I disagree

Thanks for the tip Lew! I was thinking about adding some drawers to the workbench I made (from Swingman's design) a few years ago. Dados will definitely add desirable strength. What would you use for the bottoms (and front, back, and sides), 1/2" ply?

Bill

Well then I guess the same could be said about the dado blade vs. a standard blade.

I think Lew's point was that if you have a dado blade you don't need to spend any more money. Lots of the woodworker media focused on getting woodworkers to buy more stuff, period. They don't really care whether you ever use it or not. Some folks see the infomercial and say, "I need that to be a good woodworker". Lew is just pointing out, I think, that it ain't so. If it ever gets out that the most important part of woodworking occurs in the mind, some retailers might be sunk! ; ) Of course, there are those who would argue that the most important part of woodworking doesn't occur in the mind, and surely they are correct too. Roy Underhill explained it all once when I train was going by so I didn't catch the whole thing...

The bottoms depend on how big the drawer is and what you're putting in there. For anything less than 18", or so, and normal stuff, 1/4" ply is probably enough. If you're putting boxes of hammer heads in a 36" drawer, it should probably be thicker. ;-) I like 3/4" ply for sides, if I'm using dados for the joints (the reasons I bought a dovetail jig - thinner sides).

Same goes with a regular blade. Both a dado blade and the suggested bit for making the drawer joints are unnecessary. Both are more expensive options for doing the same thing that can be done with regular blade.

Lots of the woodworker media focused on getting

And do you think that this is exclusive to the woodworking industry? ;~) Simply put, there are better mouse traps and you choose whether you want to spend extra money and use it or not. I used to cut a lot of dado's with a regular saw blade or with my dado jig and router. The dado blade simply speeds up production for cutting dado's or groves. The bit that Lew is talking about speeds up making locking miters over using a dado set.

Some folks see the infomercial and say, "I need

Agreed. But a good comparison is using a bench top mortiser, $250, or a Festool Domino, $900. The mortiser will do the job but the Domino does the job maybe 20 times faster. I have cut in excess of 10,000 mortises with my Domino, I very seriously doubt that many have done the same with the mortiser that they may own.

If it ever gets out that the most important part of

I find it necessary to build a lot of mid level drawers for clients, drawers that don't have to be fancy or dovetail, but that are serviceable, strong and will outlast most drawers you see in homes today.

I routinely use the locking rabbet joint, and pre-finished 1/2" drawer side material (available at a local supplier at 6 different widths,all

The drawer side material is already grooved for the plywood bottom, and the top is rounded over for a nicely finished look.

I use the same UV pre-finished 1/4" plywood for the bottoms.

Here's a video I posted on how I do a locking rabbet joint on the table saw:

You can make a ton of nice, serviceable drawers, with no finishing required, quickly and at a cost effective price that can can actually be a profit center on a job.

If you need to make them wider, simply use leftover scraps from the 1/2" pre-finished drawer side material to reinforce the bottoms, as you see here:

... glued to the drawer bottom, and finish nailed to the side, the nail holes to be covered by the drawer slides

Bet I've made enough to pay for a half a dozen table saws, and dozens of dado stacks, just from these drawers alone. ;)

AAMOF, I can make them so quickly and cost effectively that I'll often throw some in as lagniappe on a cabinet remodel, simply to replace the old, flimsy, existing drawers that do NOT complement the hard work we've already accomplished.

How many hammer heads can you fit in a 36" drawer?

Certainly someone has but dado blades are unique. There is certainly a left and a right side and the chippers cut a flat bottom, at least this true with quality sets. Just another reason to use a better solution rather than what you can get by with.

My thought is $40 is cheap and as you say, it speeds up and/or simplifies the process, at least for amateurs such as myself.

If simplifies the process such that I don't make as many mistakes, it's worth a *lot* more than $40. Fast is also good. I have a far more discretionary dollars than discretionary hours.

------------------------------------------------------- "Sw> I find it necessary to build a lot of mid level drawers for clients,

--------------------------------------------------------- As my consulting engineering friends are fond of saying, "Change in scope", "write up a change order.

My comment was based strictly on starting with a sheet of

Being able to use dedicated, prefabricated and prefinished material totally changes the situation.

As far as the U-Tube demo is concerned, my personal choice is to avoid a miter gage wherever possible and use a sled and some cleats for smaller pieces.

IMHO, it is safer and you are less likely to waste material.

Of course I'm not on the clock which makes a difference.

Lew

LOL ... Mea Culpa.

I would have sworn your post never mentioned material of any type, and, as the subject indicates, was about not agreeing with the necessity of the use of dedicated router bit in a WoodSmith tip video specifically entitled "Rock Solid Drawer Joints". :)

I'll put my 2 cents in. For quick and sturdy, I have built 100 + this way, 1/2 Baltic birch for the sides and 1/4 ply for the bottoms. I once proved to my wife that 1/4" bottoms were plenty, 25 years ago, when I stood on an upside down drawer that wad approximately 22"x 32". This was one of three pots and pans drawers.

Nice looking drawers, and I couldn't ask for clearer instructions! Thank you for sharing!

Bill

Leon wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.giganews.com:

Shearing 1/4 ply would take an immense weight (even shearing psuedo-woods like masonite or hardboard would take a lot). So your two risks are the bottom flexing enough to come out of the groove, or the bottom of the groove failing. The first is unlikely if the groove is reasonably tight, even for traditional style drawers without a groove at the back. The second is unlikely unless you cut the groove too close to the bottom of the side.

John

I will say that I do build my drawers a bit differently also. The grooves for the bottoms are cut for exact fit and I do not slide the bottom in from the back under the back side. The bottom is totally captured and inset into groves by both sides, from and back. It is captured during glue up.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sw>

------------------------------------------------------------ If you don't include pre-machined stock, the bit becomes a nice feature, but unnecessary bit.

Your approach of using pre-machined stock turns the bit into a totally new ball game, application wise..

Lew

Why?

How?

Your original post is about a 'drawer side' joinery method, using a dedicated router bit.

The material used - finished, unfinished, purpose milled as to width, or not - is irrelevant to that joinery method.

Regardless of the stock used in my post, you still must provide the drawer JOINERY of your choice.

Again, your original post was SOLELY about a bit that is dedicated to providing "Rock Solid Drawer "JOINTS", _irrespective of material_ .