Building Simple Cabinet Drawers

Hi glen those appear to work quite well for drawers not meant to be heavily loaded.

Building simple cabinet drawers.

See below for tips and tricks to make this foolproof. If you are using overlay drawer fronts install your slides flush with the front of your cabinet. We ll be using 1 2 cabinet grade plywood for all parts of these drawers including the bottoms. In wood magazine torture tests this drawer joint proved stronger than even dovetails.

For example to make a cabinet 33 3 4 wide using 3 4 plywood cut the case bottom 33 long. This is the drawer box base. Most traditional side mounted drawer slides require 1 2 clearance on each side of the drawer. Attach the drawer slides to the drawer box and the cabinet frame.

I have been looking for simple to build five drawer flat cabinet that holds 36 x 48 sheets my preferred dimension size project for years but to no avail. To size the stretchers use that same number minus the 3 4 dado allowance. Discover the secrets to making strong drawers by cutting locking rabbet joints on the tablesaw as taught by wood magazine design editor jeff mertz. Calculate upper cabinet sizes the same way.

The sides and back of the drawer should be 1 2 or 5 8 thick. How to build a cabinet drawer choose your drawer material. Using a drill driver drive 1 inch wood screws through the pilot holes in the drawer front and into the backside of the 1 6 drawer face. Let s stick with those since it makes sizing your drawer super easy too.

Build the drawer box using wood glue and 1 pocket hole screws keeping all the sides square. Subtract that number from the case width. Birch purebond plywood full sheets are best but 2 8 sheets would work as well hickory 2 4 purebond plywood panels birch purebond plywood full sheets are best but 2 8 2 4 or 4 4 sheets would work as well. In general the drawer front should be 3 4 thick unless it s a drawer with a false front false front drawers are a simple drawer box with the front screwed to the box.

Mark the placement of the drawer on the 1 6 and then remove the drawer. What you will need to build your own diy kitchen cabinets. But if you are using inset drawer fronts install them the thickness of your front inset from the front of your cabinet. I look forward hearing from you again soon.

Glue and nail a plywood base cut to size of the drawer box. That s why it s important to always buy your slides before you build. It s a handy way to fit drawer fronts in projects where the drawers run on metal slides. Not all drawer slides require the same clearance for installation.

Apply wood glue inside the marked area and then reposition the drawer. Limiting yourself to building cabinets or furniture without drawers is like driving a car without a steering wheel in both cases you won t get too far. Gumpbelly september 3 2013. Cut the cabinet bottom to that length.

Best of all this technique allows you to cut all parts of the joint with just a dado blade and a single setup on the tablesaw. Typically your front will be thick so install it from the front edge of the cabinet.