Popular Woodworking 2005-12 № 152, страница 47

WOODWORKING

ESSENTIALS

BY DAVID THIEL

Casework Construction

Case Joinery

In chapter three of our continuing look at case construction we're going to take a look at many of the most practical joinery possibilities for building casework furniture.

As you might imagine, this is a huge topic. Casework runs the gamut from jewelry boxes to kitchen cabinetry, and there are literally dozens of ways to form the cases. Some are traditional joinery methods, such as rabbets, dados and dovetails. Others involve more contemporary mechanical fasteners, such as wood screws, pocket screws and biscuits.

Because of the volume of joinery options, we're only going to be able to briefly discuss the different types, the benefits and deficits of each joint and what casework application each joint is best suited for. What we won't be doing is showing you how to make each joint. But plenty of woodworking books can help you with this part of the equation.

Face Frame or Frameless?

Before we dive into the joinery, let's take a moment to review the two main types of case construction. Case pieces can be built with just the sides, top and bottom, with an optional back - this is called a frameless design. Carcases can also be built with a rigid front frame (formed of stiles and rails) added to the front of the box for extra strength (and it does offer a different look, too).

The type of casework construction you choose, face frame or frameless, will

help direct you to the proper joinery. In general, a frameless cabinet requires stronger carcase joinery, while a cabinet with a frame can rely more on the frame for strength and use less stout joinery for the carcase. There are, of course, joints that work for both types of cases.

And because we've mentioned frames, we need to look at two distinct

categories of joinery as well: Joinery for box construction (frameless), versus joinery for the construction of the frames themselves.

While a dovetail is an excellent carcase joint, it's not a practical frame joint. Similarly, a mortise and tenon is an excellent joint for frames, but is usually impractical for box building.