Edge joining thin plywood?
 

Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

--dan

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

Dan wrote:

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

How about glue? 1/4" is a reasonable width, but you'd want to have
fairly accurate cuts.

Chris

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

"Scarf" join them with opposing rabbets.



"Dan" wrote in message
oups.com...
Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

--dan

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

On Sep 14, 5:10 pm, Dan wrote:
Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?


Luthiers butt-join pieces much thinner than that. As Chris pointed
out, you'd want a good fit.
A single pass with a 1/4" router bit (straight) along a fence, which
cuts through both pieces at the same time (sometimes called a
'dutchman') will give you a perfect fit.

The joint will be stronger than the wood, if done properly.

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

On Sep 14, 6:43 pm, Robatoy wrote:
On Sep 14, 5:10 pm, Dan wrote:



Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

Luthiers butt-join pieces much thinner than that. As Chris pointed
out, you'd want a good fit.
A single pass with a 1/4" router bit (straight) along a fence, which
cuts through both pieces at the same time (sometimes called a
'dutchman') will give you a perfect fit.

The joint will be stronger than the wood, if done properly.

Traditionally done with a shooting board and plane. Fit is
close enough that the pieces don't even need to be clamped,
just rubbed and pressed together until the horse glue cools.

Joints in guitar bodies are usually reinforced by cleats or braces.

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

On Sep 14, 5:10 pm, Dan wrote:
Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

Cut the joints straight and use yellow glue. The joints will
flex before they snap. Clamp the panels together with a "mold,"
that is, a sheet of 3/4" ply with tacks around the panels
less an eighth of an inch so that pressing down on the joint will
force the panels together -- if your finished glueup is 12" wide,
you'll have two rows of tacks on your mold board set 11-7/8"
apart. Masking tape under the joint will keep the panels from
gluing themselves to the mold.

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:10:18 -0700, Dan wrote:

Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

What kind of 1/4" ply? If it's 3 ply with thin outer plies and a
thick center then you can make a decent glue joint so long as you have
the grain of the outer plies perpendicular to the joint. If you've
got 5 ply baltic birch with all the plies the same thickness then
you'll get a better glue joint with the outer plies parallel to the
joint.

Usually you have some kind of a back or bottom on the piece which
provides a lot of strength to keep those joints from racking.

For something like a basket/tub, well I would probably make it like a
drawer. Dovetail the corners and the bottom sits in a groove. But I
wouldn't be using ply for the sides.


-Leuf

Edge joining thin plywood?
 

"Scott Cox" wrote in message ...
"Scarf" join them with opposing rabbets.


Thats a stepped scarf. Better would be a tapered scarf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarf_joint

Modern glues make this a pretty strong joint.


"Dan" wrote in message
oups.com...
Folks --

This question came up while looking at some old project plans. They
were done up using cardboard mockups to get ideas of proportion and
space.

Lots of these used the "sliding card" principle of assembly Notches in
components would all slide and click together and you would get a
useful object from a set of flat parts. The sliding method can wait
for some other day......

What I found was that one idea for a basket/Tub involved joining thin
( 1/4 inch plywood ) I had thought that perhaps it would be better
to fetch in some sheet metal and just pop rivet the edges together.
However, a trip today thru the book store ( we have the school for
american craftsman on the RIT campus ) I noticed one of the displays
had been done using a nice grade of plywood butt jointed together and
fastened with staples.

Any know of a good way to join thin plywood pieces?

--dan