Drawer construction

[VW mick]

Hi guys I'm making some drawers .they are 12mm MDF I've just butted and pined the corners (they are only for my bench ) .i thought id add a 5x30 domino to strengthen it .is there any advantage to doing this ?

What do you think

 

[peter halle]

I would.  Pins can loosen over time.

Peter

 

[VW mick]

Just a note I did Glue it with PVA as well

 

[carlb40]

Mick is that the front of the draw in the picture? For strength it is better to have the draw front fitted between the sides to help resist the pulling forces during use.  [wink]

 

[VW mick]

Ha ha

No that's the side ,prob not clear in my photon. I'm going to add a drawer front that is just the drawer box

 

[carlb40]

Ha ha

No that's the side ,prob not clear in my photon. I'm going to add a drawer front that is just the drawer box

LOL that's cool then, the domino's should add a decent amount of strength to the boxes then.  [big grin]

 

[grbmds]

Since acquiring my Domino, I made drawers for a work table in my shop using 2 Dominos per corner on a drawer that depth and 3 for a deeper drawer. The 5X30 Domino will certainly add strength. I would not depend solely on the pins and glue, especially if you are planning on using the drawer to hold anything substantial. carlb40 is right, though, about the front/back comment. That is how I've made my drawers. I also have added a front to my drawers, choosing to install them with full extension metal drawer slides. This covers up the butt joint in the front and the back is hidden anyway. You may already know all of this, but I couldn't tell from your post.

 

[davee]

The 4x20 dominos are great for 12mm drawer sides as well.  They provide great strength and aren't visible. 

 

[VW mick]

Since acquiring my Domino, I made drawers for a work table in my shop using 2 Dominos per corner on a drawer that depth and 3 for a deeper drawer. The 5X30 Domino will certainly add strength. I would not depend solely on the pins and glue, especially if you are planning on using the drawer to hold anything substantial. carlb40 is right, though, about the front/back comment. That is how I've made my drawers. I also have added a front to my drawers, choosing to install them with full extension metal drawer slides. This covers up the butt joint in the front and the back is hidden anyway. You may already know all of this, but I couldn't tell from your post.

Yes that's cool thanks ,this is the thing with the Fog you don't really know what experience people have .ive actually made loads of drawers in different ways .but have only just got a domino

Thanks guys I will proceed and do them this afternoon .wanted to get done so can leave them to dry and sand them up next weekend

 

[waho6o9]

I always did like that idea, good job.

 

[roblg3]

mortice and tenon joinery basics is tenon 1/3 the thickness of material.  For 12mm material, 4mm domino is suggested.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

mortice and tenon joinery basics is tenon 1/3 the thickness of material.  For 12mm material, 4mm domino is suggested.

The 4mm is all the more critical because he is using MDF. The tenons are significantly stronger than the MDF substrate, so they should be as small as possible for maximizing the overall strength of the joint.

 

[builderbob]

But if the drawers are already constructed you'll never get the 4mm cutter to make a deep enough cut to make a difference. At that point I'd use the 5mm tight setting and cut off your excess. If you're able to take the drawers back apart then yes I would use a 4 on 1/2" material.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

But if the drawers are already constructed you'll never get the 4mm cutter to make a deep enough cut to make a difference. At that point I'd use the 5mm tight setting and cut off your excess. If you're able to take the drawers back apart then yes I would use a 4 on 1/2" material.

Yes, if all of his boxes are already built, then he has little choice than to use the 5mm cutter to achieve the necessary depth. Even if he hasn't built them yet, I assume he doesn't have the 4mm cutter nor tenons on-hand. That notwithstanding, for future reference (and for future readers of this thread), when working with MDF, you should always undersize the tenons as much as possible because they are so much stronger than the MDF substrate. You want to remove as little of the substrate as possible.

Here is a video I made several years ago for building drawer boxes. It may be helpful for both current and future readers of this thread. It was intended to highlight Festool products as well as my MGS and SCG guides (although it was recorded before I designed the SCG guides). I just built some drawers for my neighbor this weekend, and the only thing I did different from the video was to use the tablesaw for those cuts where a tablesaw is more efficient. (well that, and I've dropped about 40 ugly pounds from my worthless carcase since then.  [tongue])

P.S. The cat was a major camera ham at the time, hence the chosen production titles. See if you can spot him walking through the camera frame in at least one clip.   [blink]

 

[sancho57]