drawer stock

[Vic Baron]

Just curious - speaking of 1/2" drawer stock - which is preferred among the wreck - 1/2" ply, 1/2" Baltic birch ply, 1/2" milled solid stock?

Vic

[Bruce Farley]

[Vic Baron]

LOL! Same problem - truck bed has a 4x8 flat spot - 5x5 has to lean!

Vic

[musials]

I don't use much plywood and have 3 truckloads of oak so it's pretty much oak for everything at my house.

[SonomaProducts.com]

I'd say the Baltic or Russian Birch is pretty standard fair now days for cabinetry. Most of the drawer/door shops do offer solid stock with/without dovetail or box joints but it is just for the highest end cabinet work.

For furniture it's a different story and depends on the piece. I've seen both box and dovetails done with Baltic but I think it's a waist and it's had to avoid the chip out.

So if you want box or dovetail jointed boxes then solid and especially if the box dovetails into the drawer front.

I don't think standard plywood would every be right except maybe is some utility/workbench type situation.

[B a r r y]

Depends on the drawer, but I don't use "standard" 1/2" ply, just BB in cabinetry. I like solid basswood for furniture.

Barry

[alexy]

I did a couple of drawers for my DP table in Baltic Birch with through dovetails. The result of the exposed plies in the ends of the tails is "interesting" for shop furniture, but not be viewed as kindly elsewhere. But as a box to receive an applied drawer front, it is very solid.

Being a fan of handcut dovetails, I can't relate to the chipout problem you mention, but chopping out the waste in BB is a strange sensation, and gives one lots of opportunity to practice sharpening the chisels.

[Leon]

If I am using mechanical metal drawer slides I prefer to use Baltic Birch. If I am not using mechanical metal drawer slides I use Hard Wood for the drawers and the pieces supporting the drawers. The harder the wood the smoother and easier it is to push and pull the drawers.

[Vic Baron]

Interesting point.

I once made a set of drawers using BB ply and milled a stopped dado in each side. Attached a hardwood runner to the case which fit inside the dado. The BB sliding on the hardwood runner was perfect. The drawer held table silver service so it was heavy and it still worked well.

[Swingman]

I just used 1/2" maple on my last batch of drawers, but prefer 5/8" if I didn't have to loose so much to waste.

Also just used the Hittech full extension slides for the first time and like them, although they are a bit fussier to make a drawer for than Blum or Accuride.

Besides being very quiet, with an expensive feel, they are completely undermounted (but mount in the cabinet like a side mount Accuride) and since you don't have to tip them to mount them, you can get more drawer height in the opening. You also get 3/8" more drawer width when using them (inside FF width, less 5/8", instead of the 1" I usually have to allow.

[Jody]

Most of the time I use solid maple. My lumber supplier also is a millworks shop so I get his "cut offs" for next to nothing. Most run 2 to 4 foot. I also got a deal on the pre-finished sides. I think they are from nova or something like that. I got a box of 12". It's pre-finished both sides with a 1/4 slot, 8' long.

[Leon]

Hey Swingman, I just finished up on my kitchen job today. I had to coordinate around the granite counter top people. They are suppose to put the top and sink in Friday. I am glad to be finished with that job.

[WillR]

I have tried plywood, birch, maple and oak.

What I prefer now is birch for sides, false front and back -- 1/2 inch stock. Couple of dovetails, plywood bottom with appropriate veneer. --

1/4 inch (roughly) with most suitable finish for rest of furniture.

Screw on false front, then I can change drawer faces to change finish and style if need be...

Works for me. :-)

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Just my non-professional opinion. Plywood is a good material for probably

90% of drawers. It is stable and works, cost effective and practical. If I was making a solid wood top quality piece of furniture, I'd definitely use solid wood for drawers also. I've not made anything in that category yet.

[Patriarch]

"Vic Baron" wrote in news:qf2le.21175$ [e-mail]:

Speaking as I do, for only a miniscule portion of the wReck, I'll share my current experiment.

I'm redoing the master bath vanity and master closet system. I brought home from my professional plywood vendor today, prefinished Appleply drawer stock, with appropriate bullnoses already in place.

1/2" x 12" x 8' was about $30, not at all cheap, but those rascals can be drawers in under an hour, with no further finishing required. And I can handle them much more easily by myself than I can full 4' x 8' sheets.

Prefinished edgebanded maple ply was noticably less, and will likely be fetched on the next run, as the project scope has already crept.

Patriarch

[Upscale]

That reminds me of the last New Yankee Workshop TV show I watched. Norm produced some drawer siding stock that he bought prefinished with the top edge banded and a precut 1/4" slot for the drawer bottom. Apparently, it comes in a variety of sizes up to 12" high I think he said. Has anybody used this stuff? I can envision it saving a great deal of time in drawer construction, especially for contractors.

[mike hide]

3/8" oak solid stock....mjh

[Mike]

We usually use 1/2" BB for kitchen drawer sides but a local lumber yard recently aquatinted one of our builders with 1/2" apple ply. It still comes in the 5'x5' size and is 9 ply. The skin is not quite as nice as the birch but it is somewhat less expensive. That last point seemed to be the one that impressed the builder.

Mike O.