TomInNC Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 It seems like recommendations are all over the place on how thick the material for drawer boxes should be. I have 2 books that say you should use 1/2 " on the sides and back and 1/4" on the bottom. Another book says to use 1/2" on the sides, 1/4" on the bottom, and 3/4" or 5/8" on the front/back. I've seen people on the forums claiming 1/4" bottoms are too flimsy for drawers that hold anything even remotely heavy. The drawers I need to build will hold silverware, snacks, and some glassware. Is 1/2" on the front/back with a 1/4 bottom enough to hold glasses? Or should I beef up the bottom and/or sides? I plan on constructing the boxes using box joints with the panel captured in a groove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 1. Will the drawer have a false front? Assuming it will if you are using box joints. I would use 1/2” on all four sides of the box. 2. What size is the drawer? If not unusually large, I think 1/4” bottom should be fine. Do you cut your box joints on a table saw? I cut mine on the router table with a jig and it doesn’t do well with ply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomInNC Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Yes on the false front. Drawers will be 21 inches deep and between 17 and 22 inches wide. For the joints I use the Incra jig with the dado stack. It's worked well enough on ply in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 With those dimensions, I think 1/2” & 1/4” should be good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I have drawers that size with quarter inch Baltic birch plywood bottoms. They have carried a fair amount of weight with a frequent duty cycle for a decade or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I think your 1/4" ply bottom will be fine. I have even used 1/4" it the bottom of some shop tool chest that hold some pretty heavy tools and haven't had any failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 1/4 bottom. 1/2 sides if plywood. 9/16 for solid. On a 22w drawer you may add a divider from front to back. I have that in my own kitchen and I like it. BTW your drawers should not be wider than 24. You then need special and expensive hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 The "Sagulator" tool is intended for shelves, but by including the 'edge strip' option that is the depth of your drawer front, it should be pretty close on how much the drawer bottom can sag under a given load. You might be surprised at what a 1/4" bottom panel can support. https://woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 You can make drawers 1/2 sides, 3/4 F&B. You can do 1/2 all the way around. You can do 1/4 bottoms or 1/2. It’s the shop/builders choice.. Dovetails? Different.. Commercial drawers get 1/2 bottoms, but I only use 1/2 on extra wide drawers.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomInNC Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Aside from aesthetics, is there a reason for making the front and back thicker than the sides? I've seen this approach mentioned in several books -- and all of the drawers in my house have thicker backs and sides -- but I'm not sure what the advantage is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted October 17, 2023 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I will toss this out there fully prepared for opposing views or corrections . . . Think about your drawer front and back like a door or window header. The sides are either supported by mechanical slides or rest on side or bottom rails. The front and back being a little beefier provide strength. The corner joinery passes this strength to the drawer box as a unit. Some real engineer will help me out if I have just convinced myself that this is so 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 #1…a lot of shops use up scraps of 3/4 finished ends, etc #2…I like 3/4 cause I Ives me more glue staple/pin. #3 sometimes it works wit( their staples and screws. Shops use certain products to eliminate waste in the shop. 1/2 BB comes in 60x60. You get a lot of yield, but yo7 start trying to figure fronts and back, that can be expensive.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 When I was building new houses with cabinets, there was no good plywood supplier within 2 hours one way. I just used Birch plywood from building suppliers, but it was better than big box plywood these days. I used 1/4" for stacked drawer bottoms, and 3/8 for everything else. 5/8's almost always White Oak for the drawer bodies-all parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 18, 2023 Report Share Posted October 18, 2023 Many shop just use Lauan for drawer bottoms and backs. We will take a 48x96 and rip 19” off and use the 19” for drawers and the 29” for backs of upper cabinets.. Theres no waste in the cabinet shop.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 The reason the recommendations are all over on what drawers "should" be is because there is no should be. They can be anything. I've made drawers with 1/4" sides and 1/2" bottoms. I've made drawers with 3/4" sides and 1/4" bottoms. The most recent drawers i made had .04735" sides because that's where the milling marks went away. The reason I bring this up is because it doesn't matter. Don't worry about it and just build with the material you have or can afford. It'll be fine, ok well maybe don't use 1/8" hardboard for drawer bottoms. It'll still probably work but I might not want to risk that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 “The reason the recommendations are all over on what drawers "should" be is because there is no should be.” Hobby woodworkers are all over the place. Cabinets shops aren’t.. When you have a residential shops you make drawers a certain way. When you have a commercial shop , you make drawers a certain way. Theres no all over the place when making a living.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 I agree that it doesn't matter. I always stuck to the same measurements because I used the same dovetail jig since about 1975. I forget if it's a Delta or Porter-Cable, or something else. It's about as primitive as they come. The clamps use wing nuts. I even still use the same dedicated Rockwell (owned Porter Cable for a while in the 1970's) D-handle 690 router for it. I would clamp it to a handrail on the porch or deck of the house we were building, and have a helper blow the chips out in the yard with a leaf blower as we ran them. The other helper handed me parts and kept them all organized. All the parts would be organized on a table on the deck and all run in the same session. I remember one house had 48 drawers in it, and some maybe more but I stopped counting. Regardless of how many there were, or what overall sizes they were, they were all run in the same session. There are many better dovetail jigs, but since I was building one house a year, there was only one afternoon dedicated to dovetailing and assembling all the cabinet drawers. Changing to something else would have been a waste of time. Just pick something that you like and stick with it all the way through. No one else really cares about such details after they're in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 It matters to the OP. He has to decide on a formula to make his boxes.. Theres actually a lot that goes on with a drawer box. You not only have decide on a drawer build decision , but have to keep hardware in mind. So yes it does matter.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughsawn Posted October 25, 2023 Report Share Posted October 25, 2023 Built over 50 drawers in the last 3 years with 1/2" all the way around, and 1/4" BB bottoms. Including the workbench I built last year. Some of those drawers are holding 20# of "stuff". No problem. As far as room on the sides...It seems I've had them more trouble free if on the nuts clearance, according to directions, or even a sliver tighter (if it happens by accident). Even a little extra clearance than specified, leads to problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted October 25, 2023 Report Share Posted October 25, 2023 If he can do the math, he should be fine.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted October 25, 2023 Report Share Posted October 25, 2023 13 hours ago, roughsawn said: As far as room on the sides...It seems I've had them more trouble free if on the nuts clearance, according to directions, or even a sliver tighter (if it happens by accident). Even a little extra clearance than specified, leads to problems. That's been my experience as well. If the opening is a hair wide, I will shim the slide just enough to ensure a snug fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughsawn Posted October 25, 2023 Report Share Posted October 25, 2023 On 10/25/2023 at 9:59 AM, drzaius said: That's been my experience as well. If the opening is a hair wide, I will shim the slide just enough to ensure a snug fit. Right. My little secret is...I take the slide off the cabinet side(s), and shim with a 2" wide piece of laminate, the length of the slide. Then re-install the slide(s). They are always the perfect thickness, whether you need one on one side, or one on each side...if you got a little crazy with tolerances...lol Years ago, I had leftover laminate from a project...and cut it up and saved some. Man has it come in handy over the years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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