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  1. #1
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    Default Drawers - side height? Why?

    I'm designing up a new tool chest.

    One thing that has my goat on all furniture design is the sides of the drawers are much lower than the front.

    Obviously this limits the ability to really fill that sucker up. Kitchen drawers are a good example of this failure.

    On my ikea COD the drawer height is about 2/3rds the opening (front) height. One can't put too many jumpers or socks in or they bulge over the sides.

    Full height sides would stop this.

    So! For those who are wise to these things, what is your wisdom? What am I missing?

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  3. #2
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    Evan, I am not with you ... I do not see or make drawers where the sides are lower than the front. I do make drawers where the rear is lower than the sides ...






    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  4. #3
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    Default

    Derek, those drawers are obscene.

    I've saved the pictures.

  5. #4
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    Kitchen cabinets and similar bulk store things are merely constructions of tacked together compressed oatmeal boards or metal boxes sliding on metal runners. As Derek illustrates very well, joinery drawers are something completely different.
    Franklin

  6. #5
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    Nov 2007
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    Mt Crosby, Brisbane
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    Default

    It's probably a money saving and also allows them to be assembled more easily. You don't have to "aim", just hook the slides and in it goes.

    You have to remember kitchen cabinets and cheap chipboard furniture are made down to a price. It's all about saving every penny.

    I remember years ago the story about Ford picking one control unit over another because it was 7c cheaper. Multiply it by a million cars and it starts to matter I guess.

    And the plebs who buy the stuff never stop to think about longevity or value for money let alone usability. Looks pretty, cheap let's get that one...5 years later we need a new one as it's stuffed...
    I'm just a startled bunny in the headlights of life. L.J. Young.
    We live in a free country. We have freedom of choice. You can choose to agree with me, or you can choose to be wrong.
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  7. #6
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    Default

    Here are a few around my home.

    What made me think of it was Dereks cabinets I watched him build (the one above) and the new one I just picked up (it is full height).

    If its for an economy, they truly are saving just 7 cents!

    IMG_20191204_113958.jpg IMG_20191204_114017.jpg IMG_20191204_114118.jpg IMG_20191204_114248.jpg


    Before everyone criticises me for my generic Ikea WheatBix crap, its.... embarrassing.

  8. #7
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    May 2015
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    Default

    It's all about saving money on materials.

  9. #8
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    Apr 2006
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    Hobart
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by woodPixel View Post
    I'm designing up a new tool chest.

    One thing that has my goat on all furniture design is the sides of the drawers are much lower that the front.

    Obviously this limits the ability to really fill that sucker up. Kitchen drawers are a good example of this failure.

    On my ikea COD the drawer height is about 2/3rds the opening (front) height. One can't put too many jumpers or socks in or they bulge over the sides.

    Full height sides would stop this.

    So! For those who are wise to these things, what is your wisdom? What am I missing?


    I'm with you, Woodpixel

    No doubt Ikea, Blum, Hettich, et al, will willingly sell you a "drawer height extension kit" to enhance the initial shoddy design.

    A few years ago I made some shed drawer units from melamine, but when working with wheatbix substrate you cannot achieve Derek's precision. My solution was to put the drawer box sections on full extension runners and about 15 mm apart. This gave fairly efficient usage of the space. Then I added drawer fronts which hid all the inaccuracies. Efficient, functional, but nowhere near as pretty as Derek's.

    Another pet hate of mine is unnecessarily deep drawers. An acquaintance had a kitchen installed by a very high profile "designer" with heeps of drawers, all are 250 mm deep. Why do you need a cutlery drawer 250 mm deep? Usually lots of shallow drawers are more functional than fewer deep drawers. Most of us have a limitted need for deep drawers.

    Most will recognise the name of the "designer" above, but I will not antagonise Neil by mentioning it. Much of that designers work that I have seen is not very functional or efficient in the use of space; but aesthetically it is quite nice. Wish I could charge those "design fees".


    Cheers

    Graeme

  10. #9
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    Could be that the manufacturer can get away with making only one size draw, only changing the front height to create multiple sizes.

  11. #10
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    South Australia
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    As indicated above "mass production" and makes it no more complicated the a Lego set, that way school leavers who have never learnt to do any thing without a computer can get a job

  12. #11
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    Aug 2008
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    Melbourne
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    Quote Originally Posted by GraemeCook View Post
    No doubt Ikea, Blum, Hettich, et al, will willingly sell you a "drawer height extension kit" to enhance the initial shoddy design.
    I don't think that's a fair assessment. It's not reasonable to expect steel sided drawer kits to come in all possible heights, that's simply not how off-the-shelf products work. Would it look better to have single piece sides than extensions? Yes. Is having to manufacture and keep stock of 5+ times the number of products an economical way to run a business? Definitely not.

    At my old work we almost exclusively used Blum undermount runners and we'd make the drawers with about 20mm clearance on top, although for very shallow drawers, we'd go down to 5mm clearance (with a 6mm bottom, instead of the usual 12 or 16mm) to leave a decent depth inside.

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
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    Strathalbyn South Australia
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    If using standard runners keep in mind that the draw needs to be lifted at the front to insert them, so space needs to be provided to install them. I do agree about cost cutting for draws with more depth though.
    Don’t mind my messy draw


  14. #13
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    Feb 2003
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    back in Alberta for a while
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by woodPixel View Post
    I'm designing up a new tool chest.

    One thing that has my goat on all furniture design is the sides of the drawers are much lower that the front.

    Obviously this limits the ability to really fill that sucker up. Kitchen drawers are a good example of this failure.

    On my ikea COD the drawer height is about 2/3rds the opening (front) height. One can't put too many jumpers or socks in or they bulge over the sides.

    Full height sides would stop this.

    So! For those who are wise to these things, what is your wisdom? What am I missing?
    my wisdom?
    you want your drawers to be shallow -- preferably no deeper than what can accommodate a single layer of tools. In a limited number of circumstances you will be able to use tills -- shallow trays that sit inside a drawer -- but in reality you want just a single layer of tools in your tool chest.

    as soon as you start to fill a drawer up, the contents become largely inaccessible.
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  15. #14
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    Oct 2014
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    Caroline Springs, VIC
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    Default

    Most things stack pretty well, and drawer sides primarily act as a boundary. If you need the drawer sides to act as a retaining wall, you are using the drawer as a dumping ground instead of using the rubbish bin.

  16. #15
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    Westleigh, Sydney
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    Default

    If you make the drawer sides the same as the fronts, the front has to fit neatly into the cavity or the gap will look untidy. that means time and skill. Also, particularly with deep drawers, you need to allow for wood movement of the front and sides, which may mean a bigger gap in dry seasons. This will usually be less obvious if the large drawer is at the bottom.
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