sweet sawdust wrote:

Need some advice on gluing up a box.**This*is*a*standard*box*about*6"*x*11"
solid wood with rabbit joints on corners (for appearance). Bottom is 1/4"
ply glued to the box body, no problem yet. The top is 11/16" hard maple with
tongues cut in it to make a drum head.**I*need*to*fasten*the*top*to*the*body
in such a way that there is no vibration in the top except in the tongues.
Gluing all four of the**top*to*the*box*body*works*fine*except*that*I* get
wood movement that cracks the top and ruins the drum.

Seems to me the plywood is part of the problem, assuming the grain in the
sides is horizontal. Make the bottom of the same wood as the top and glue it
the same way. Finish with shellac inside and out to minimize moisture
changes.

The ultimate solution would be to make the ends floating panels. Think of the
tongues as being on the side of a tall skinny box :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down