To felt, to flock, or to paper, that is the question. (and general drawer design)

[minorhero]

My next big project is going to be a jewelry armoire. I am pretty excited about it even though there are quite a few points in the design I have not worked out yet (even in my head let alone anywhere more permanent). 

 

One thing is absolutely known though. I will be making lots of drawers. LOTS of drawers. Well maybe not all that many, but considering I have never made a drawer before it sure feels like a lot. 

 

I have previously only made one small box for jewelry and I flocked the interior. That turned out well enough but for this I am wondering if its going to be adequate. I have seen 3 different ways of finishing a jewelry box interior before. Flocking of course. Then there is taking actual felt cloth and in some way affixing it to the interior of the drawer. Some folks do this by buying felt that has an adhesive already on the back that you simply press into place, others use another kind of glue to hold it down. The third way I have not seen in the wild but noticed in a recent video where Marc used some kind of parchment as a bottom. The idea was very intriguing but I don't know how it would look in person. 

 

Anyone have thoughts on the best way to finish the interior of jewelry drawers where "best" equals cleanest and spiffiest results? 

 

The next question is whether to use solid wood or plywood for the bottoms of the drawers. I frankly do not use very thin wood in my regular constructions but the jewelry armoire will likely be using wood less then a half inch thick for drawer construction. I know that wood that skinny seems more prone to movement issues immediately after cutting and planing. I am concerned that this will lead to more trouble then its worth for purposes of the bottoms of drawers. On the other hand... I do like being able to say that a piece is "solid wood" construction and meaning it. 

 

Thoughts on best way to go about drawer construction for something like this? Just to give you an idea of what I am doing, the armoire design will likely end up being about 2.5 to 3 feet wide, will sit on the floor on very short legs, then rise up about 3.5 feet before it stops being a chest of drawers and then transitions in some way into being a large  mirror. The mirror will be on hinges that will open to reveal a space behind the mirror that can be used to hang necklaces and maybe some small trays or a another few drawers, haven't decided yet.

[Coop]

Apple Wood. Several times I've shared topics with my wife as she looks over my shoulder at the lap top. You can bet your butt I won't on this one. She will look at me and ask why your wife has so much more jewelry than her

1) Back to topic at hand. I've made a couple of jewelry boxes using both flocking and felt/suede type materials. The last one, I used velvet w/ spray adhesive and liked it best of all. Several colors to choose from.

2) Would definitely use BB 1/4" ply for the drawer bottoms.

3) Brusso makes some fine looking (expensive) hinges

[Rapid Roger]

This is not a jewelry box, it is a traveling communion case and it has no drawers but,  I used the self stick sheets of felt to line it. 

I have tried gluing standard felt cloth inside boxes and not had real good luck.

The only problem with the self stick stuff is you better have it cut the right size and be square to the corners because once it is stuck down, there isn't any pulling it loose to re-position it. It is there to stay!

It's really not that hard to do if you pre-cut it to size and peel the backing as you install it starting from one side or corner and smooth it as you press it down. 

The problem I had with the real felt cloth is that it is hard to cut and keep it square and to size with out stretching it out of shape or getting a wrinkle in it when you glue it down.

I've never used the flocking but, have heard good things about it. 

 

 

Rog

[wtnhighlander]

I've used flocking on a couple of projects, and really like it better than felt. It is much easier to apply IMO, and doesn't snag on any sharp bits of jewelry. The 'parchment' lining doesn't provide much in the way of padding, but does look kind of cool. If you want a very well padded box, I say go with glued in velvet, perhaps with cornice padding underneath.

[woodbutcher74]

I watched a WoodSmith Shop episode on PBS the other day and they cut a poster board template to fit the bottom of the drawer and then stuck the self adhesive felt to to the template. You can then cut the felt  around the template and glue the whole thing to the bottom of your drawer. Just an idea.

