I’m wondering what folks consider to be the minimum pin depth for half blind dovetails in a drawer front? I am joining poplar sides to a QSWO front; the drawer is 36″ wide by 7″ high, 16″ deep.
How thick should a surfaced drawer front be, anyway? Mine, once the lip was routed and the rabbets cut, seems too thin. Either the lip is too thin, or the dovetails seem like they’ll be too shallow.
Charlie
I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different. –K Vonnegut
Replies
Charlie,
My standard lipped drawer front is 13/16" thick. The little quarter round and fillet cutter I typically use takes up 5/16" of that. This leaves 1/2" thickness for the dovetail pins. I like to use 1/2" thick stock for drawer sides and back, so the dovetails are consistant throughout. Purely for looks, I wouldn't like to use pins less than 3/8" or so, but they'd be plenty strong, in my opinion.
No such thing as an "industry" standard, though. I've seen old work in "country" pieces that had drawer fronts as thick as 1-1/8" , which I think reflects reluctance (economy of labor) to plane the stock down thinner as much as a perceived need for more strength. Also as thin as 5/8", with correspondingly small dovetails. In repair work, you seldom see pins ripped out by their roots, except when the case has collapsed or racked, holding the rest of the drawer totally fast. Some old work will have the drawer sides and back really thin, maybe 5/16", so those pins on the drawer backs are bitsy, and many have held up very well over time.
Regards,
Ray
Ray, that's extremely helpful. I'm wondering if maybe I cut my lip too deep, but it sounds like I could make it work. Thanks.CharlieI tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Charlie,
Well, just fart around with it a little, and I'll bet you get things worked out.
Cheers,
Ray
Is 1/2" stock for the sides and back strong enough for a drawer 36w x 20d x 9high? - - with 13/16" front and 1/2 blind dovetails?
Edited 3/24/2005 7:42 pm ET by willyeh
Given the dimensions that have been bounced around I'd definitely recommend the builder use slips for the drawer bottoms.
will,
That is what I've been using for 30+yrs now. I've not had a drawer come back for warrenty work yet. Had one drawer in the base of a chest on chest get stuck in its opening in a high humidity situation, the bit of its lock was sticking up just enough to hang on the drawer blade above it.
In repairing old drawers, what you see most often is wear on the bottoms of the sides that causes the drawers to not track straight when being pulled out. When they bind you will often see that the bottom of the drawer has been pushed diagonally and split the drawer side at the rear corner where the bottom exits. This is the weakest point in the drawer, but doesn't pose a problem in a correctly fitted drawer for the first 100 yrs or so, of operation. Good enough for me.
Regards,
Ray
T.Y. Ray, I'm just about to start on two drawers for an armoire - - red oak book matched fronts and ash sides and back and 1/4" plywood bottom
will,
Should be no problem. I typically use pine, sometimes poplar as secondary wood, as that's what was traditional here in VA. Ash will work just fine. I like to build 1/16" taper in my drawers, front to back. Was taught that they won't bind in their holes if they are littler in back, even if the case is somehow (!) a bit out of square.
Cheers,
Ray
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