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I know everyone loves pocket screws for face frames, but a glued miter on a big pantry unit failed on me last Thursday.
It was a 7 foot tall pantry for a kitchen remodel. The client wanted a clean look, no visible joinery. I went with a glued miter on the face frame, reinforced with biscuits. Clamped it up, let it sit overnight. Two days after install, I got a call. A 3 inch section of the miter had opened up at the top right corner. The seasonal humidity shift in the house must have been worse than I figured. Had to go back, inject glue, and add two discreet figure-8 fasteners from the inside that the client thankfully can't see. In my experience, sometimes the 'prettier' joint just isn't as tough as a good old mortise and tenon or even a pocket screw joint you can hide later. Has anyone else had a miter fail like that on painted work? What's your go-to for invisible but strong face frame corners?
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jesseb2019h ago
Honestly, that locked rabbet is a solid fix for paint. Tbh though, calling biscuits a reinforcement for a miter is where things went wrong. They're just for alignment, they don't add any real strength against that kind of pull. A loose tenon or even a spline would have been a way better choice to fight the wood movement.
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torres.drew20h ago
Man, that's a classic failure mode. I read a woodworking forum post ages ago where a guy swore by adding a loose tenon into the miter for long frames, says it fights the twist way better than biscuits. For painted stuff now, I just use a locked rabbet joint and fill the tiny seam. It's nearly invisible after paint and mechanically locks the corner.
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torres.drew19h ago
That locked rabbet idea is smart for paint. Ever think about cutting the rabbet a hair deep so the glue has a tiny pocket to fill? Makes that seam even less of a worry.
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