Shop drawers?

[Randy Rizzo]

Closing in on get these shop cabinets finished. Should finish the doors tomorrow. Next up, drawers. 8 of em. I don't really want to take the time to dovetail or use a drawer lock bit. I had planned on using 3/4 AC ply for drawer material and just pocket screw em together. Rout a rabbet for some 1/4" or 3/8" ply bottoms, overlay fronts. I've done pocket screw drawers in the past using 3/4" pine, but they're lightly loaded, and don't see a lot of daily use (storeroom). They've held up well, no problems in the last 6 or 7 years since I installed em, but I'm a little concerned about using the same construction methods where a sturdier drawer is going to be required. Maximum depth of the proposed drawers will be 8”. Anyone done something like this? Problems?

[John T Barker]

I've often wondered about how to do some drawers for the shop. Sure don't want to dovetail that many. I've wondered about rabbetting the fronts and gluing the sides and then fastening them with pins. Bad explanation...drive pins (covered with glue) into pre-drilled holes through the drawer sides into the ends of the drawer fronts. With a plywood bottom grooved in place and glued the whole unit should be very stable and strong.

[Gene Takae]

My take on this is if you need the practice for dovetails, etc then use this as an opportunity to hone your skills. Otherwise-the faster the better.

[Lee Ludden]

I used pocket screws in 1/2" BB plywood for all the drawers in my shop. Been holding up fine for past 5 years.

[Leo Graywacz]

Pocket screws and glue will make a good shop drawer. It should last for years. And if one fails, building another should only take less than an hour.

[Art Mann]

My opinion is also that pocket screws are strong enough. The only issue with using pocket screws for most joinery is that they are ugly if placed where they can be seen.

[Neil Gaskin]

I'm just about finished with our shop build out and needed to build about 50 drawers. I used 1/2" baltic birch for the sides. Most of our drawers are 36" wide x 30" long, and very from 2" to 15" tall. I rabbitted the face and back into the sides and rabbited 1/2" ply into the bottom for everything except the 2" drawers where I used 1/4". It doesnt give the best apperance without a face but I wanted the face and back pulling on the side rabbit for more strenght. We used ball bearing side mount full ext. slides and so far so good. some of the drawers haver quite a bit of wieght.

All that aside I think you approach would work fine if you keep the depth to 8" and do not store lead inside.

Closing in on get these shop cabinets finished. Should finish the doors tomorrow. Next up, drawers. 8 of em. I don't really want to take the time to dovetail or use a drawer lock bit. I had planned on using 3/4 AC ply for drawer material and just pocket screw em together. Rout a rabbet for some 1/4" or 3/8" ply bottoms, overlay fronts. I've done pocket screw drawers in the past using 3/4" pine, but they're lightly loaded, and don't see a lot of daily use (storeroom). They've held up well, no problems in the last 6 or 7 years since I installed em, but I'm a little concerned about using the same construction methods where a sturdier drawer is going to be required. Maximum depth of the proposed drawers will be 8”. Anyone done something like this? Problems?

[Don Sundberg]

I didn't have a drawer lock bit or dovetail jig when I did my first shop drawers. My boxes were made entirely from 1/2" birch ply. I did a 1/4" dado 1/4" in all the way around on the bottoms of the sides/ends and then the same dado on the ends of the sides. I put a ~1/4 x ~1/4" rabbit into the front and back that allowed the remainder to fit well into the sides I also did this with the bottom all the way around. Glued it all together with no nails and they have worked well. Some are loaded pretty heavy and they have been in service for 5+ years so far. I did separate drawer faces and screwed them to the fronts of the drawer boxes so they matched since my cabinet was pretty much a frame-less design.

Two setups to do all of the pieces once you get them cut out. One for the dado and one for the rabbit.

[Jim Becker]

I use quality 1/2" plywood for this purpose with butt joints, glue and #7 trim-head screws...the same as I do construction for my tack trunks. With a solid 1/2" thick bottom that keeps the sides square, etc., these drawers are very, very strong. There's no need to use heavy 3/4" material for this purpose. IMHO.

[Leo Graywacz]

My opinion is also that pocket screws are strong enough. The only issue with using pocket screws for most joinery is that they are ugly if placed where they can be seen.

You put them on the front and back of the drawer. Apply a drawer front and the only exposed ones are in the rear. The only time you'll see them is if you remove the door.

[Bob Hoffmann]

This is the method that I use -- rabbited sides, bottom attached to the bottom without a dado ... it does not need to have runners built, so it uses the entire case size (the bottom is extended to act as a runner in the side ... this style does not have a stop to limit the drawer from falling out. I little wax on the runners and it works like a champ.

Drawer pic small.jpg

[Randy Rizzo]

You put them on the front and back of the drawer. Apply a drawer front and the only exposed ones are in the rear. The only time you'll see them is if you remove the door.

that was the plan, hide them behind the overlay and the backs only seen if you remove the drawer. 1/2" BB sounds the way to go if I can get it here locally. Otherwise the only nearby (within 50-75 miles in these parts) places that might have suitable material are either HD or Menards. I've not been very lucky with either in the past.

[Jim Dwight]

On the one long wall of my shop without windows, I have my CMS and RAS on a 8 foot bench and just added another 4 foot bench on one end. The router table is at the same height and rolls against this wall too. Anyway, I built the 8 foot section several months ago, maybe a year ago, and didn't want to take the time to use dovetails. I wanted to use 3/4 plywood mainly because it was pretty cheap. I pocket screwed the sides to the front and back so you can see the screws on the sides. Doesn't bug me and uses less material than an overlay construction. The bottoms are mainly 7/16 waferboard glued and nailed to the sides and back and to the front in a rabbet (so it doesn't show). They slide on plywood runners. There are a couple I need to trim go eliminate sticking but they work and are very strong.

On the new smaller cabinet, I put 3/4 dados for 23/32 plywood drawer supports. That took a few more minutes but should keep my drawer runners straighter. I will also dovetail at least some of the drawers and will probably use pine shelving boards. They will cost a little more than plywood but not a lot. The dovetails make a strong drawer but I like the mainly because I think they look nicer. I can make them in plywood but have to back cut to minimize separation of the plys. It's just nicer to work with wood, even cheap wood.

I haven't done it recently but I have also just used brads and glue on butt joints to make drawers with completely acceptable results. That is probably fastest. I should probably time the joint process for dovetails versus pocket screws. I don't think the pocket screws are much faster. Setup is long but my jig stays setup and I have a router setup right now too. Drawer assembly is faster with the dovetails. Lots of ways work.

[Jerry Olexa]

1/2" material is more than adequate......3/4" is overkill IMHO.

[John TenEyck]

Eight drawers is nothing. Take the time to learn how to make a quality drawer; then you'll know how when you have a project where it really matters. I like to use finger joints with 1/2" BB plywood, but there are other approaches that are strong and look good. Pocket screws are about as ugly as it gets, though, not something I'd use for anything other than a shop drawer. So pick a joint you would like to use with a quality piece of furniture or kitchen cabinet and learn to make it. Your shop cabinets will look good and you'll be able to build drawers that look good when you need to.

Since I'm giving advise free of charge, don't use 3/4" material. It's overkill and looks ugly. 1/2" or 5/8" is more than strong enough for nearly any size drawer you would ever need to make, especially ones 8" deep.

John