Edge nailing plywood, anti-friction

I agree, but don't have a table saw (yet) or a router (yet). Santa is coming though, so... That is why I decided to do things this way.

Slides are the way to go, but will take more time and I have a lot to get done.

I agree, this is one of the worst ways to do it. But if Santa comes, then I can design a proper storage system where front doors don't get in the way of removing the drawers.

Dave,

Due to time limits, I needed to come up with something quick. The idea I had was to have HD cut the plywood bottoms to size and cut the 1-by lumber to size. Then I would use glue and brads to fasten the sides to the bottom and pin the sides into the front and back pieces. Cheesy design for sure, but if it works, then I get (my words) to move on to replace two faucets before Thanksgiving. The hits just never stop.

Dave,

Perhaps rethink the construction and glue and nail the plywood to the bottom of the 1-by framework? You could even add some glue blocks inside the drawer for added strength.

I doubt you will get very accurate cuts from HD. Skip the drawer building until you get a better selection of tools and buy some plastic storage boxes for the interm.

Rockler used to sell made-to-order semicustom drawers, which I used to repair a kitchen drawer - kept the face, replaced the box, added steel ball-bearing slides.

I see that Rockler no longer does that, but google yielded many hist for custom drawer box, like this one:'

.

Joe Gwinn

If you are expecting a home center to cut your boards to the accuracy required to build a set of drawers, you are most likely going to be very disappointed.

Even the best lumber yards will usually only guarantee accuracy to 1/8", and they are going to charge you for those cuts.

Go to a crafts store and find nice boxes/cubbie inserts. It'll be quicker, easier and much more accurate. Yes, it might be more expensive, but I seriously doubt that you'll get the accurate cuts that you need from a home center. Your time will be wasted and your time is worth money - and peace of mind.

Buy your "drawers" and move on to the faucets.

.. in the meantime, buy a few cheap "boxes" from the craft store .. like DerbyDad suggested. .. and move on to more important jobs. .. expecting Home Depot to custom cut your pieces seems a bit far-out in my world. John T.

What kind of saw _do_ you have?

Here's how to make a guide that can give you quite surprisingly good cutting precision.

What kind of tools do you have?

You do not need a table saw or a router to cut a dado.

You can do a good job with a circular saw (Skill saw type) and a good chisel.

Cut two Cuts of the proper depth so the outside edges are just a hair lager than a 1/4 assume you are using 1/4 plywood.

Carefully remove the center material with a hammer and clean it up with the chisel.

T have a table saw with dado and a router, I find it can be done as quick with the above method as with either tool

For a one-off drawer, you can cut the dados with a backsaw and a chisel.

Or dado-less is possible if support strips are glued & screwed along the inside bottom of the sides < and front & back ? >

to support the drawer bottom. Not as strong as a dado but quite adequate for average household stuff. John T.

And the drawer bottom doesn't need to be as accurately cut.

Undersize the drawer bottom to account for the inaccurate cuts that the home center will make, add the strips and drop the bottom in.

Heck, the drawer wouldn't even have to be square. Adjusting the size of a drop in bottom could be done with a saw, a file, sandpaper, whatever.

In addition, depending on the size of the drawer, 1/4 bottoms might be enough. Even easier to adjust.

use hardwood cleats to support the bottom AND act as rub-rails. Boil them in parafin or soak them in warm raw linseed oil before screwing them on to the sides and tacking the pottoms on top