I am making drawers out of birch plywood, the kind they sell at the borg. My question is, can I do dovetails and/or box joints with this this stuff? A friend told me that I probably couldn't because the laminate would fall out of the layers. Please help....
Drawer Question
Jun 11, 2004
7 Replies
tpollard wrote:>I am making drawers out of birch plywood, the kind they sell at the borg. My
Of course you can. Maybe not finger joints(box), but I'd do half-blind dovetails with a solid wood face, anytime. Depending on your methods, you may need to back up the material to avoid tear-out. Tom Work at your leisure!
home depot sells void free ply? (guess I don't shop that aisle much...)
dave
Tom wrote:
Yes.... but there might be a "hit" and "miss" on a few pieces that might have voids.... Most 1/2" plywood I have gotten recently(birch) was pretty good.
T wrote:
Depends on the grade, I guess.
If you pay for a patched interior ( no voids ), you certainly can. Lower grades problematic.
I've made box joints with fir ply, even luan. Masking tape minimized the tear, and a spiral bit with slow feed helps, too.
Basswood is GREAT for drawer sides and backs.
Barry
Take a look at John Lucas' site
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and click on the Main Menu. John and his lovely staff have done a number of projects which involved making drawers with plywood. His demonstrations and hints/tips using the various tools should enlighten you on this subject.
Bob S.
Yes, you can make dovetails in ply. What you have to be careful of, if you are doing it with a router, is to use some sort of sacrificial backer board so you don't chip out the surface veneer when the bit exits the wood.
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