bookcase help

George Snyder <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm building a bookcase for my son in law.
>
> The plans show the front and side rails of the base are joined
> to the legs with a mortise open at the top and a 1/4 " tenon with no
> shoulder.
> Can these rails be made from 3/4" plywood or would a tenon
> cut into plywood be to weak to support a bookcase?
> Or could this joint be made with biscuits using plywood for
> the rails or should I jut use standard dimensional lumber.

Yes you can cut tenons on ply, you can dovetail it too. I suppose the
thing to bear in mind with ply in this situation is aesthetics, what are
you going to do with the edges? If you are going to hide them then this
can end up taking a lot of time and effort when you can just tenon a
piece of solid timber and go on.

Peter

--
Add my middle initial to email me. It has become attached to a country

George Snyder <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Hi,
>
> I'm building a bookcase for my son in law.
>
> The plans show the front and side rails of the base are joined
> to the legs with a mortise open at the top and a 1/4 " tenon with no
> shoulder.
> Can these rails be made from 3/4" plywood or would a tenon
> cut into plywood be to weak to support a bookcase?
> Or could this joint be made with biscuits using plywood for
> the rails or should I jut use standard dimensional lumber.
>
> TIA
>
> George

I have succcessfully built these with biscuits & decent plywood. However,
I have been known to find a means to hide a screw or three, and to add glue
blocks where they didn't show.

My furniture tends to be built for power, rather than speed. ;-) Raising
sons tends to encourage that.

Patriarch