Attaching face frames

[Woody]

I'm in the process of building some floor to ceiling bookcases. The cases will (ideally) have shared faceframe stiles, that is, the tall vertical faceframe pieces will span two vertical carcass pieces.

My question is how should I attach these faceframes to the carcasses?

The bookshelves, once constructed, will be 8.5'x9' so I need to either install the faceframes in place or attach parts of them prior to installation.

I am using pocket holes & screws to clamp the faceframes together and can use pocket holes on the outside of some of the carcasses to attach the , but can't use them to attach both sides of the shared stiles because the cases will be butted together.

I could use biscuits, but can't figure out how to clamp the faceframe to the casing.

Am I stuck using finish nails? I was hoping to avoid them as inevitably you still see the filling.

I'm open to any/all ideas. Thanks for the help.

~Mark.

[Greg]

It isn't very elegant but I used 3/4x3/4 cleats on the inside. I screwed them to the face from the back and shot screws in the side to hold onto the frames. Predrill the cleats so they don't split. 1 1/4 drywall screws worked for me.

[bridger]

depending on the size and shape of the room you could use a spring stick to clamp the face frame while the glue and biscuits do their thing. rip a springy stick about 10% or 15% longer than the distance from the face frame to the opposite wall. you'll need to play with the dimensions of the rip to get a springiness that works for you. use a rolled rag or something like that between the ends of the stick and the wall and the face frame to keep from dinging up your finished surfaces. you may need several, so it's a good idea to do a full dry run with the table saw at hand to adjust your spring sticks.

[igor]

Are the shelf heights adjustable? If so, what system are you using - series of holes? If so, I can think of a jig, of sorts. Use the front series of holes to hold blocks and clamp the frame to them. Even if not using holes, if you temp screwed in some blocks behind the face frame to the carcass sides with the screw holes right behind the face frame, would they be easier to fill in a non-noticable way then would the nail holes in the face frame? I can also think of variations on this, depending on how many (small) clamps you have -- all entailing filling small holes right behind the face frame so you'd almost have to stick your head inside the bookcase to see them.

[Upscale]

I use a blind nailer from Lee Valley Tools. When finished, it's virtually invisible to the naked eye. It take a little practice on a piece of scrap, but it's not difficult to learn.

[Woody]

Actually, about 5 minutes after I posted, this was a solution I came up with. I can either screw or pin blocks into the front holes and clamp faceframes, alligned with biscuits, to them. I'm going to give this a try. Thanks.

I've seen some efforts that pocket-holed from just behind the face frame, but particularly with plywood, tear out would be a problem.

~Mark.