Bottom of the Barrel

[Stew Hagerty]

Or in this case, bottom of the drawer. I was wondering if there is some kind of "rule of thumb" for how far up to start the groove for the drawer bottom?
I actually don't really have any system myself. I usually either follow the plan (if I'm using one that I purchased); or I just lay it out based on the drawer depth and size, the thickness of the bottom material, and how much weight I expect the drawer to carry.

[Sam Murdoch]

If you are using undermount slides you need to pay attention to the specs. Blum requires 1/2" clearance from the underside of the bottom. Otherwise I like to keep as much depth of the drawer as possible but typically leave 3/8" of solid material on the drawer sides under the bottom. Really heavy drawers you can simply screw a plywood panel directly into the drawer sides with no rabbet at all. So much depends on type of drawer box material, type of slide etc. In other words, no rule of thumb (that I'm aware of ).

[Stew Hagerty]

If you are using undermount slides you need to pay attention to the specs. Blum requires 1/2" clearance from the underside of the bottom. Otherwise I like to keep as much depth of the drawer as possible but typically leave 3/8" of solid material on the drawer sides under the bottom. Really heavy drawers you can simply screw a plywood panel directly into the drawer sides with no rabbet at all. So much depends on type of drawer box material, type of slide etc. In other words, no rule of thumb (that I'm aware of ).

OK, so then pretty much the way I've been doing it then.