I have read several articles about slips to hold the bottom of some drawers I am building.
All of the articles just show them on the sides of the drawer.
Why wouldn’t you put them on all four sides?
It seems that it would strengthen the drawer and on a big drawer help prevent racking.
What am I overlooking?
Replies
Hi,
There are a few reasons for putting drawer slips just on the drawer sides. First the purpose of drawer slips is twofold: one reason is that you can make very thin drawer sides which reduces weight in a drawer. Then you put your groove for your bottom in the slip. The slip holds the bottom and increases the wear surface for the side at the same time.
I don't use four of them because the drawer front is wide enough already. There's no point in increasing the weight of the drawer even by a little when the front is thick enough to handle a groove for the bottom. The drawer back I keep under in width so I can slide the bottom in underneath it. So there's no spot for the drawer slip. But it also isn't required back there for wear. And if your drawer doesn't prevent racking by its own joinery then slips won't help you. That's my two cents.
I hope this helps. Best, Gary
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