Rabbett/Dado joints or Butt joints

[Ben Esparza]

I'm one of those woodworking types that like to dado and/or rabbett joints with glue and either pneumatic finish nails/brads or drywall screws. The plans for the Omni 10 (and other cabs) call for butt joints with the glue and screws. Have any of you done your BFM builds with dado/rabbett joints instead of butt joints? Do you fine it provided a better, tighter, leak free joint over the butt joints. I know the glue recommended is top shelf and provides an airtight and strong joint. However, do y'all think it is worth the extra time and work to take it a step further and rout out your joints with dados or rabbetts?

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I was right where you are. There is no need to rabbetts or dados. The cabinets are designed with enough internal bracing that anything more than butt joints and nails/screws is unnecessary. Do not use anything other than PL adhesive. PL is messy, but there is no substitute for creating an airtight speaker path.

--Stan Graves

[WB]

I don't think the added work is necessary, but it's not going to hurt. For the extra work your only adding a little bit of surface area for the PL glue. I like to use strips of 3/4" baltic birch about 1 - 1 1/4" wide on the inside corners. This adds a large surface area at right angles greatly increasing strength. This I've done on the Omni's. I doubt I would bother on a folded horn.

[Scott Brochu]

I am an avid woodworker, you can rest assure that were the plans say that you can butt the joints. It means that Bill has already tested different joining types and came to the conclusion that with PL and a simple butt joint it would be the easiest for the average joe to manage with out spending a lot of money to create complex joining.


Now...with all that said, When I first started out with my T39's I did Dado the folded horn part in the middle, against the walls. Let me tell you......Don't waste your time.
I now will follow my own instructions for the many more builds I will take on.
The PL is stronger than if you screwed two pieces of wood together dry.

Good luck on your build.

[bgavin]

Dado is useful for bracing with thin stock. Tim is doing braces with 1/4" stock and dados. I have not yet gone that thin, so I continue to use 3/8" and 1/2" with butt joints.

[David Carter]

Dado is useful for bracing with thin stock. Tim is doing braces with 1/4" stock and dados. I have not yet gone that thin, so I continue to use 3/8" and 1/2" with butt joints.

I used 1/4" bracing on my T39's and dadoed them. But not because I was worried about the strength of the joints. I just did it because it was a whole lot easier to get the braces to stay in place when there was a nice slot already there to slide them into.

[Tim A]

I used 1/4" bracing on my T39's and dadoed them. But not because I was worried about the strength of the joints. I just did it because it was a whole lot easier to get the braces to stay in place when there was a nice slot already there to slide them into.

Bingo.

If you want to dado because it makes you feel better, go ahead. It is totally unecessary and a waste of time. DO NOT USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN PL.

Butt joint, PL, brads.

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I used 1/4" bracing on my T39's and dadoed them. But not because I was worried about the strength of the joints. I just did it because it was a whole lot easier to get the braces to stay in place when there was a nice slot already there to slide them into.

Bingo.

+2

Butt joint, PL, brads.

+Infinity. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel...um speaker cabinet.

If you do not have a brad nailer, take the time you would have spent running dados and go get one. I'm not sure what the greatest thing before sliced bread was...but pneumatic nailers make everything short of the wheel stand aside.

--Stan Graves

[wallywally]

If you don't want to buy a pneumatic nailer you can get electric. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... ccessories or http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... =powertool

[bgavin]

Can a brad nailer be used with 1/4" bracing?

[gdougherty]

Can a brad nailer be used with 1/4" bracing?

Certainly, it's just a thinner edge so more accuracy is required. If anything it'd be better than a screw in 1/4 except for not being able to pull sheets together if necessary.

[Tim A]

Can a brad nailer be used with 1/4" bracing?

Absolutely. It's easy too. The dado typically goes to at least one end if the panel. Use a square to draw a line over the center of the dado. After the panel is installed and the braces are in, pop a couple of brads on the line. Using 5/8" brads, which is all you need, you'll find that you rarely miss. You don't need to pop the brads in both edges, just the one that's easily accessible. They only need to keep it in place until the PL sets up.

[Harley]

Can a brad nailer be used with 1/4" bracing?

Hitting it bang on while on edge, it depends on your age, your eyesight, and how steady your main hand is.

I'm being serious here !

I am finding 1" ply a lot easier...but too damned heavy to use in cabs