Solid Wood Dovetail Joint Drawer Box Construction

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Equally a woodworker, what's the first thing you lot notice when you open up a cabinet's drawer? The way it's put together, of course.

A drawer made with half-blind dovetails really stands out. While a drawer that runs easily on metal slides doesn't necessarily need the strength of a dovetail articulation, well-fabricated dovetails clearly signal adept craftsmanship.

In this article, you'll learn how to apply a typical one-half-blind dovetail jig to brand a standard drawer box. (It's chosen a "box" because the front of the drawer—what you run into on the outside of the cabinet—is applied afterwards.) Allow's start by looking at the jig itself.

Also in this series: Kitchen Cabinet Essentials • How to Make a Cabinet Drawer Box • How to Install A Cabinet Drawer • How to Brand a Chiffonier Door • How to Install a Cabinet Door • Prefinishing Plywood

The Jig

About half-bullheaded jigs have essentially the same parts. The about important one is the rummage. Using a router equipped with a dovetail bit and a template guide, yous trace around the comb to make the joint.

You always rout two boards at the aforementioned fourth dimension. 1 is held horizontally past the top clamp; the other is held vertically by the front clamp. The clamps on this jig operate on a cam. Rotating each handle pushes a long clamping bar against the workpiece.

Well-nigh jigs have a pair of stops that position both workpieces left or right, relative to the comb.

The Articulation

Here's what a typical one-half-blind dovetail joint looks like. The boards are in the aforementioned orientation as if they were still sitting in the jig, freshly routed.

Tracing around the rounded fingers of the comb produces a series of sockets and tails. They're exactly the same width; when y'all assemble the ii pieces, they'll automatically fit together.

The pieces will too marshal with each other, top and bottom, because they're beginning by but the correct amount when you clamp them in the jig. The jig's stops create this showtime.

The Box

Here's an exploded view of a typical drawer box. The forepart and dorsum pieces have sockets cut into them; both are the same length. These pieces extend the full width of the drawer box.

The side pieces have tails formed on their ends. If all pieces are 1/2″ thick—typical for a drawer box—the sides are cut ane/4″ shorter than the overall depth of the box.

A typical drawer box has an applied forepart and a 1/4″ plywood bottom trapped in a groove. The groove runs effectually all four sides of the box.

Your Jig's Spacing

On some jigs, the altitude between the dovetails is 7/viii″; on other jigs, it's ane″. This is an important number when you're figuring out how wide the sides of your drawers should be. Why? Dovetail joints wait best when they accept one-half-pins at the top and bottom of the joint. Of grade, this rule limits the widths you tin choose from. They will be increments of 7/8″ or 1″, plus the narrowest dimension of one half-pin, depending on your jig.

7/viii″ Spacing

ane″ Spacing

Fortunately, when you lot're building drawer boxes that ride on slides and accept applied fronts, the width of the drawer sides can be anywhere up to 1″ less than the opening in the cabinet. For our model cabinet, we used a i″ jig and made the sides 4-1/4″ broad. If y'all have a vii/viii″ jig, make the sides four-1/2″ high. In addition, brand the bottom half-pin a bit extra-broad, and so the drawer-bottom groove runs through the center of the first socket.

Adjusting Your Router and Jig

Besides loose on left, as well tight on right.

Every time you rout a new set of drawers, y'all'll make three adjustments to your router and jig. To test these adjustments, you'll need some fleck woods that is exactly the same thickness and width as the woods you'll be using for your drawer boxes.

Adjustment 2: Depth

Affluent on the left, too deep on the right.

Next, adjust the position of the comb in or out. This affects how deep the sockets will be. Ideally, the sockets should exist just deep enough so that the pins are flush when the articulation is assembled.

In do, information technology'due south best to position the rummage then the sockets are near ane/64″ also deep. This will compensate for any minor error in your setup or minor variation in the thickness of the drawer's sides.

Adjusting basics behind the rummage's brackets determine the position of the comb. Both nuts must exist the same altitude from the front of the jig, and then the comb remains parallel to the jig.

Examine the depth of the sockets on the test pieces you've made so far. If they're not deep plenty (and this is like shooting fish in a barrel to confuse with a joint that's too tight), plough each adjusting nut clockwise, closer to the jig, then tighten the bracket knobs. If the sockets are too deep—and this is the best place to start—loosen the knobs first, then plow the adjusting nuts counterclockwise, away from the jig.

Adjustment 3: Spacing

Incorrect on left, right on right.

Lastly, accommodate the position of the stops on the jig. Moving them left or correct affects how the joint looks. Your goal is to make a joint that begins and ends with half-pins rather than half-tails.

A half-pin doesn't have to be precisely half the width of a full pin, though. Close is adept enough.

To ready the stops, commencement with a new pair of exam pieces. Decide where you want the groove for the drawer bottom to go, then draw "grooves" on the pieces. (Typically, grooves are located iii/eight″ to 1/ii″ above the lesser border of a drawer.)

The groove should fall approximately in the middle of a socket, so a tail will cover it when the drawer is assembled.

To position each end, loosen its adjusting spiral and slide the stop all the way toward the stop of the jig. Place one of the test pieces underneath the jig'southward rummage and center the groove in the comb's first "U". Butt the stop up to the test piece and tighten it in place.

Mill the Wood

Some species are improve than others for making drawers. You'll want a forest that's relatively stable; one time it's been milled, it should stay apartment. And y'all'll want a wood that doesn't chip out when you rout it.

Maple and crimson oak are 2 excellent choices. We used maple for our model cabinet because information technology contrasts nicely with cherry, the chiffonier's chief forest.

If you lot have a tablesaw, jointer and planer, it's best to manufactory the forest yourself, to ensure that it's flat. (If the drawer pieces are cupped, the dovetails won't go together properly; if they're twisted, the drawer box will be twisted, besides.)

