Building a DAC chassis out of 3/4" solid mahogany used for base and 4 sides. Top wil be 3/16" perforated aluminum. Dimensions are 12"x16"x5". Sides will be connected together using mitered edges. Aluminum top will be screwed down into top of sides.
Do I need anything other than glue (wood screws, etc.) to glue the 4 sides together, or the sides to the mahogany base?
Do I need anything other than glue (wood screws, etc.) to glue the 4 sides together, or the sides to the mahogany base?
Well, there may be a couple of issues.
First - as you likely know - wood movement can be an issue with cross-grain joints. You are probably OK with Honduras mahogony (Swietenia macrophylla) but some of the other "mahoganies" can move quite a bit; and 12" is quite wide.
Second, if you decide to make the ends with vertical grain to avoid the first problem, you are now gluing end-grain to end-grain, which is a challenge for most glues. A possible solution is to put in a couple of small butt-blocks at the joint (not a single full-length cross-grain block, of course). This will also help with aligning the joint while gluing up, since mitre-joints made slippery with glue are awkward without such things as biscuits, splines, or dowels.
First - as you likely know - wood movement can be an issue with cross-grain joints. You are probably OK with Honduras mahogony (Swietenia macrophylla) but some of the other "mahoganies" can move quite a bit; and 12" is quite wide.
Second, if you decide to make the ends with vertical grain to avoid the first problem, you are now gluing end-grain to end-grain, which is a challenge for most glues. A possible solution is to put in a couple of small butt-blocks at the joint (not a single full-length cross-grain block, of course). This will also help with aligning the joint while gluing up, since mitre-joints made slippery with glue are awkward without such things as biscuits, splines, or dowels.
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