Building simple cabinet drawers.

[JimD]

I don't look at this "best" area all the time so I did not see the question until just now. I glued up 3 drawers dovetailed on all 4 corners Tuesday night and could have take some pictures but did not because I was unaware of the question.

Anyway, I just slide the bottom in during glueup of the drawer. I put glue, using a little flux brush, on the female side of all the corners, glue the front and back to one side, then slide the bottom on, then put on the other side. The bottom helps to keep the drawer square while the glue is drying. I normally do not clamp the drawer because the dovetails fit tightly. I use a Harbor Freight jig but I usually use a Grizzly 7/16 dovetail template in it. I prefer the 7/8 increments for drawers even though it's a lot harder to remember than the 1" for a 1/2 template.

My current project is a kitchen island that is built like a dresser. It does not have metal drawer guides, it is just dust frames supporting the drawer that it slides on. Originally this was so I could have a drawer that opened on both sides of the island but LOML changed her mind and said she did not want that feature (she figures she would never get it centered in the cabinet). I had the carcass built by then so it will stay slide-less. I fit the drawer parts to the opening prior to glue-up and then I like to slide it into the carcass during glueup to, again, make sure it fits well into the opening and stays square. I sand the dovetails flush to the sides after the glue sets. I am getting tighter fits of the drawers to the carcass this time than I got last time, gaps are closer to 1/32 instead of my typical 1/16.

Drawer fronts are some nicely figured cherry. I have 5 more drawers to build so I'll try and remember to get a few photos in case somebody wants them.

Jim

[Stan]

I like BB for drawers too and I also dovetail them. I like to go ahead and dovetail the backs too, however. It is not necessary but once the jig is set up, it takes very little additional time. You also get a little more drawer space.

Jim

Jim,
How about an update to this on how you fit drawer bottoms to a 4 dovetail corner drawer? I'm assuming the bottom is placed in dado's with the back then installed?

Thanks!

[JimD]

I like BB for drawers too and I also dovetail them. I like to go ahead and dovetail the backs too, however. It is not necessary but once the jig is set up, it takes very little additional time. You also get a little more drawer space.

Jim

[Stan]

Great job Stan! I've taken the liberty of moving this to best of forum to hopefully make it easy for newbies to find. (Stan gets special treatment because he actually attended the first annual{?} NW BT3 gathering!)

Thanks Mark. And when are we gonna have another gathering?

Stan why do you use 1/4" BB rather than just a/c ply? Great ideas of making a story stick and using a clamp to bring in the sides. Now why had I not thought of that!

Guess a/c ply would work just fine, but I personally like the 'color match' better with the BB ply. Larger drawers and pullout-drawers get 1/2 BB ply for the bottom, so keeping with all BB keeps things 'standard'.

[Stan]

stan, your cross cut sled, only has one runner (if that is the correct term) that fits into the slot on the right side of the sled, correct? if so, having only one runner, does that give you enough stability?

Omar,
Yes, there is only one miter track under the cross-cut sled, with the side to side adjustment pins that come with that one, it makes it quite stable for cutting cabinet sides, shelves, etc to size.

I have a couple more pieces of track and may build a dual track sled one of these days, but for now this one does the trick. Light weight, easy to throw on the saw and go, ya know......

[Black wallnut]

Great job Stan! I've taken the liberty of moving this to best of forum to hopefully make it easy for newbies to find. (Stan gets special treatment because he actually attended the first annual{?} NW BT3 gathering!)

Stan why do you use 1/4" BB rather than just a/c ply? Great ideas of making a story stick and using a clamp to bring in the sides. Now why had I not thought of that!

[footprintsinconc]

stan, your cross cut sled, only has one runner (if that is the correct term) that fits into the slot on the right side of the sled, correct? if so, having only one runner, does that give you enough stability?

[Stan]

What's the reason you didn't do the roundovers first? Related question, what is a climb-cut?

No particular reason to not do the roundovers first. Personal preference thing.

As for a climb-cut.....

I'll link to a great reference from Tom Hintz on hiswebsite. Gives a much better description than I could come up with on my own.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/clmbcuttng.html

.

[rnelson0]

What's the reason you didn't do the roundovers first? Related question, what is a climb-cut?

[lrogers]

Wow that was a lot of dovetails! Newbies take note of the picture captioned "test cut being made and fit checked. THAT is the safe and proper way to use the fence and miter gauge. Notice how a spacer block is attached to the fence and stops well short of the blade. You can get identical cuts and not worry about a nasty kickback.

Good set of photos documenting your project.

[jhart]

Very nice, detailed write up Stan. Thanks.

[mater]

That is a well detailed tutorial Stan and a great way to make a strong drawer.

[Stan]

Nice detail Stan. What type of wood did you use for the drawers?

Sorry, guess I should have mentioned that. The drawers are made from 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood for the sides, 1/4" Baltic Birch ply for the bottoms.

[THyman]

Nice detail Stan. What type of wood did you use for the drawers?

[footprintsinconc]

cool. makes me want to get a dovetail jig.

thanks for the step by step and awesome pictures!!