I'm planning on gluing 4 3"x3" doug fir boards, mitered at 45 deg., to
'frame' a plywood box that is 72"x45"x3". I want to allow for a 50%
humidity increase (inland California spring to coastal Texas summer)
(30% to 90%). I'm assuming the ply box doesn't move, and I can
neglect the lengthwise movement of the boards as they will have a nice
large glue area to the ply box ( 216 and 135 square inches for long
and short sides, respectively). Not sure if the radial movement will
give me a problem or not; assuming boards are plainsawn.
My concern is the miters. The boards may expand as much as .12" at
right angles to the box unrestrained, which means a potential .17" gap
in the outer edge of the miter. Yuck! What kind of joinery, at a
minimum, am I going to have to employ to stop this? Or, can it not be
stopped with most practical methods? I'm assuming that gluing up the
miters and popping in a couple of dowels won't cut it.
-Chance
I've been fighting this for years. My home is 70 feet from the ocean
and I see high humidity in the summer (150%) and 0% in the winter. In
my experience there is nothing that will permit a miter joint to look
good all year 'round. I'm about to settle on all lap joints.
RB
Chance Casey wrote:
> I'm planning on gluing 4 3"x3" doug fir boards, mitered at 45 deg., to
> 'frame' a plywood box that is 72"x45"x3". I want to allow for a 50%
> humidity increase (inland California spring to coastal Texas summer)
> (30% to 90%). I'm assuming the ply box doesn't move, and I can
> neglect the lengthwise movement of the boards as they will have a nice
> large glue area to the ply box ( 216 and 135 square inches for long
> and short sides, respectively). Not sure if the radial movement will
> give me a problem or not; assuming boards are plainsawn.
>
> My concern is the miters. The boards may expand as much as .12" at
> right angles to the box unrestrained, which means a potential .17" gap
> in the outer edge of the miter. Yuck! What kind of joinery, at a
> minimum, am I going to have to employ to stop this? Or, can it not be
> stopped with most practical methods? I'm assuming that gluing up the
> miters and popping in a couple of dowels won't cut it.
>
> -Chance
I'd probably go with a mitered lap joint.
See fig 1 on the top of page 2.
http://www.practical-sailor.com/newspics/charts/878hatchscreens.pdf
Art
"Chance Casey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm planning on gluing 4 3"x3" doug fir boards, mitered at 45 deg., to
> 'frame' a plywood box that is 72"x45"x3". I want to allow for a 50%
> humidity increase (inland California spring to coastal Texas summer)
> (30% to 90%). I'm assuming the ply box doesn't move, and I can
> neglect the lengthwise movement of the boards as they will have a nice
> large glue area to the ply box ( 216 and 135 square inches for long
> and short sides, respectively). Not sure if the radial movement will
> give me a problem or not; assuming boards are plainsawn.
>
> My concern is the miters. The boards may expand as much as .12" at
> right angles to the box unrestrained, which means a potential .17" gap
> in the outer edge of the miter. Yuck! What kind of joinery, at a
> minimum, am I going to have to employ to stop this? Or, can it not be
> stopped with most practical methods? I'm assuming that gluing up the
> miters and popping in a couple of dowels won't cut it.
>
> -Chance