[TerryMcK]

Hi Apple. After making quite a few jewellery boxes, side tables with drawers in, I asked for advice from the people who know what they prefer (the end customer) before I lined the drawers or boxes. My wife and my niece were some of the customers and they independently said either red or green felt is preferable. I found several retailers on Amazon who supply self-adhesive felt and it is real easy to fit and doesn't shrink.

Just measure the internal dimensions of the drawer bottom or bottom of the box and cut to size with scissors or straight-edge and a sharp knife. Remove the backing paper for the first inch and position it and then gradually remove more of the paper pressing the felt down as you do so. If you have a pressure roller (like a veneer roller or glue roller) use the roller to apply pressure to the felt to get rid of any air bubbles. Don't bother lining the sides.

 

Use 1/4" ply in the bottom of your drawers and don't use any glue. Just cut some grooves and let it sit in the grooves.

I have made drawers with solid wood bottoms quite successfully but again they are not glued in and just sit in grooves. There is sufficient clearance to allow for expansion cross grain. Typically I have the grain running left to right so the board could expand out of the rear. There is a screw in a slotted hole in the rear underside to allow for this movement.

 

 

Here is a Sketchup picture that will explain what I mean.

 

[minorhero]

Thanks guys!

 

It sounds like folks tend to like the cloth either with adhesive or without. Though the stuff with adhesive sure is tempting. I am leaning towards going to velvet which actually is available in the self adhesive variety.

 

Do folks who have made solid wood drawers find them to be substantially more difficult then ones that use plywood for drawer bottoms? 

[wouldwurker]

Apple - My only experience was with the self-adhesive velvet from Rockler (not cheap, but looks WAY better than craftstore felt).

 

My regret in using it, was that I added it last after all the finishing was complete.  As a result, the fit wasn't perfect, had some gaps in the corner, and I spent another hour cutting the tiniest bits of velvet and patching them in.   If I did the exact same box again, I would have lined the entire top of the box bottom with the velvet BEFORE gluing up the box.  This way, the edges would all be hidden in the dados where the bottom 'floats'.  Of course, then very special consideration would have to be taken to protect that bottom during the rest of the construction (maybe saran wrap!)

[minorhero]

I am thinking I will do that as well. I am wondering how best to finish the inside of the drawers and I am leaning towards something really traditional like BLO. That would be a very easy way I think to finish the insides before the glue-up and do it easily since I am going to be batching out a bunch of them.

[TerryMcK]

Have a listen to the latest woodtalk podcast #201. Marc gives his advice as to what to do inside a drawer or case.

BTW you may find it difficult getting glue or finish off velvet if you decide to apply the velvet before glue up. There would be nothing worse than trying to get squeeze out off velvet. Best applying it at the last stage of construction after the glue up and applying finish.

Follow this sequence when making drawers:

• mill stock to size
• complete joinery
• dry fit to ensure no major problems
• Finish sand the inside faces of the components
• glue up
• remove squeeze out and plane to fit case
• sand or finish plane
• apply finish
• fit velvet or felt lining
• have a refreshing beverage.

[wouldwurker]

Terry, why not sand the insides and bottom prior to glue up?

[TerryMcK]

I knew I missed something Vinny. The insides should be finished sanded or finish planed before glue up. When using ply for the bottom of a drawer very lightly sand at 220 as you can burn through the veneer.

The sanding/ finish planing I was refering to was the outside.

I've added that extra step in.

[minorhero]

I saw a video on YouTube a month back where a fella had put plastic wrap on a cloth bottom, then done the glue up with the plastic wrap in place. After glue up was complete he tore the plastic wrap off and it either came away clean or he used an xacto knife to clean up the bit that remained. Really it looked very nice.

[dwacker]

We will do the occasional silver drawer. Hafele no tarnish felt is pretty nice. I never really do sides so no help there. For the bottoms just stick it on your slightly oversized drawer bottom and cut to size on the table saw. Widen your dado a hair for the felt and it will never curl on the edges or have a gap. Yes your table saw will cut the attached felt perfectly cut felt side up.