Gluing solid wood bottoms

Generally speaking, you are correct—you should NOT glue a solid bottom into a dovetailed box.

You CAN, however, tack glue along end grain in the center of the panel with the rest left loose—that would still allow expansion without catastrophic results.

Some people glue along only one edge for a similar result, but to me that puts a high burden on the other edge for all of the expansion clearances.

Also note that the rules can be fudged if your bottom is plywood or MDF instead of solid wood, as there is minimal expansion with these materials.

-- "Hard work is not defined by the difficulty of the task as much as a person's desire to perform it.", DS251

I know it goes against conventional wisdom, but I have made many, many boxes with glued-on solid wood bottoms and/or tops, and I have yet to have a single problem caused by wood movement. I will add the caveat that here in southern Louisiana humidity levels remain pretty high throughout the year, so wood movement might be somewhat less of a problem than it is in colder climates.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Thanks guys.