Drawer boxes are typically made from 1/two″ thick textile. Start with 4/four (one″) rough stock and saw it into individual drawer pieces (front, back and sides). Cut them almost ane/iv″ extra wide and 1″ extra long. Be sure to manufactory some extra woods for testing the dovetail jig setups.

To ensure that your pieces stay apartment, mill them down to five/eight″ thick and let them sit down for a few days. Joint the faces of the pieces and finish planing them downward to one/2″. Joint the edges, rip the pieces to width and crosscut them to final length.

Saw Grooves First

Later on all this work, the last matter you want to do is get confused near which board goes where on the jig. Here's an unorthodox mark system that's nigh foolproof: Make the grooves for the drawer bottom before routing the dovetails. In one case the grooves are cut, there's no mistaking which side of the board faces in and which side faces out on the jig—information technology'southward obvious.

Photo 1. Cut all four drawer pieces to terminal size, and then saw the drawer-lesser grooves. These grooves will assist y'all position each piece in the dovetail jig.

Cut the grooves on the tablesaw using a standard bract (Photo 1). Heighten the blade 1/four″ high. You'll saw two overlapping cuts—start with the cut that'due south nearest the bottom edge. (If you're making the drawers for our model chiffonier, the distance from the debate to the blade must be ane/2″ to accommodate the undermount hardware.)

Make this cut on all of your pieces. Adjust the saw'south fence to make the second cutting. Use a long piece of drawer-bottom plywood to exam the groove's fit—you should be able to push the plywood along the groove with little effort.

Photo two. Adapt the four parts of the drawer box in the correct orientation and marking them. ("FB" indicates a Forepart/Back board.) The Left Corners are routed on the left side of the dovetail jig; the Right Corners are routed on the right side of the jig.

Finally, mark each part of the drawer as a forepart, back or side (Photo 2). You're ready to rout.

Rout the Dovetails

Use the test pieces to set up the jig. Information technology usually takes about a half-dozen tries to get everything right. Once you're set, you tin rout many drawers without making any further adjustments—as long equally all the wood is the verbal aforementioned thickness.

Photo three. Place two pieces in the left side of the jig. The drawer grooves face the outer border of the jig. Front/Back boards keep peak of the jig; Side boards go in the front of the jig. To avoid mistake, depict "FB" and "Side" on the jig, likewise.

Let's walk through how you'd make simply one drawer. Place one of the drawer'south front/dorsum pieces and ane of the side pieces in the left side of the jig (Photo three). (These pieces are interchangeable, so it doesn't matter which two you use.) Make sure the boards are butted up to the stops and are affluent with each other. It's a expert idea to place a backer board in the jig, also.

Photograph 4. Rout the dovetails, then remove these boards from the jig. Place the other two boards in the jig, in the aforementioned orientation, and rout them. Subsequently routing both Left Corners, move on to the Correct Corners.

Rout the dovetails (Photo four). Place the router on the jig before you offset information technology, and plow it off before yous remove it. Be careful not to tip the router. When you're done, audit the articulation before you remove the boards from the jig. If some portion is uncut, rout it again. Once the joint looks OK, remove the boards and place the other two Front/Dorsum and Side boards in the jig. Rout them as well. Repeat this procedure on the right side of the jig (Photo 5).

Photo 5. Place two boards in the right side of the jig. Over again, the grooves face the outer edge of the jig, the FB board goes on superlative and the Side board goes in front end. Rout these boards, and then place the remaining two boards in the jig and rout them.

Glue the Drawer

Gather the drawer, without glue, so yous can figure out the exact size of the drawer bottom (Photo half-dozen). While you could apply a tape measure, at that place's no chance of making a math error if you use compression sticks. (They're ane/8″ thick and 3/iv″ broad.)

Photo 6. Assemble the drawer, without glue. Mensurate the distance between the bottoms of the grooves, in both directions, using pinch sticks. Cut the drawer lesser ane/16″ less in width and length than these measurements.

Here's how pinch sticks piece of work: Insert ane end of a stick in a groove, and so extend the other stick until it bottoms out in the opposite groove. Clench the sticks together, then rotate the assembly out of the grooves. Mensurate the length of the 2 sticks and subtract 1/16″. Mensurate the drawer in the contrary direction and cutting the drawer lesser to size.

Sand all of the inside surfaces of the drawer and the top side of the drawer lesser.

Photo 7. Glue the drawer together. Assemble the forepart and sides starting time, then slide in the bottom. Add the back last. If the joints are nice and tight, you won't have to use clamps.

Glue the drawer together (Photo 7). Yous won't need a lot of glue—but apply it to the sockets with a small brush. Proceed a damp rag handy for cleaning upwards the squeeze-out on the outside of the drawer. Brand the joints as affluent every bit you can.

Photo 8. Square the drawer box by clamping large 50-shaped blocks to opposite corners. These blocks are made from 2 layers of 3/4″ MDF.

Afterward you add the final piece, make sure the drawer is square (Photo 8). You can measure out from corner to corner to see how shut you are, just the play tricks is bringing it in to square. L-shaped squaring blocks work quite well. After the glue dries, sand the joints flush.

Photo ix. Round over all the edges of the drawer box—except for the front. Support the router with a thick scrap lath that's the aforementioned width as the box.

Lastly, soften the edges of the drawer box with a one/8″ roundover flake (Photo ix). Before you lot start, put a big "X" on the front lath—yous don't want to round the forepart edges of this slice, where the practical front goes. Balance the router by using a lath that's the same width as the drawer box. Use this piece to help rout both the within and outside edges of each piece.

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Source: https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/how-to-make-a-cabinet-drawer-box/

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