drawer side thickness

[Scott Brandstetter]

I am going to be building quite a few drawers and was wondering what the correct thickness is for the sides of the drawers. These drawers would be for clothing, in a dresser or night stand, and not holding a lot of weight.

I have 4/4 rough cut lumber and was wondering if I could run it through my bandsaw then planer/jointer. Would end up with 3/8 width I'm guessing

[barry holman]

The drawer sides for the size of casework you are talking about should be closer to 1/2 inch. I usually resaw 5/4 or 6/4 stock to get a milled 1/2 inch side. Of course everything depends upon how straight your stock is and how good you are at resawing.

[Troy Turner]

3/8" has potential. I've always been partial to 1/2" though. Setup and run a scrap piece and see how close you can get. Depending on your resaw skills, you might end up with a little less than 3/8". I hate to waste wood, but do you have enough just to take the 4/4 down to a smooth 1/2"?

[Keith Hankins]

I'm with Barry. My drawer sides are generally 1/2 and the bottoms are a half as well with edges taken down to a 1/4". If you plane down 3/4 to a half, thats a lot of waste. I try to get 5/4 or 6/4 and resaw then plan to minimze waste.

[Danny Hamsley]

I like 5/8" for drawer sides.

[Lee Schierer]

I prefer 1/2" thick drawer sides. They are strong enough for most needs and aren't as heavy as drawers made from 3/4" material would be.

[Jim Dwight]

I usually use 1/2 Baltic birch plywood for drawers. I don't like planning down to 1/2 and/or resawing plus the glue up necessity with solid wood. The Baltic birch is a little under 1/2 thickness, maybe more like 7/16. I once built kitchen drawers the way you describe. They worked OK but were between 3/8 and 7/16 thick and were difficult to cut dovetails in. I didn't consider it a failure but I didn't want to keep doing it that way either.

[Steve Jenkins]

I use 9/16 then bullnose the top edge after assembly.

[Pat Barry]

1/2 inch. Not sure what that is in metric. 1/2 inch looks right, plus its supereasy to figure how that thickness figures into placement of the sides for overlay drawer fronts or inset drawer fronts.

[Bill Adamsen]

Even for furniture - which is what it sounds like you're proposing - 3/8" is a little light for drawer components unless the pieces are diminutive. It is even a bit light for traditional drawer bottoms (I use 1/2" White pine). Obviously it depends on the drawer size, wood type and approach to construction and installation. I think the challenge is going to be the dado for the bottom (and what's left after cutting) and that 3/8 would likely eliminate installation alternatives except for old fashioned wood runners. I understand your pain. One hates to plane down material to shavings that could have be used for a different project. One option - if it is reasonably nice wood - would be to resaw (example only) to where after planing you have 1/2" (for the drawer components) and 5/16". Use the larger stock for the drawer sides and back, unresawn material for the half-blind fronts, and the smaller dimensioned material for drawer dividers, framed panels (sides and back of the furniture?) or a different project altogether.

[dave nichols]

I generally use 1/2 to 9?16" for drawer sides

[George Bokros]

I generally use 1/2" Baltic Birch and round over the top edges. I did use 1/2" soft maple for the vanity I just built though.

[Roy Harding]

I use 1/2" (12mm in metric, for those who may be curious).

[Edward Oleen]

Second the motion. I'd also add that unless sealed really well you don't want solid wood for drawers unless there is plenty of slop, or really heavy duty slides: when they swell with the humidity they are STUCK.

[Edward Oleen]

1/2 inch. Not sure what that is in metric. 1/2 inch looks right, plus its supereasy to figure how that thickness figures into placement of the sides for overlay drawer fronts or inset drawer fronts.

12mm is the equivalent of 1/2 inch. It's a wee bit thinner, 'cause there are 25.4 mm per inch - PERIOD. (Definition by international group of scientists, etc. I forget the name. Maybe ISO?)

Since most plywood - even in the good ol' US - is made to metric thicknesses, that is why "1/2 inch ply" isn't..., and the same with the rest of the thicknesses. Of course, the stuff I find in the yards is so variable in thickness that I use a good digital caliper on it when I buy.