# Walnut and Hickory Box joint stability



## Shirk99 (Aug 13, 2017)

I am building a hope chest for my step daughter. My wife wants me to use hickory front and back with walnut sides with finger joints. Is this combination going to be stable? I believe hickory moves more than walnut? 
Thank you


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

It'll be fine. By my calculation there's about 1/1000th of an inch difference per inch of width with maximum seasonal contraction (from 8 to 14%). In reality it's likely to be less, given the use of a finish and the fact that it's unlikely that the moisture is at the maximum or minimum when built. Each individual finger will very easily absorb that much difference. In fact I doubt there really are wood combinations that are incompatible for this reason.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

I agree w/Jeremy. The shrinkulator shows roughly the same coefficients of expansion between the two woods


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