Thread: Drawer bottoms - inset or under

Makes sense to me Rob. I'm not sure what kind of runners you're using, but if they're screwed to the drawer, the bottom will always be supported.

Normally I don't use metal runners, just timber support rails. In that case, the only chance the bottom would have to fall it is if/when you remove a fully loaded drawer. But at 45mm deep, difficult to load it so full that it would break a glued/screwed bond.

Tex

You're obviously making your drawers with false fronts, else you would see the edge of the bottom from the front.

The bottom will only be supported by the runners at the side. You run the risk of sagging in the middle of the front and back.

I think he is also suggesting that the bottoms are fixed to the front and rear of the box.

A perenial problem.
I made all of my drawers from recycled recyled "stuff" - I hesitate to call it timber, or even wood!
I was in a hurry so all sides, backs and fronts were glued and screwed.
Bottoms were glued and tacked/ nailed. I am going to put narrow strips of laminex on both sides of the bottoms as runners. This should last long enough for me and will make th drawers slide more easily.

Originally Posted by Ron Dunn

The bottom will only be supported by the runners at the side. You run the risk of sagging in the middle of the front and back.

Sorry, meant to say that the bottoms are glued all around to the sides/front/back.

The 45mm deep are only the top ones - the cabinet has 2 x45, 2 x100, and 2x 200. But the idea is the same for all, with the runners (metal or wood) taking the weight. Actually, in thinking about it, wooden runners aren't going to work as well since they don't actually "run" - they are really cleats attached to the sidewalls on which the drawer bottom runs. Hence, when the draw is pulled out, the bottom is unsupported except for the glue/screws used. I can see in that case that the trad. channel would support better, although modern glues (& screw perhaps) may well obviate [word of the week ] the benefit of the channel. Anyone done or seen any tests?

As to false fronts: yep. However, I've never seen side runners - middle or bottom - used without false fronts, so it's not an issue. Pretty much all non-false-front drawers I've seen either use timber cleats (most), or an underneath metal runner. Are there any other options? I'm assuming for aesthetics that most everyone doesn't want to see the runners when the draw is shut .

Rob

Well, half overlay drawers perhaps, but you probably wouldn't use them with slides either. I think if you go to the trouble of making a nice drawer, you're not going to put metal slides on it. If you're using the slides and a full overlay false front, I don't suppose it matters how you put the box together, so long as it's strong. Any other method involves a bit of joinery, which appears to be what you want to avoid. So if it works for you, why not?

I've got a couple of books here that advocate quick methods for building drawer boxes which rely on fasteners and/or glue, but interestingly they both still have slide-in bottoms, even though these are invariably made from ply. I don't know why, they probably just never though of it.

STOP PRESS

In Build Your Own Kitchen Cabinets, Danny Proulx describes making drawer boxes exactly the way you have described, except that he uses full 19mm material for the bottom and he covers the edges with melamine tape so that you don't see particle board 'end-grain' showing from behind the slides when the drawer is open.

He glues and screws.

Rob,
most of the kitchen I build have drawers that have sides, backs, fronts and bottoms all out of 16mm whiteboard. Bottoms are set in and glued and nailed all around. The fronts and backs fit between the sides so that forces are trying to shear the nails rather than pull them out. Drawers are mounted on metal roller runners and have false fronts. Never had any problems or call backs. For some of the wardrobe inserts and desk drawers I use 5mm white ply for the bottoms, just glued and stapled on. These are shallow drawers and not loaded heavily so this is adequate. If you build your workshop drawers out of 17mm ply with inset bottoms you won't have any problems unless perhaps you store lead dive weights in them and drop them in from a height.

Mick

Yep - wot Mick sez.
Have done lots of utility drawers with ply sides/bottoms and they are as strong as you need anything to be (& outlast MDF 10 to 1!). For shallow, lightly-loaded drawers, glue & tack the bottom to the bottom of the sides & back, for larger drawers expected to carry heavy loads, use thick ply for the bottom, and inset as Mick says - don't trust thermoplastic glues to support heavy weights indefinitely. I usually rebate the ply sides to take the bottoms in the latter case, not for any structural advantage (there probably isn't any) but because a shallow rebate makes assembly easier and more accurate.

Use as thick, and as decent quality ply for bottoms as you can - you see so many saggy bottoms, these days..........

Cheers,

If it is for the shed any old thing will do. Drawers are a luxury anyhow. Things are stored in old tins, cardboard boxes and the like. What does the code say.

Originally Posted by orraloon

If it is for the shed any old thing will do. Drawers are a luxury anyhow. Things are stored in old tins, cardboard boxes and the like. What does the code say.

There needs to be a subsection of the code allowing those of us who grew up with fathers who kept REALLY messy sheds to be a bit anal. And anyway, my stuff is far from being as organised as I'd like inside those drawers & cupboards.

But at least it keeps the kilos & kilos of fine dust out that accumulate because I haven't had time to hook up the DC properly to anything - so I'm within code on most articles....
Avagoodone,

Originally Posted by IanW

Use as thick, and as decent quality ply for bottoms as you can - you see so many saggy bottoms, these days.......... Cheers,

You could say thats a bit cheeky.