I’ve usually made drawers for the cabinets I build out of pre-finished maple plywood. I want to start making solid dovetailed drawers, but I’m wondering what sort of finish I should use for inside them. A lot of the time, clients will be putting clothes in them, so I don’t want anything that will be off-gassing for a long time. It seems to me that I’ve also seen drawers that are just left unfinished. Is that generally ok too?
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Replies
Leaving the drawer interior unfinished has a long history and is certainly the easiest route to go. If you decide to apply a finish, the traditional and proven safe approach is to use shellac. Of course you can't use a finish that has a lingering odor anywhere on the inside of the chest.
John White
Edited 6/6/2008 11:06 am ET by JohnWW
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