Found a crazy stat about wood movement in an old textbook

I was flipping through a 1980s cabinetmaking book from the library and saw that a 12-inch wide oak board can move almost a quarter inch across the seasons. I always knew wood moved, but seeing that exact number really hit home. It made me double-check the gaps on the cabinet doors I'm building for a client in a dry climate. Has anyone else had a project go wrong because they didn't factor in enough seasonal movement?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara_sanchez7d ago

That quarter inch number is no joke. I made a solid maple desktop that was 10 inches wide and it pushed the miters on the frame apart after one humid summer. The textbook probably got into plywood being stable because the layers cross each other, so it doesn't move much at all. It's why I use plywood for big cabinet case parts now and save solid wood for the face frames and doors where you can plan for the movement.

clairer797d ago

Yeah, that number is wild to see in print. I built a big oak tabletop once and didn't leave enough room for the breadboard ends. It split a seam open by the next summer, had to fix the whole thing. What did your textbook say about plywood versus solid wood?