hutch with one divider in between using dominos

[s1301950]

so... pretty simple project - a hutch.. 47 inches wide, 3 shelves with one vertical divider in between. Now hold you opinion on the thickness of the stock, it's gonna be 1/2" maple ply.

So my question is surrounding the joinery of the shelves to the vertical divider. I built an identical hutch before i got the df 500, and i was using pocket holes. The joining process was not necessarily easy, but it was very strong. Major drawbacks was that i Got frustrated with filling the pocket holes later.

Pretty sure the domino will solve that, using 5x30 tenons. Now my question is that, is it advisable to mortise through the vertical divider and then the two horizontal shelves would just tenon into that common mortise space with the 5x30.

Two pros:
1) guarantee the two horizontal shelves would be aligned perfectly
2) don't have to mortise both sides of the vertical divider.

but will that kind of joinery not very strong, as comparing to making one mortise for one tenon? Bear in mind that this is a hutch and will not be bearing much weight. Just some decorative stuff.

the whole ply carcass will be face framed with poplar.

Thank you all!

 

[ear3]

That's the way I would probably do it, for the exact reasons you mention.  It won't compromise strength, since the tenons fit pretty snugly in the mortises.  Just make sure that when you mortise the divider, there is something solid underneath it so you don't get too much tearout which might be exposed on such thin shelves.

But back to thicknesses.  On 1/2" ply I would normally use 4mm dominoes.  But since this is case work, the 4mm ones are pretty small for that kind of application.  I've never tried 5mm dominoes in 1/2" ply, so I'm not saying it won't work, but just be aware that you are exceeding the 1/3" rule of thumb ratio of domino to material thickness. 

But thinking about it even more, I don't like the specs for this material.  23" shelves of 1/2" plywood are gonna sag with even a small amount of weight.  Is there any way you can get 3/4"?

EDIT: Furthermore, what would you do on the sides of the casing, which are only 12mm thick?  The minimum depth on the the normal plunge is 12mm, so you will blow out the side.  You can reduce this if you use the 4mm bit, which plunges at 10mm (on the 20mm setting, since the bit is smaller than other bits), but then you have to use 4mm dominoes).  Or figure out a way to reduce the plunge depth with some sort of sleeve -- I know people do it regularly with the Domino XL, so I'm sure there must be a way with the DF500.

 

[s1301950]

I just love working with 1/2 inch stocks. Easier, lighter. I've worked with 3/4 before, but didn't see the need with our use.

The poplar face frame that is used is about 3/4" wide, so that will solved the sagging problem.

i bought some shims to control the plunge depth, so i should be ok there.

My first project with the dominos was joining countertop, and the accuracy and strength was really impressive. it's gonna be exciting to use dominos for the first time for the kind of projects that i bought it for.

 

[jbair]

Is it feasible to also place a couple dominos from the back of the shelves into the back of the hutch to eliminate sagging as well? A foot or so apart would seem sufficient. You may also want to put the domino on a wider setting for the divider and the ones into the hutch back so you obtain that little wiggle for alignment. I don't think this will adversely affect the strength. If you want to use 4mm domino's but think they're too short, remember you can always roll your own or let the 2 meet in the center of the divider.

 

[todd_fuller]

I did something similar recently with a closet but using 3/4" ply. I through domino'd the middle panels and put a domino in each joining panel (tops/bottoms). Unless you make your own dominos, the stock ones are likely to be a little short to go into and end, through a panel and into another end. If you use two dominos, you may need to cut them down ever so much to fit both of them. Do a test fit before gluing! Also, double check which side you reference from when making the shelf mortises, it's easy to get things mixed up going from side to side on panels like that (at least for me).

I'd also do some test cuts with the 5mm in 1/2" ply. You won't have much material around that domino. I built some boxes with the 4mm dominos and that worked pretty good. I bought the kit when I got my DF500, but I'm not sure I would spend the extra $$ just to get the 4mm though.

 

[s1301950]

I used the 5x30 tenons and it worked beautifully and with plenty of strength. Because it's a .5in stock, the weight of the whole hutch was considerably lighter than its big 3/4 bigger cousin. Also easier to work with. So with 10mm room, i sticked the tenons into the vertical divider first, mainly to make sure both tenons got an equal share of the 10mm. So with 5mm in the divider, the rest of the 25mm rests on the shelves.

As seen from the pics, the alignment was spot on. The assembly was a breeze too. I got the whole thing assembled within an hour.

The back is going to be just a beaded board (70" x 48"), nailed onto the carcass. That should square off the back and cut down the skew. As mentioned, the front will be face framed with 1 by x poplar. so no sag worries there.

My only nag is how to apply/remove the shim to make 8mms plunge though. I actually have to open up the cutter / shell and insert the shims. I bought the traxxas plastic spacers, so they probably won't scratch the nice shinny stainless steel. but still it's a huge hassle to switch.

i'll post back with more pics later.

 

[s1301950]

here are some pics

 

[s1301950]

another view up front

 

[ear3]

Glad it worked out [member=60923]s1301950[/member] .  How are you going to attach the face frame BTW?

 

[s1301950]

debating between dominos / pocket holes. most likely dominos