miter joints + easy to disassemble

I was interested in building this:

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've read up on miter joints but was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to create a miter joint that is easy to assemble and disassemble. Everything I've read on strengthening miter joints (and miter joints in general) involves glue.

If a miter joint isn't the way to go can someone suggest and easy to assemble and disassemble joing for a project like this?

Is there a system like the methods IKEA uses available in hardware stores? I'm looking for something like IKEA joints for miter joints. I tried to find a link to IKEA joints with no luck. The joints I'm talking about have metal piece you screw into one side and a rotating latching mechanism that captures the metal piece on the other side.

Suggestions?

-ben

Reply to
ben
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Ideas:

Counter sunk screws with loose plugs Dovetailed splines, not glued - would need to be very precise Mortice out space for "L" brackets. Use veneer tape to cover. Mitred half-blind dovetails.

Reply to
FriscoSoxFan

Ben asks:The joints I'm talking about have metal piece you screw into one side and a rotating latching mechanism that captures the metal piece on the other side.

Check Rockler's website for KD (knock-down) hardware. Not sure what you'd find or use for mitres, though. Tom

Reply to
tom

I'm not sure why you would want to dissamble. What you want is called "knock down" hardware. You should actuallt be able to find it at Home Depot if you look around but you could try Wood Workers Hardware, McFeely's, Woodcraft or Rockler online for a selection of various types.

bw

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

Are you making a life-size game of tetris?

I can't think of anything that would keep a miter strong, yet be able to knock down. I recently built a small knock down shelving unit (butt joints) for a customer and used these KD ones from Rockler (as others have suggested)

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were plenty sturdy. I also grabbed the jig, it sped things up a bit. --dave

Reply to
Dave Jackson

I think you should look at that project again. It may be possible to disassemble the individual blocks, but it would never be taken apart at the miters. I agree it would be a neat piece of furniture, but precision would have to be very good to get all the blocks to fit together perfectly.

Reply to
Hax Planx

I don't know what they look like, but if you insist on not formingthe pieces by glueing the miters, you might also consider a sort of finger-joint [like a hinge] snugly pivoted with a non-rusting metal dowel. I'd consider a system of non-intrusive dowels top and bottom of pieces that fit together one on top of the other, sort of pins that don't go all the way through, but will stop it sliding back and forth as if weight wasn't enough?

Some of the shapes remind me of an old puzzle that pieced together to form a checkerboard.

Reply to
Guess who

All the other posters have good ideas, but I would be careful about building that shelf system. Did you notice the swastika in the middle of it?

Reply to
Robert Allison

You might see rabbits in clouds, but they're not really there.

Reply to
Guess who

Can we be certain that all those pieces are actually connected to each other?

As I look at it I see that the guy who mentioned Tetris was right, they all seem to be pieces from a Tetris game, and the more I look at it the more I wonder if you can't just rearrange them any which way you want. If I built it, that's the way I'd try it. Maybe find a way to attach the modules to the wall so it would be a bit sturdier but it sure looks like you can put it together to interlock the modules any which way.

So, I'd build each module as one solid piece that couldn't be disassembled and then see about locking the whole unit together once I had the final shape the way I wanted.

But maybe I'm missing something.

Reply to
else24

Yah - they're supposed to be Tetris pieces and the whole idea is that you can arrange them any old way. The kids who thought this up want $7K for 10 pieces. I know a bunch of geeks who'd love to have this if it was more affordable. So, since I was going to build one myself I figured I'd try to come up with a way that was strong, looked nice, but could also be shipped cheaply (like IKEA crap) and offer them up to the geek crowd.

This group is great - thanks for all the replies!

Reply to
ben

Beat me to it! It appears that you'd simply build the individual pieces, and then organize them any way you want. They needn't be attached, they just stack.

Reply to
Tim and Steph

Woodcraft sells the knock down hardware. I looked at the marks stamped on the nuts and I think they are actually the same ones from IKEA ie same manufacturer.

Reply to
woodworker88

The most difficult part will be drilling the holes for the screw. They are fairly long holes in endgrain which must come out perfectly in the middle of one side of the latch hole. Also, all the IKEA stuff is particle board, so they don't have to worry about grain and splitting.

Reply to
woodworker88

How good are you at joinery? That knock-down hardware probably isn't going to work with a mitered corner, but you could *maybe* use blind dovetails with a pin through them to hold them together when assembled. I wouldn't even attempt that for myself, but if you're really good, you might get away with something like that.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Reply to
Prometheus

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