grain orientation on furniture

[Handplanesandmore]

Re Yetloh post

+1

Win the battle that matters. Who would notice the grain difference if things are kept on the shelves?

Simon

[ez-duzit]

...Furniture making is hard enough without beating ourselves up about things that don't matter...

Details matter.

[Handplanesandmore]

A single-sheet back panel also offers one important advantage: It squares up a cabinet or case with little effort during the glue-up stage. If you have done enough large-scale stuff, you know how squaring up your carcass is important for fitting doors, etc.

Unless my client specifies a certain back (eg a tongue & groove back) for which I charge more, I always fit a back with a single sheet, never split.

No point for making your shop life harder as people admire the work that they can see. If you are submitting your work for a competition, the story, of course, is different.

Should add that if you build only one or two pieces a year, you can do whatever you want, as I know a couple guys who can afford to spend months and months on just one single build.

Simon

[TomFromStLouis]

Great discussion. Details matter but sometimes nobody else will know, so for me it comes down to the kind of work you want to do. If you are cranking out production volumes then shortcuts for things "nobody else will see" become necessary. That is not the kind of work I wish to produce so when I faced a very similar situation I made a triple frame and panel that made the back as nice as the rest of the piece. No ply. The shelves are now full of books and nobody knows. Except me, and that is enough.

[Yetloh]

Some details matter others don't or are highly debateable

I'm surprised that anyone really thinks a three panel ply back will look beter.   For me, three separate butted ply panels is not getting the details right, the joints between panels would look as unsightly from the inside as from the back and this would outweigh any superficial "rightness" conferred by "correct" grain orientation.  Tom's suggestion of a three frame and panel back would look great but would also be an altogether different animal. 

Jim

[ez-duzit]

As long as joints fall on the vertical dividers they won't be seen. Another way to achieve the same look is by veneering the back using veneer or 1/8" ply with the grain oriented vertically. Easy to make it right. But I understand that many would rather take shortcuts and call it "good enough".

[DaveR1]

Yetloh, I,m surprised you think the seams would be unsightly from the inside of the case. The seams between the panels wouldn't be visible from the inside because they'd fall behind the vertical dividers, as I wrote in my original post.

An alternative would be to make a frame and panel back with vertical stiles centered on the dividers.

[Yetloh]

Dave,

You're right of course - I was overlooking the internal dividers.  However, I still don't see any good argument why one grain orientation for a ply back should be considered right or considers it to spoil the piece or be a mark of poor workmanship.  OK three single panels will align the grain with the sides but a single ply panel will align the grain with the top and bottom panels which seems very acceptable to me.

Jim

[7DWW]

The grain should for sure run vertical especially if it's something you are gonna look at everyday. Not sure what thickness ply you are using for the back, but you should be able to find what is commonly referred to as 8x4 ply. I know I can get it in 3/4" but never asked about 1/4". Feel free to reach out if you're near Chicago.

[wood2woodknot]

Am I missing something here?  What is the grain orientation for the top of the piece? Long ways I would assume. So the the back would be a continuation of same, as though the top were folded over and down the back. Plus, as has been said, would it be visible anyway?