Drawer muntines questions

[Hoyt Weathers]

My shop is heated in the winter but not cooled in the summer. I am designing, in a fashion, several drawers to go below my workbench. Each drawer will be about 24" wide OD and of different heights with the smallest at the top, etc. . The bottoms will be

1/4" ply. Due to the width of the drawers, I think I need to put muntines in them. I will affix the muntines fore and aft in some fashion between the fronts and backs of the drawers and up against the drawer bottoms - probably mortise and tennon or wide dovetails. My questions relate to how those muntines should be installed.

1. Are the muntines attached to the bottoms at all? I would think not.

2. Should the *tops* of the muntines be sealed and waxed before the bottoms go into the slots of the drawers in order to allow the drawers to move atop them with their seasonal adjustments?

Any tips on muntine installation and precautions will be appreciated.

Hoyt W.

[Leon]

You do not need any reinforcement IMHO. I built kitchen drawers that are about 30" by 22". I can stand in them and they have 1/4" plywood bottoms. See for your self, cut a piece of plywood a bit larger than a drawer will require and weight it down.

[igor]

Seems that Atkins diet is working for you.

[Pounds on Wood]

Just recently finished drawers in my shop, and although not as large as yours (genetics?), I too felt that 1/4" ply was not enough. Instead of muntins, or stiffeners, I made the bottoms of 1/2" ply. But I still put the groove in the drawer sides at the same place as if I had used 1/4" bottoms. The secret is to run a rebate around the perimeter of each 1/2" drawer bottom so that it is only 1/4" thick around the sides. You will enjoy the panel stiffness of 1/2" ply, but still fit it in 1/4" grooves and not lose any drawer depth.

[John]

Maybe just go with thicker bottoms??

John

[Phisherman]

The drawer bottoms should rest in grooves in the muntin. The muntin can be let into the drawer front using a dovetail.

Not necessary.

See Encyclopedia of Furniture Making by Joyce.

[Leon]

Yeah, I am down 3 pounds from 205, and still 6' tall. LOL