All,
I’m making a 2 draw vertical file from the inside out and took the clamps off the glued up draws yesterday. They measure about 15w x 18d x 9h and one of them is not square by an 1/8″ when measured on the diagonals. I’m thinking this could make the rest of the project a real pain (eg. the door won’t sit flush when closed) and require workarounds. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Replies
Make a new drawer. You'll be glad you did.
BG,
Well, if the diagonals are off by 1/8", then you're only 1/16" off of square. I'd try and make the case a bit wider in the back than the front, to allow for a bit of shimming, if needed. The support hdwe might have that much slop in them anyway.
By the way, I generally make my drawers 1/16" smaller (side to side) in back than in front to have a little fudge factor built in.
Regards,
Ray
The important alignment for fitting the drawers, is that the drawer sides and bottom are square to the front face of the drawer. Check those alignments with a square that you know is accurate. Checking diagonals works well for simple frames but isn't a good way to check more three dimensional components.
A drawer that is out of square will be more difficult to fit and depending on the type and degree of the problem it may be near impossible to get a good looking finished piece.
John W.
All,
I went back down stairs and rechecked ...to determine just where I was out of square...with a draw( or is it drawer) this big I used my sled and TS fense, first checking with a carpenters square. I turned out that I had been aggressive on planing some doveails after glue up...and less aggressive on some others...whew, dodged that bullit....I just sweetened the whole with a smoother and everything is okay. Thanks for all your suggestions
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