Cutting drawer front directly out of the cabinet face

[GarryP]

Is there a good technique for cutting a drawer front directly out of the cabinet face material? I can see how it can be done for rough shop cabinetry using plywood for the cabinet face and cutting drawers and doors directly out of it. 

 

I want to build a hall table with a shallow set of drawers like in the sketch below. I'd like to cut the drawer fronts out of the 6" high face to maintain the grain and simplify construction..

 

[Trip]

Here's a thread over at NC Woodworkers discussing your situation...

 

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16136

 

and another at Sawmill Creek:

 

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?181244-How-to-remove-drawer-front-from-apron

 

I use the method presented -- works well...

[Bombarde16]

Typically, this is how it's done:

- Mill the apron two saw kerfs wider than necessary.

- Rip the apron in three pieces.  Chop the middle piece as needed to create drawer fronts and dividers.

- Glue the apron back together.

And this gives you a grain matched front such as this:

With your design, however, the dividers between drawers look too short for this.  You'll want the grain running up and down there, rather than in line with the apron.

[GarryP]

Wow, you guys are prompt! Thanks for the feedback. That sounds like an excellent solution. I can adjust the drawer width to allow a bit more width for the dividers to make sure they're stable.

 

I'm thinking I can adjust the position of the dividers slightly to close up the gap made by the saw kerf to 1/16". I'd start with the skirt a little long, then cut to final dimension after gluing. Then carefully trim the drawer front height to create the same 1/16" gap.

 

This table will be mahogany so I expect the glue joints will not be noticeable. On the other hand, I could glue a thin contrasting strip in the glue joint to provide an interesting accent. Hmm...