Hello, I am seeking advice on gluing up side panel pieces to legs posts (building a lowboy dresser) that account for wood movement so as not to have the side panels crack with expansion. I will be using hot hide glue and draw bore pinning haunched tenons. I have read about using no glue in two of the three tenons and ovaling the pin hole, similar to a breadboard joint. Full gluing all of the mortise and tenons, then pinning afterwards. Putting the panel under clamped tension near the tenons before gluing. And adding glycerin to the glue to make it flexible. Thoughts?!
Lowboy case glue up
- Thread starter EricJ
- Start date
Antiquity
Well-known member
I made a highboy for a customer in the 1990's and I glued all the M&Ts in the lowboy part and put the panels under clamped tension. A few months later he returned the lowboy because the sides cracked (they could not move). I re-built the lowboy but glued only one M&T and elongated the other tenon holes for the pins. Perfect! It never cracked again. Now I use this method all the time and have never had any problems. Putting the panels under clamped tension is a "fairy tale" as it does nothing to prevent wood movement and prevent cracking.
Dennis Bork
Dennis Bork