.

image.jpg

For the base, use plywood with a solid timber front edge. Alternatively, make it a frame assembly, with ply infills.

Hope that helps.

cheers, ajw

I'd advise putting some small legs in the middle as well to stop it from sagging

Originally Posted by sprog1

My problem is, how can I fix the base to the sides & because the feet go top to bottom, at the front & back
allow for any movement in the wood.
If the sides had been slab sides, the base & the sides would have moved together, but because there is a frame for the raised panel sides, they won't move,but the base will, & also with the feet at the front & back, they will also stop the base from moving
The top should not be a problem, I will use buttons, not sure if I should do breadboard ends to help keep it flat or not.
The top will be 4 boards 1 1/4 in thick & the bottom will again be 4 boards, but only 1 in thick, then lipped to make it look thicker
Any idea's anyone?

Well Asked sprog1,
I had to solve that problem once and it has a lot to do with an interesting point in the furniture history of furniture making.

Basically there were joiners who constructed in the panel and frame method roughly before 1680 to 1700 I think . Id need to go back to the books to be accurate with this.

And after that came Cabinet making where tops and bottoms of cabinets were dovetailed and joined to each other differently . Interestingly this sort of coincided or drifted in with the importation of more suitable timber in the age of Mahogany which started in 1730 roughly.

Some examples mix both styles between these years .
To your question though.

There are only two traditional ways it was done back in the old days. The bottom is either a glued up board that sits on four level cleats that are nailed and glued around the bottom to form a rebate on the two ends and front and back. Thats the easy way . The bottom could be nailed down to that or just sit on it . The boards also ran from front to back a lot of the time and were nailed in but not glued together to each other.

Or The harder way was to plow a groove into the sides back and front, and the tapered edges of the base sat in that and had to be fitted as you were putting the whole carcase together , it was cut to go around the legs.

A more modern way would be to screw in or shoot the cleats on with a nail gun and sit a bit of manufactured board on it .

Panel and frame carcase construction is panel and frame on the ends and horizontal rails tenoned into the legs across the front and back sometimes like yours the front is framed because of the drawer and door dividers . The back rails sit in further and the back is boards attached with nails. Im sure the whole back could also be a separate panel and frame which could also be fitted into a rebate on the back sides . Probably used where the upper portion of a cabinet was seen from the front like the back of an early English Oak or Walnut bookcase.

Rob

My problem is, how can I fix the base to the sides & because the feet go top to bottom, at the front & back
allow for any movement in the wood.

With a frame-and-panel carcase, you could add a full panel to the side frames with sliding dovetails or dados.

Below I have used a frame for drawers. Your panel would replace this ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by ajw

There's a couple of ways to tackle this.

build the side as a frame and raised panel, then attach legs.

image.jpg

For the base, use plywood with a solid timber front edge. Alternatively, make it a frame assembly, with ply infills.

Hope that helps.

cheers, ajw

Thanks for that AJ but they want all Oak, plus the Ply over here is the worst I've seen, it's no good for decent work. Thanks anyway

Sorry about the late reply everyone, but I've been away
I think I've cracked it, after reading your reply & having a think, which is something I don't do very often, I've come up with this.
I've put breadboard ends on the bottom, which will fix onto the end panels, I've made them the so that they are just a bit wider than the pillars, & I've doweled & glued them in the front tenon, so hopefully the base will expand backwards.
I'm them going to have a frame at the back with 3 panels, but the frame will have a rebate in it, so that the bottom can expand, also the 2 dividing panels will go into a grove in the back frame so that they can expand.
The top will have breadboard ends, & be fixed by buttons, hope all that works.
Thanks for your advice Rob, has I said, it got me thinking

Nice work Derek, hope mine come out half as good

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

I'd advise putting some small legs in the middle as well to stop it from sagging

Hi Elan, yes you are right, I will put some on, Thanks