Hello to the ng,
I am building a cradle for my first child who is expected in February.
It will be constructed of 3/4 cherry and approximately 18 inches
wide, 36 inches long, and 20 inches high. My hand cutting of pine and
poplar dovetail drawers has progressed to the point that I think I'm
capable of testing my skills on this heirloom project. Thus, the
sides and ends of the cradle will be joined with hand cut through
dovetails.
My question concerns the sizing of the dovetails. Given the size of
the cradle, my first thought was that 4 or 5 large dovetails (pins
approximately 1 1/2 inches wide on the outside) would match the
overall scale of the piece. After viewing the layout however, I
thought 8 or 10 smaller dovetails (pins approximately 3/4 inches wide
on the outside) would be structurally sounder.
Is this correct or is the sizing of a dovetail more of an aesthetic or
design issue?
Thanks
Dave
"Dave" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hello to the ng,
>
> I am building a cradle for my first child who is expected in February.
> It will be constructed of 3/4 cherry and approximately 18 inches
> wide, 36 inches long, and 20 inches high. My hand cutting of pine and
> poplar dovetail drawers has progressed to the point that I think I'm
> capable of testing my skills on this heirloom project. Thus, the
> sides and ends of the cradle will be joined with hand cut through
> dovetails.
>
> My question concerns the sizing of the dovetails. Given the size of
> the cradle, my first thought was that 4 or 5 large dovetails (pins
> approximately 1 1/2 inches wide on the outside) would match the
> overall scale of the piece. After viewing the layout however, I
> thought 8 or 10 smaller dovetails (pins approximately 3/4 inches wide
> on the outside) would be structurally sounder.
>
> Is this correct or is the sizing of a dovetail more of an aesthetic or
> design issue?
For a cradle, unless you start out with a 12 lb 7 oz. baby like a local
woman did last week, I don't think that there is any real structural worry
here. The baby will out-grow the cradle before he/she is going to break it!
I'd definitely stay away from the real wide pins as they do not look very
good...
John