Thread: Drawing to a Thicker Plan

Originally Posted by Christos

I know what a weird heading, but if I used Draws to a Thicker Plan it might be misread.

Let's get to my question. I am making a grinder stand of a box type construction and will be making draws to fit in the box. I have quite a few left over pieces of Pine and wanted to get rid of them so this will be the wood that I will be using. I am not going to dovetail these draws as I will have to do these by hand and I do not enjoy dovetailing pine. I am thinking of making a slot half the thickness of the front into the sides then glue. Once dried I am thinking to add a couple of dowels going through the side and front. The back will be similar construction and I was thinking thinner then the front but no need to dowel. The bottom will be a piece of ply or made out of pine as a panel slotted in a grove.


What are peoples opinion of the thickness of the draw front, sides and back?
What should be the thickness of the bottom panel?

But if you used "Drawers to a thicker plan" it would eliminate confusion

Sorry to do that, but it's one of those things that really bugs me.

What about a sliding dovetail to engage the sides to the front. Could all be done on a router table then.

Cheers

If your going to use a thinner front panel as part of the construction, are you going to apply a Lay-on front panel as a separate piece?

As for jointing, if you've a router have you considered Lock Jointing?

If I understand this, from the front you'll see drawer side end grain and drawer grooves, right? The drawer sides could be used as pulls, right?
I would run the bottoms the entire length of the sides and cut the front amd back to butt onto the bottom and nail everything. If the front sat back 15mm the bottom could be used as a pull and give the face a bit of an " integrated look ". It wouldn't require any joinery beyond bottom grooves, butt, glue and nail.

Christos not sure if you have a router .......BUT I have a dovetail jig you may borrow and if need be the router also.

You could use the scrollsaw or band saw to cut your dovetails also and then just chisel out the rest

I forgot to mention the width and dept of the draws, 393mm width and 350mm depth.

Sorry Elanjacobs did not mean to bug you.


Wheelinround: I do have a router in a Triton router table. I am considering the offer to use a jig in this case. I hope they do not kick me out of the dark side because I am using a jig to create the dovetails.

Just as a "rule of thumb", I like to see drawers with a wall thickness of 13mm. To my mind it "looks right". So you would build a box with a bottom grooved in. In designing a unit I would use 13mm material up to, say, 7-800mm long and 600mm deep.
If you are going to need bigger drawers than above I would then use 19mm material
It also depends a lot on what will be stored in the drawers. For a set of drawers that will house heavy tools then 19mm material would be my choice.
If you make a drawer box out of 13mm material I normally fit a "front" over the box to cover the gaps at the sides needed for drawer runners.
Drawer bottoms are subject to varying thicknesses with regards to the weights that will be stored in them.

Just as an opinion....If I don't dovetail the sides (Using a proprietary dovetail jig) I just use a simple butt joint with the sides nailed/screwed into the front and back.
I have had good success using this method over the years with drawers storing all sorts of weights.

Originally Posted by Christos

I forgot to mention the width and dept of the draws, 393mm width and 350mm depth.

Sorry Elanjacobs did not mean to bug you.


Wheelinround: I do have a router in a Triton router table. I am considering the offer to use a jig in this case. I hope they do not kick me out of the dark side because I am using a jig to create the dovetails.

Its not a Gifkins Christos its sort you mount to bench and use the router in hand.

Originally Posted by Christos

Once dried I am thinking to add a couple of dowels going through the side and front. The back will be similar construction and I was thinking thinner then the front but no need to dowel. The bottom will be a piece of ply or made out of pine as a panel slotted in a grove.

OK. So you'll be seeing the ends of the dowels? You're just talking about "wait 'til the box is dried, then drill, dowel and cut 'em off flush"?

If so, then instead of dowels why not use screws then plug the holes with dowels? Same look in the end, but I believe it'd be that li'l bit stronger.

(Or maybe I'm misreading your post and you're not going as... 'rustic...' as I think you are? )

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

OK. So you'll be seeing the ends of the dowels? You're just talking about "wait 'til the box is dried, then drill, dowel and cut 'em off flush"?.......

That's correct.

I was just thinking that dowels would be quicker.