shelf joinery and wood movement

[dustyone]

Hello,

I'm finishing up a pair of night stands, and I would like some input, before I assemble and glue. The design is simply two side pieces joined to an upper and lower shelf, and top. My question is, will there be any problem with wood movement if I join the shelves to the sides using a dado/rabbet joint? The original plan calls for a mortise and tenon arrangment, which didn't appeal to me.

Thanks,

Curt Blood

[kzinNOSPAM99]

Quoting Tage Frid regarding what you are trying to do.

"I would never use a fully-housed dado joint. There are no shoulders to lock the wood and help resist sideway stresses. Also, if the wood is sanded after the joint is cut, the piece becomes too loose. If there are imperfections in the wood, the piece will not fit tightly."

He suggests either tongue and groove, mortise and tenons, or a sliding dovetail, but also notes that you must use a spline to use T&G in composition board.