# Beginner question: making seams seamless



## robertsfd2002 (Jun 4, 2016)

I'm a beginner. My first post about getting started with bookcase and cabinet making yielded such good suggestions, I thought I'd try a specific question.

I have a bookcase that's about 11 feet high. The side will require two pieces of maple plywood since all the plywood I can get is 8 feet long at most. Thus there is a "seam" where the two pieces meet. Also, where the front face meets the sides (i.e., the corner), there's that seam. This may be a stupid question, but how do I get that to look like one piece of wood?

I had hoped to stain it, but the seam would be obvious. Perhaps painting would make it less noticeable. But I know there must be an easy solution that I'm just too new to know or see.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Doug


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## BigBadBuford (Jan 13, 2012)

You could apply a solid wood 'frame' to the sides of the bookcase to hide the seam and give it a frame and panel look.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*painting will hide the seam the best*



robertsfd2002 said:


> I had hoped to stain it, but the seam would be obvious. Perhaps painting would make it less noticeable. * But I know there must be an easy solution that I'm just too new to know or see.*
> 
> Thanks in advance for any advice.
> 
> Doug


If you stain it, the grain pattern will be different on each piece. If you paint it, that issue goes away, but it will never be entirely "seamless". You can assemble it and then make a very shallow saw kerf in the seam to make an obvious seam out of a failed attempt to hide it. The face frames will be easier to make full length.

I don't like quarter round or any moldings around the doors in my home. so, to cover a gap between the drywall and the floor, I raise the drywall 1/2" above the flooring leaving a gap. No quarter round is needed, as it creates a shadow line and floats the drywall above the floor. Not for everyone, I know, but I like the look. 
I learned that trick in Industrial Design school many years ago.


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## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

This is a beginners answer to your beginners question. I will say this ... if the veneer is available in long enough pieces, you could use less expensive ply wood and cover it with veneer.


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## notskot (Feb 22, 2015)

You can always feature the seam using a wood frame and panel construction on the side, which would essentially combine however many number of panels you choose to make the side.

See the sides of the bookcases below to illustrate the idea. They don't have to be raised panels like the ones shown....simple flat panels would work too.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

That is a tall bookcase holy cow. Just how to handle/build it in my shop would take figuring out.

If you are going to paint it fill the seam with bondo..it works great. Other than that for staining without frame and panel look I guess would only be one veneer over top.


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## Masterjer (Nov 6, 2012)

If you don't want to do a full frame and panel, you could add a molding right over the seam.


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## Shop_Rat (Dec 22, 2015)

I would probably create a "fake" raised panel look with, say 1/4" strips, one of which would cover the seam. You almost cannot hide a butt seam like that. Even paint would be a royal PIA without careful cupping and bondo (which would probably fail later anyway).

Good luck.

By the way, are you going to build a ladder too? Eleven feet is way up there!


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## raskgle (Dec 10, 2007)

*angle*

if you cut the joint at a angle it will make the joint show less.try a sample first and see if its ok to you different wood looks different. carl.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

You could veneer over the entire length to hide the joint. Make sure the joint is good - if it's not, it could telegraph through the veneer. 

I had a project a while back that required a piece of plywood 18" X 12'. I'm fortunate enough to have a plywood provider nearby that has 4 x 12 sheets. Cost a fortune, but did the trick.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Making a seamless seams comes down to matching the grain and color. You have to have enough wood you can select two boards that look very similar. Then lay them side by side and see how the grain runs. It's easier with straight grain wood but you can arrange the boards where the grain of one board seems to flow to the grain of the other board. You might google book matching wood to see what I'm describing. 


On another note your cabinet side would be better done with plywood due to wood movement. When the wood shrinks it could cause a joint on a long panel to fail and crack open.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Finding two pieces of 8' material to make a "seamless" butt joint isn't going to work unless you trim it to cover the joint or use solid wood. We often will buy grain matched mdf from special suppliers and still yields difficulty on a butt joint.

Its easy to figure solids and plys together if you figure expansion and contraction on the solids. Simplest way,,,,,


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## Jig_saw (May 17, 2015)

Seams, corners, varying grain patterns are natural in any large piece of furniture. There is no way to hide them, except perhaps use a darker stain to make them less visible (like the picture posted by notskot above). Other than that, try using splice joints with a different piece of wood as others have suggested. However, this will lead to expansion-contraction problems.


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## Danny870 (Oct 7, 2015)

Can you get veneer in 12ft lengths? If not, build a frame and panel for the sides, or do a series of 3 to 4 fake doors. That would completely hide the seam.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

There are many design ways to make the joint (in woodworking it is a joint and not a seam) disappear. The simplest is to make the sides in two pieces that are 5 1/2' long and use molding to cover the seam. Another is what is pictured above.by notskut.

Just design the bookcase so that any joints you want covered can be absorbed by design elements.

George


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## Jig_saw (May 17, 2015)

If you don't mind, can I re-word of your title:
Making seams seem seamless


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Since it's a bookcase, I would position a shelf in the center of the seam. Decide where the seam will be, decide what height you want the shelf, adjust the seam height to match the shelf height. 
This might mean you cut the 96" back at 72 1/2". No seam would be seen. 
For the front edge, I would cover the plywood with a solid wood strip, hiding the seam.


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## ~WoodChuck~ (Jan 17, 2009)

I would just make it out of solid material. You don't need to make panels or any of that crap. Just take some 1xmaple and glue up for width. Or get rough 5/4 and glue and plane. Not sure how wide you need it, but being a bookshelf it can't be that wide. It doesn't need to be plywood.


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