suggestions for drawer sides

[Anonymoose]

I'm getting ready to start my first project with drawers and would appreciate any suggestions on proper woods for drawer sides (and back, of course). My bandsaw is a POS, so resawing 4/4 to get 2/4->3/8 isn't going to happen, so I either need creative ideas for where to get Any type of wood that comes in a suitable dimension (glue-up scrap from pallets?), or a wood that is cheap enough that I won't weep over turning 1/2 of 4/4 into sawdust on the planer. The price sheet from my local NFP says they have yellow poplar at $1.95 and yellow pine at $2.00, are either of these YPs pretty good for drawer parts?

[Phisherman]

You can use any wood you want. Typically, drawer sides and backs are made from "secondary" woods, such as poplar or pine. Pine has the advantage of being lightweight, and that's a good thing when making a drawer. 3/4'' white pine is common at the DIYs, it's not expensive, and planning it down to 1/2" is no big deal. BTW, if you want your drawers to look really nice, handcut the dovetails. I practiced making dovetails (an hour each day) from scraps, and after two weeks they looked nearly perfect.

[bob]

Lowes sells 1/2" poplar in various widths. You wouldn't have to dress it down - buy the width you want and cut it to length.

Baltic birch also makes nice drawer sides and bottoms.

Use this opportunity to learn dovetails. I am now - I'm building out my shop (finally) and decided to do all the drawers with dovetails. By the time the shop is done, I should be an expert at it, and I don't care that the "mistakes" are in the shop drawers.

Bob

[Mark & Juanita]

Would recommend going with the poplar vs. the pine. Pine can have a tendency to be softer and less stable.

[Bay Area Dave]

i replied about 3 hours ago and now I don't see my post...

anyway, Baltic Birch ply works great, and you can get it pre finished also.

dave

An> I'm getting ready to start my first project with drawers and would

[George]

Pine can pose some resin problems, too. Seal with shellac.

How you're going to hang the drawers makes a difference in material choice, or ought to. If you're going to use commercial roller guides, plywood seems a great option for sides, and the "drawer joint" is a good one. If you're applying a drawer front to a box, box joints are a piece of cake on a router table. Plywood really not suitable to slide on hardwood.

If your drawers are going to ride on wooden guides, consider the problems of soft drawer, hard (easily replaceable) guide we see on a lot of old furniture, and make them the opposite, or apply a hard strip on the wearing surface. I suppose you might do this with plywood, as well, but it takes a bit of extra effort.

I've got true poplar riding UHMW guides on a couple of my shop drawers, and I sort of like it.

[Lawrence Wasserman]

I get a lot of stock for drawer sides by salvaging from discarded furniture. Our area has a once a month collection day for "bulk items" and I'm not above stopping & removing the drawers (or even the whole piece if I think it's worth it)