Replies

1. 
   RickL | Dec 28, 2006 08:58pm | #1

   Sure...works fine. I've even done pocket screws for drawers or even butt joints and screws. I've even glued and stapled the plywood bottoms to plywood drawers. The nice thing about doing that is you get a little bit more depth to the drawer as opposed to grooving and slipping in the plywood bottom. Whatever works is fair game. Strenth wise it's plenty strong. If in doubt make one and make traditional drawer and see what ti takes to break it. Sometimes doing a test of your own is the only way to satisfy your curiousity.

1. 
   sanderdude | Dec 28, 2006 09:24pm | #2

   Thanks for the reply Rick. Just wanted a green light as to strength. I've done lots of traditional drawer joints and am looking to simplify this particular job. I will go with the bisquits.  

2. 
   cowtown | Jan 31, 2007 12:08pm | #3

   2'x2' drawers.....out of baltic birch. No problem.

   You got me there sanderfella. I never looked for that level of complication, and I ain't thinkin it's a profoundly sound method of construction

   If yer using a slide-in 1/4" bottom, the squareness shape of the sides is gonna be totally reliant on a precise fit, and even then, there's gonna be some racking, so any joint is gonna be stressed, perhaps to failure, unless....

   that bottom is rock solid square. IE, Narry one iota of clearance, which ain't likely with a slide in bottom.

   Begs the question as to why not use a solid 1/2" baltic birch bottom...same material (why buy two materials when one will do....) and you don't even lose an iota of drawer space, just ramp up the solidity of the drawer box by a whole bunch.

   If you buy into that practice, well, you gotta cut a nominal 1/2" rabbet for the bottom, so why not cut a nominal 1/2" rabbet for the front and back pieces as well....

   Take it as a caveat that the baltic birch plywoods are NOT all square, so you gotta keep yer eye out for out of squareness in yer sheets. Believe me, it exists, and can screw you up when it comes to mounting drawer fronts.

   follow this for a bit...

   You got yer cabinet interior measurement, deduct 1" typically for slides. You knew that already....

   A 24" wide cabinet with 5/8 gables has an interior measurement of 22 3/4"

   allow 1" for slides, and yer at 21 3/4" width of drawer box.

   Now, yer gonna cut a NOMINAL 1/8" rabbet on the sides of yer 1/2" baltic birch, but yer gonna be clever and measure yer rabbet NOT by what you cut away, but rather by what you leave- which is gonna be precisely 3/8", which multiplied by two is 3/4 (duh) so yer front, back and bottom is gonna be 21" wide (3" less than yer cabinet width)

   The sides of yer drawer boxes is gonna be typically 2" less than yer cabinet depth. So for example, standard base units for a kitchen, yer using (suprise!!) 22" for a drawer box depth.

   A clever person would deduce that with that nominal 1/8" dado,(which in this methodology you gotta measure it so as to leave exactly 3/8" behind), which multiplied by 2, would make 3/4", so while yer sides are precisely 22", yer bottom is gonna be 21 1/4" deep.

   So now all yer stock is cut to length and width- no dados cut yet.

   You set up yer dado blade to cut so that there is exactly 3/8" LEFT!

   and that the width of cut is precisely what yer stocks thickness is ( and while it's gonna be close to 1/2", it ain't gonna be precisely 1/2", so you gotta use yer scraps to get it freakin close to whatever yer particular batch's thickness is.

   Then you cut yer dados. On the drawer sides, front, bottom and back,
   on the drawer fronts and backs just along the bottom sides.

   there you are----after pre-sanding, ready for assembly.

   A tad of glue on each joint, attach and pin nail the fronts and backs, attach and pin nail the sides, and bob's yer uncle. A tad of belt sanding on the sides to clean up the glue squeeze out, and yer ready for finishing.

   When I'm sanding, of course the flats get sanded, but I also use a penumatic sander on the drill press to sand the edges, which gives them this rather pleasant "rounditational" effect

   What you end up with is a drawer box that is damn-near rock-solid and bullet proof.

   If all the cuts are square, the front face is square vertically and the drawer box is square side to side.

   The rabbet joints hold the box in alingment in assembly, and throughout it's life. The only buggery that is possible is if squareness of cuts is not achieved in cutting- not an unachievable goal for even the basic carpenter.

   Heck, that's just my plebian view on drawer box construction.

   I've used it for 36" wide pot drawers with nary a call back ever

   Heck, I even stood in one of the drawers when a client wondered if they were substantial enuf....

   hope that helped a tad.

   Eric

1. 
   wjd52 | Feb 01, 2007 01:07am | #6

   I've made about 50 drawers out of Baltic Birch both ways...biscuits or rabbetts, with no problems.  One additional comment..."1/2-in" Baltic is 12-mm thick, which needs to be considered for drawer widths for rail guides.  If there's any doubt, make the drawers slightly (1/16th) narrow...it's a lot easier to shim out the rails than it is to shrink the drawer width!

3. 
   cadiddlehopper | Jan 31, 2007 08:06pm | #4

   Cowtown's response may have been a bit windy (I got lost!), but a drawer made entirely of 1/2-inch material with rabbet joints at all corners and flush bottom is the only assembly method I would consider. Glue in all the rabbets, too. Get it square as you glue it up. Good luck!

   Cadiddlehopper

1. 
   sanderdude | Jan 31, 2007 10:54pm | #5

   Cadiddlehopper:   Thanks for the reply but I finished the drawer boxes right after recieving the first replys. Used 4 #10 bisquits in each corner. They came out pretty square for 25 x26 boxes.