mitered vs dovetail vs box joint

[Cantplay]

After having made cabinets with all 3 types of joint, I have to say that despite looking deceptively simple, the mitered corner is the most difficult to get right.

The long glue line is unforgiving of errors, and it's a difficult joint to clamp properly.

The box joint is the easiest of the 3. You can cut the fingers long, and trim to size, or leave them for a Greene&Greene look.

John

[TNblueshawk]

I've done one miter cab and one box joint cab now and I would have to agree that for me gluing up the mitre one was more of a PITA. I actually glued the miter and pin head nailed it to keep it in check. I figured between the router and with it being purple heart wood that over time will darken the nail holes would not show and they didn't.

That and some of the burn marks from the router made them non visible too

[cbass]

Miter joint is easy if your stock is dead flat.like been faced on a well tuned joiner.
Even a tiny cup or twist makes for a tough time.

[mike9]

I have a router set up just for dovetailing 3/4" stock. That's its only purpose in life.

[ampmike]

I use the dominoe by festool,Tendons and glue,Ill tell you what your best tool is several bettsey clamps.Even if the board is cupped a bit they will squeeze it tight.Those clamps are really strong and I put a lot on but they do the trick.

[Geeze]

I am planing a checker board pattern head shell with walnut and quilted maple. A mitered joint will be the best looking but I am not excited about doing it. I'll hide from it until the new amp chassis arrives.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Russ

[ampmike]

Hey Geeze,I can give you some tips on making the checkerboard if you like.
Thats going to look real cool,I built my wife a chess set and it came out perfect.Have fun,Mikey

[Geeze]

Hi Mike,

The head shell is 18.875x12x9". I wanted to do 4" squares to keep the quilted maple figure visible. The current solution is to have a small strip in the middle of the flats to make up for the odd size requirements. I worked with a guy who made a chess board and explained how to cut the wood into strips and glue alternating pieces. Then cut into strips again and reverse every other 'board'. The current plan will require gluing up sections to create the whole I believe.

Did you have another approach?

Russ

[Koolaide]

I use the dominoe by festool,Tendons and glue,Ill tell you what your best tool is several bettsey clamps.Even if the board is cupped a bit they will squeeze it tight.Those clamps are really strong and I put a lot on but they do the trick.

That there is one fine looking cabinet. Loves me some tiger maple.

Nice work Mike.

Jim

[telentubes]

A miter is the weakest of the three, but has that continuous grain thing going for it. The mitered dovetail is a really solid joint, but time consuming. Finger joints are strong, but may not have the look you are after. Blowout can be an issue when milling, and glue up can be tricky if the joints are tight. The glue can set before all the parts are seated.

[Satchmoeddie-II]

I am a box joint fan myself. Miter joints are almost as weak as butt joints. Contrasting hourglass keys look nice in a miter joint, especially with a light figured maple & walnut keys. They also align it and add strength. A concealed dovetail miter is hard to do but they work great. I hate to suggest this, for fear of having my head ripped off, but have you ever considered veneers? I like reworking some of those old classic Valco designs by cleaning up the rat's nests & reworking the layouts in new builds. Pine sides, & pine ply back & baffles made those combos really sing. I have taken an open throaty resonant combo amp design, put it in a maple cab & it went so dark, I had to feel my way out of the room & regroup. Some revoicing and it was okay, but not quite what I wanted. I have done high gain amps in maple & they sounded great, but I prefer to use the fancy wood on my guitars. I like mahogany ply wood a lot too. Aircraft Spruce & Specialty has some nice mahogany ply. Try it, & see what you think. They used to make a mahogany spruce ply (alternating plys with mahogany on the outside), and the tone was to die for! It was used in float plane kits in the 1970s & 80s. I have not seen any in ages, but wow! If you like a cab with "some" resonance, but not like solid pine, that spruce & mahogany was a real treat. Being for aviation the woods are strong, light & resonant. The plywood glue dampens some of the resonance, but not all of it. The RAF rated stuff is really tough too. It is not cheap, but it is really tough & fairly light. Happy building! God, knows we are not doing it to get rich!

[cbass]

i would imagine ant decent cab builder would reenforce thier miters with biscuits dominoes dowles or something.So strength shouudlt be an issue

I said it before lock joints are the way to go F dovetails

[rp]

Somewhere on the web is some carpenter's stress test (vid?) of three types of joint, box, dovetail, and maybe butt/miter not sure, but it may have been an other interlocking type. It was serious, from a skilled guy, and well done. The strongest by far was finger, dovetail was very weak, while they look strong they will easily split at the narrow of the V when forced. So, if you use dovetails make them big? Outside my knowledge. But for a combo or cab that will leave the house I'd say use time tested box joints.

I don't think this matters much with TW heads, they don't even have handles Apparently, KF had little faith in miters too, he made sure you'd have to cradle his amp with both arms - no bashing into door frames, iron banisters, or falling down the stairs unless you bashed or tumbled with it.