All the drawers (and pullouts) that I have made had dovetail joints for the front panel, and dados for the rear panel, and a bottom panel that slides into grooves.
That was the construction recommended in most of the magazine articles I read (and my primary source of woodworking education).
The front had to be the strongest as it would experience a pull each time the drawer was opened.
The rear panel only faced the inertia of the contents of the drawer. So it did not have to be as strong.
The bottom panel floated within grooves to allow for seasonal movement of the side panels and front and rear panels.
But modern drawer slide hardware greatly minimizes the stresses on drawer boxes.
Proof in point, the builder grade kitchen cabinets in my home had vinyl clad 5/8 particle board for the front, rear and side panels. The bottom panel was plywood. They were held together with staples (and no glue). Only one drawer fell apart and needed replacement in about 30 years. I credit the drawer slide hardware for the longevity of the drawer boxes.
Once you have the dovetail jig set up and the router set up, it is as fast as, or faster than most other joinery. It is definitely faster than dowels, and possibly faster than dominoes.
And the big cabinet companies have fully automated dovetail machines which you can watch on YouTube and see that they are faster than just about anything (including stapling). So those manufacturers say, “dovetail joints are a must”.
Which brings up my question. What is the fastest, easiest way to build drawers that will yield adequate strength?
I have two dovetail jigs and two routers that I used to have setup and ready to make drawers on a moment’s notice. But they took up space that I needed, so they are no longer left setup. When I had that setup it was a no-brainer. The fastest method was also the strongest.
In terms of rating strength:
5 = dovetail joinery
4 = dowel or domino
3 = biscuit joinery
2 = butt joinery + glue
1 = butt joinery (no glue
Where would the Blum Metabox fit in?
That was the construction recommended in most of the magazine articles I read (and my primary source of woodworking education).
The front had to be the strongest as it would experience a pull each time the drawer was opened.
The rear panel only faced the inertia of the contents of the drawer. So it did not have to be as strong.
The bottom panel floated within grooves to allow for seasonal movement of the side panels and front and rear panels.
But modern drawer slide hardware greatly minimizes the stresses on drawer boxes.
Proof in point, the builder grade kitchen cabinets in my home had vinyl clad 5/8 particle board for the front, rear and side panels. The bottom panel was plywood. They were held together with staples (and no glue). Only one drawer fell apart and needed replacement in about 30 years. I credit the drawer slide hardware for the longevity of the drawer boxes.
Once you have the dovetail jig set up and the router set up, it is as fast as, or faster than most other joinery. It is definitely faster than dowels, and possibly faster than dominoes.
And the big cabinet companies have fully automated dovetail machines which you can watch on YouTube and see that they are faster than just about anything (including stapling). So those manufacturers say, “dovetail joints are a must”.
Which brings up my question. What is the fastest, easiest way to build drawers that will yield adequate strength?
I have two dovetail jigs and two routers that I used to have setup and ready to make drawers on a moment’s notice. But they took up space that I needed, so they are no longer left setup. When I had that setup it was a no-brainer. The fastest method was also the strongest.
In terms of rating strength:
5 = dovetail joinery
4 = dowel or domino
3 = biscuit joinery
2 = butt joinery + glue
1 = butt joinery (no glue
Where would the Blum Metabox fit in?
