Box joints for hanging cabinet

I had planned on using box joints to build the frame of a hanging cabinet ( top, bottom, sides). However, I'm starting to wonder about the weight beari ng ability of the bottom frame member. The tapers of a dovetail would make me feel a little better but with a box joint I wonder about the load bearin g ability of the bottom member. Thoughts?

Reply to
Robbie Brusso
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(top, bottom, sides). However, I'm starting to wonder about the weight bea ring ability of the bottom frame member. The tapers of a dovetail would mak e me feel a little better but with a box joint I wonder about the load bear ing ability of the bottom member. Thoughts?

Well made box joints will easily hold up the weight and then some.

Reply to
Michael

Whaaat?

Frame of a cabinet? Is that the face frame you are talking about? Or are you you talking about the carcass?

Reply to
Leon

If it's the bottom, you're loading a glue line in shear. If you are using a glue that absolutely positively does not creep (which lets out just about any PVA glue) you might be OK. But that's what dado joints are made for.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Haha sorry for the confusion - I guess my concern is the cabinet floor (bot tom of the cabinet). I've usually just used pocket holes and joined to the sides that way. However I wanted to use box joints this time. But then I st arted to wonder if glue alone would secure the bottom of the cabinet to the sides. If it helps at all, this is a wall mounted cabinet that will go abo ve a toilet in a bathroom.

Reply to
Robbie Brusso

Use a dado. If the bottom lets go and drops Madame's whatever was on the botttom shelf in the toilet you'll never hear the end of it. If it bonks Madame on the head in the process you might wish you had constructed a heated doghouse instead.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Thanks J. So should I use box joints for joining the top and sides and a dado for the bottom? There's no real rhyme or reason for my design, I just wanted to try a new join.

Reply to
Robbie Brusso

That's reasonable.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Awesome - thanks for your help!

Reply to
Robbie Brusso

Bathroom cabinets made with box joints for aesthetic reasons are fairly standard, are they not?

Reply to
Michael

usually just used pocket holes and joined to the sides that way. However I wanted to use box joints this time. But then I started to wonder if glue alone would secure the bottom of the cabinet to the sides. If it helps at all, this is a wall mounted cabinet that will go above a toilet in a bathroom.

Box joints are more than strong enough for this purpose. You're wringing your hands for nothing. If you're thinking the glue will fail, (it won't) you could pin them with a dowel which will even enhance the esthetics of the joint. My first workbench with drawers I built the drawers this way (45 years ago), before I realized how strong glue was. Box joints have lots of good gluing surface, making the joint very strong. MUCH stronger than pocket hole joints.

Reply to
Jack

I think if you do some research in many cases glue joints are stronger that the wood that they are holding together.

Reply to
knuttle

As long as you are "not" only using glue with a butt joint you should have a relatively strong joint.

Normally the bottom fits into a dado on each side. And a face frame, if you will be using that too, will add strength.

If you want a clean look, box joints, and or DT joints will be plenty strong.

Alternatively, biscuits, Domino's to reinforce butt joints will work well too.

Reply to
Leon

The cabinet will be suspended by what? The top, as in a French cleat or will there be some sort of support from the sides? Will the weight of the contents be supported by the sides or will everything be sitting in the bottom? All of that matters a lot. Personally, I don't screw around and use dovetails all-round as my preferred method of support is via French cleat which applies much of its force to the top (and a little to the back and sides but that eventually gets applied to the top too).

Not the most inspiring piece ever but this is my first try at a wall-hung display case. It uses half-blind dovetails to join top/bottom to sides:

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Reply to
John McGaw

Yours made me think of a way OP could still use his box joints - attach a second bottom or moulding to make it look like it's trimmed on 3 edges but actually screwed up into the sides for a little extra strength ? .. might make the box joints look odd though ... out-of-place .. John T.

Reply to
hubops

The french cleat idea is a great one (and one I'll likely use instead of my idea of a nailer inside the cabinet). Would it be considered sacrilege to put a brad into the box joints? Would it risk splitting?

Reply to
Robbie Brusso

I'm sure that we could figure out a score of different joining methods and, with the right materials and workmanship, any of them would probably do the job as long as the cabinet wasn't going to be used to hold vast weights. And molding and trim can cover a multitude of sins so that even unsightly joints could be forgiven. Guess it all depends on what the OP has to work with more than anything else.

When I made mine I was working with material salvaged from a kitchen demolition so almost anything goes. I used blind dovetails because I have the jig and the resulting joint is pretty much indestructible as well as invisible.

Reply to
John McGaw

Only 'til the glue dries.

Reply to
dpb

Keep in mind that a French cleat, to be the safest install, still needs a screw or two to hold it into position. The cabinet could be pulled out from the wall and fall if not permanently fastened. That said the French cleat is still a good way for one person to hang a cabinet. This is not furniture so screws, brads, etc are acceptable.

Reply to
Leon

Maybe drill a 1/8 hole and drive in a 1/8 dowel.

Reply to
Michael

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