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  1. 6th March 2013, 12:16 AM #1
    Russell Cook
    Russell Cook is offline Senior Member
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    Default Joining the base of a box to the sides using through dovetails - OK?

    Hi all,

    I'm planning to make a simple toolbox for myself, and am thinking about how to join the base to the sides of the box.

    My idea was to use through dovetails to do this (as well as using dovetails to join the sides to each other), but I noticed that in my DK book the boxes generally use housing joints.

    Are there any structural reasons why my idea would not work?

    Any thoughts would be great
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  3. 6th March 2013, 10:02 AM #2
    homesy135
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    Hi Russell,

    I can't think how the box would go together without bending the wood to force the pins into the tails if the sides were also dovetailed (destroying the joint in the process). Apart from that, a dovetailed based has no allowance for wood movement.

    Regards,

    Paul
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  4. 6th March 2013, 10:39 AM #3
    Skew ChiDAMN!!'s Avatar
    Skew ChiDAMN!!
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    1. As Homesy said: there's no allowance for timber movement.
    2. Any weight in the box is supported by the glue with no mechanical advantage. ie. the glue breaks, the bum drops out.
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  5. 6th March 2013, 11:08 AM #4
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    powderpost
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    Presumably, the dovetails would be on the edge or side grain of the side boards. That's not a very good idea, the side grain is not very strong.
    Jim
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  6. 6th March 2013, 11:54 PM #5
    Russell Cook
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    Cheers guys.

    OK, so I think a full housing joint might be the best option, and doable with the tools I have.
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  7. 12th March 2013, 06:24 PM #6
    safari
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    I don"t know wether you have access to Woodcraft magazine in your location but I was browsing in the local newsagent today and came across the Feb/March edition which details the building of a tool box using dovetails top and bottom on the sides. It looks quite a neat unit and may suit your purpose.

    Cheers,

    Safari
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