Movement

[Tom Krueger]

How much do you guys allow for seasonal movement with qswo, specifically drawer fronts in craftsman furniture?
Tia

[Kevin Jenness]

There is a "shrinkulator" on Woodweb that will calculate movement based on species and grain orientation. Scroll down the left side of the home page to lumber calculators.

[Tom Krueger]

Thanks Kevin

[Jamie Buxton]

There is no simple answer to your question. Or rather, the answer depends upon where you live. Wood moves in response to changes in the humidity level in the air around the wood. Those humidity levels depend on where you are. For instance, in Boston the humidity swings are rather large. In San Francisco, the swings are small.

[Tom Krueger]

I’m in Illinois about 70 miles south of Chicago

[Tom Bain]

Are you inquiring about inset drawer gaps, or another application? Regardless of the species, I generally shoot for a consistent 1/16" gap all the way around.

[John TenEyck]

There is an excellent article by Christian Becksvoort in FWW a few years ago about how to accommodate seasonal wood movement with drawer fronts, etc. And Bruce Hoadley goes into even more detail in his book Understanding Wood. Both are well worth reading and referring back to.

While not guaranteed, a dime all around works pretty well for normal drawers when the piece is built in the Summer and a nickel if built in the Winter.

John

[Tom Krueger]

Thanks John. That sounds good.