Reply To: Building an entryway bench
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I have the same worry. The housing joints won’t give racking strength. Three options come to mind. Build the back as a frame and panel(s) and attach that frame like Paul did in the bookshelf video. Now the full-sized mortises in the frame strengthen everything. The second option is to have all the grain horizontal on the sides and back, dovetail them together to make a 3-sided box. Dovetail the stretcher on the front under the bottom of the cubby to keep the sides from flapping. The third idea is to make the grain on the sides be horizontal and dovetail just the seat-back into the two sides. This is the piece above the cushions. You can make this wide enough to give some rigidity. Put a groove in the bottom of it and grooves in the sides. Put another piece near the bottom of the back, again dovetailed and with a grove on its top. The groves capture a floating black panel(s). Do the stretcher thing in front, as in the 2nd idea. This last idea is a lot like making a chair. The second is like making a big toolbox that you sit on. The first is like making a bookshelf. I think all would work. One of them requires a billion dovetails, though. I’m not sure the final idea works unless you think very carefully about how it goes together. I’m afraid that the dovetails assemble in the wrong direction to slide the panel in. I guess that part could have a rabbet instead of a groove to make it go together.
Hmm. Maybe the stretcher in front is mortised, not dovetailed. Wouldn’t look good. But the grains are crossed, so think carefully.
Anyway, I think you are 100% right.
- This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by Ed.