you could also put a dovetail in the back of the dado -- one at the front,
one at the back. I'd tend to go with securing the shelf to the back
though.... A lot easier...

--JD

"Gregg Germain" wrote in message
...
Test Tickle wrote:


: Sliding dovetails that long can be a bear to fit, and a major problem
: comes when you add glue - the moisture swells the joint, and it can
: lock up when you are only partway assembled.

: What the olden-days cabinetmakers did was to cut a full-width dado on
: the carcase, and make just the first few inches (where it shows, on
: the edge) a sliding dovetail. The dovetail locks the carcase together
: from side-to-side, and the tongue-and-dado gives great support for the
: shelf or other horizontal surface.

: This method has worked more easily for me.

I can see where the short dovetail - at the front of the carcase I
presume - would hold the sides onto the shelf.

But what about the back of the carcase? What keeps that from
separating?

I suppose that if the back of the carcase is planked with poplar in a
rabbet then that would do it.



--- Gregg
"Improvise, adapt, overcome."

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