Stretcher/Top Blind Dado (or lack thereof)

[Mike Seisser]

Did a search and most of the posts are years old on this topic. I can't get a tenon on the top edge of a left-right stretcher nor the dado in the top that adjoins it.

Sincerely hope I've just missed something simple (as is usually the case) or that I'm not searching the Forum correctly. Any help/suggestions/solutions/workarounds would be appreciated.

Thx.

Mike

[Josh Rayburn]

Hi Mike,
You will need to add the stretcher, then locate or "adjust" the stretcher to where you want it, then select the stretcher again and go to Construction Settings with it selected for the joinery to be applied. In other words, line it up perfect, then add joinery. The stretcher is always in the middle of the cabinet when it's first added, so there are never any tenons on any more than two edges to start out.
Be sure that when you go to CS for the second time that the width has not been changed as a result of locked adjustments, CS will revert it back to the size in the CS dialog and ignore the locks.
HTH
jnr

[Scott G Vaal]

Mike,

To add just a little more to Josh's explanation: When you add in a stretcher, it will only apply construction to an edge if it is exactly flush with a mating part. Then, it will not automatically put construction on when a previously non-flush edge is adjusted to then be flush with another part.

Another way (and the way I like to do it) is to locate/adjust, then return to the main cab editor area, right-click on the stretcher, then go to the Construction "fly-out" menu and choose the construction for the top or other edges (see attached picture). Hope this helps...

[Mike Seisser]

Thank you gentlemen.

Here's to me once again overlooking the obvious.