# Joining thin stock



## aareedy (Nov 22, 2014)

I am an amateur woodworker. My current project is a crib for a soon to some second child. The stock is Black Walnut and Cherry. 

My upright slats (picture attached) are 1/2" thick strips of Walnut|Cherry|Walnut, 1/4" roundover on sides.

Bottom face plate is 4"walnut|1/2"Cherry|1"Walnut|1/2"cherry|4"Walnut, 3/4" thick. Behind that plate is a solid 3/4" walnut base plate that runs the length, but is 1 1/2" inches lower. (see diagram). Slats will butt-to-edge joint against the base plate

Basically, i have 1/2"x 2 1/4" x 24" that need to joint to the FRONT TOp edge of a 3/4"x 4 1/2" x 54" board. This will have a face plat in front of it.

My options (that i know) are to:
1. dowel joint from edge of slat into edge of base plate
2. dowel joint through slat into the back of the face plate
3. M & T joints - but seem out due to such size and the fact i have to do about 50 of them.
4. I'm leaning towards a combo. i biscuit joint the end of the slat into the end of the base plate, then put one dowel through the slat into the back of the face plate.

There isnt a lot of pressure on these, as the load is mainly held by the posts and lateral plates on top and bottom. What's everyone's recommendations?

*EDIT* having issues with picture attachment


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*build it like your drawing*

Make dados the thickness and width of the strips on the front frame, then back them with the back frame.... sorta like a "mortise", but built up from separate pieces. This method could not be any stronger. The bottoms of the strip will show, but that's not all bad. The tops of the strips will also show, but if that's a problem, run a thin veneer across the top edge to conceal them.


OR instead of having a dropped portion on the inside/outside ? make a fill strip with dados to secure the vertical strips. It's also a "faux "mortise" and it may be a bit easier than my first solution.


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