butterflys which grain direction to make them?
while building a 4 drawer cabinent two splits develeped on the side. why this happen is probably because
it is being restricted while expending and contracting with the seasonal change. The fact that it is on my
workbench unfinished in the cold garage for a couple of years also does not help. I have noticed that in the summer
the split cannot be noticed and in the winter it’s not that bad and does not seem to have gotten worse.
I’m starting to finish it now that I have time and I want to add 2 butterflys to the inside of the cabinent to help
in preventing it from getting worse. The question is when I make the butterfly which grain direction should they be
made? The wood is cherry , the side grain runs vertical, the butterfly across the vertical grain.
Thank you for your replies
Replies
Butterfly Keys
The key should be cut so that the grain runs along its longest dimension. The key should then be placed so that it is perpendicular to the grain of the piece of wood you are trying to hold together. If you cut the key with the grain running along its narrow dimension the key would fail right in the middle because of short grain failure. Take a look at George Nakashima's work as he used butterfly keys pretty extensively. Also take a look at this FWW question and answer page: https://www.finewoodworking.com/Community/QADetail.aspx?id=26937
Hopefully my explanation makes sense.
Nick
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