How refreshing to see somebody using common sense to build the drawer. Very nicely done and it was obvious. to see your skill and talent. Well done, Brother!
Your dove tail drawer was indeed beautiful and clearly you have some mad crazy skills....BUT....This is a fabulous video for those of us who are new to building our own cabinets and drawers. You did a fantastic job of explaining what this drawer was good for, and why you would use it. Please IGNORE the arrogant, idiotic comments that some people posted in an effort to make themselves feel better about the methods that they use for a DIY. I hope you keep posting videos for the everyday person who is not making heirlooms. Most of us are just redoing our kitchens, and other living spaces and just need a strong drawer for storage. By the way, I did build 8 of these drawers for a pantry cabinet and they work perfectly and each holds 75 pounds....THANK YOU!
I really appreciate you making this video. I always get confused with drawer box measurements and I built 8 drawer boxes today for a vanity build with zero mistakes and finally have a method I can keep using. Appreciate it. Also…I may or may not be copying one of your white oak vanity builds. Just wish you had plans as I’ve had to watch it 100 times and screenshot a million times to figure everything out 😂.
That's a very good design. quite simple drawer and seems very strong. 👍 I have watched 100 drawer build videos , IMO yours is most suitable for a beginner like me. I'm gonna build a cabinet with some drawers to hold my hand tools at home. I'm not a woodworker but a mechanic, years of experience has given me some degree of intuition to gauge strength in a design. Thanks so much for sharing.
Good design, excellent execution. Your technique of attaching the bottom to the front panels that's just wow! Simple way to achieve precision! You're truly an engineer 👍
Thank you so much for this video! I just built my first 2 drawer boxes with this method and have confidence to use it for the rest of my kitchen cabinet projects.
Excellent walkthrough and break down of your process! I learned alot and will definitely apply these methods to my own process!! Thank you for sharing this videos!!
I would like to see the process for applying the finish. I would also like to learn about sourcing the maple plywood material and/or good birch plywood. Thanks for a good video. Very helpful.
Thanks ! Glad you found it useful. We source our plywood from a local hardwoods vendor , Moore Newton hardwoods in San Leandro ca. as far as finishing I am a bit spoiled in that I have a trusted finisher who sprays Gemini conversion Varnish on all our work . I personally am not an expert in finishing but there’s definitely a lot of clear coat/ varnish options out there.
Encouraging. Selecting the correct thickness of the parts is the key-and well done here-so that one part strengthens the next part and the result is exponentially greater strength than the individual parts. This is a well thought out way of making drawer boxes, it seems too simple to be true. Do you know how hard it is to do 'simple?' Simple actually requires considerable skill.
Great instructions! One thing I never understand is how can people work with inches and get precision without having a melt down? I measure 5 1/2 and 3/4, -1/8 of an inch. 😂
You mind sharing specs of your tool drawers? Like wall widths of the walls and width of base? I'm going to build some drawers and such for my van I use for locksmith work.
I’ve had good luck with pocket screws on my drawers. I use 5/8” poplar for the box & 1/4 plywood for the bottoms. All prefinished material with titebond melamine glue.
I have made about a half dozen kitchens, and all of my drawers have been built just like this and I have never had a problem. Until, that is, my most recent one. I decided to use double sided prefinished maple this time..... thinking I was smarter. Problem is, I cut the hundred+ pieces to be simple butt joints, but with the double-sided finish one of the surfaces isn't virgin wood and the wood glue simply doesn't work. This would have made a rabbet joint a much better option. Instead, I had to painstakingly sand through the finish on each end of about 50 pieces, being careful just to sand the 1/2" end of the long side of the butt joint and no further into the visible area of the box. Yes, I tried other adhesives....and the ends didn't justify the means. I trust wood glue, I didn't trust these adhesives....especially after gluing together some test scrap piece joints and watching them break pretty easily. Moral of the story - if you don't have prefinished sheet goods this method works splendidly. If you do, I'd recommend a rabbet joint so that the pre-finished piece is rabbeted and accepts the wood glue much better. Wood glue is truly some amazing stuff, IF it's used wood-on-wood. It was helpless on these joints and simply flaked right off as it couldn't penetrate the fibers and apparently has very little bonding strength to other non-wood surfaces. The bottoms were 1/2" as well and I was content just using a bunch of brad nails with some 8 gauge 1 1/2" narrow head trim screws on some of the wider drawers. If I had to sand off the entire 1/2" perimeter of each bottom I'd still be sanding.
Exactly! Well said ! And I did say in the vid that this only works with unfinished material, thats important bc the glue won’t bond the pre finished wood. This is one of multiple ways we make drawers depending on price point , due to their simplicity I wanted to share this first . I have other methods including dovetail which I’ll be showing in a future vid . Thanks for the comment !
Love the videos. 1 question tho when you make the drawers for pullouts that don’t get a drawer front what do you do to make the front of the drawer a little more attractive?
I attached solid hardwood fronts to those . Same as I would a drawer front and just call it a pullout front . I match the outside wood of the cabinet . Either painted or stained the same color to match . They look really nice like this .
Great video. Not so sure it's saving money that's the biggest take away as is saving time and aggravation! If using 1/2" thick sides is length of the drawer fronts the same 1 11/16" less then the opening?
Nice video....1 question ..You used 3/4" ply front and back but when you screwed the slide brackets to the 1/2" bottom you mentioned that they were 5/8" from the front edge. Why not 3/4"?
Dovetails and box joints are objectively better in every way, but it's not necessary and it requires expensive machinery to make them. You gotta be making a lot of drawer boxes to justify it. I used make all kinds of arguments for why a jointed drawer was unnecessary, but then started making them and would never go back. Assembly easier, visual quality is better and actual time it takes isn't way more. Looks like you've got a good shop and if you're making lots of drawer boxes, I highly suggest integrating a platform to make a jointed box. You won't regret it.
Good points ! I agree . We sell both to clients but I’ve been outsourcing dovetail to save time but have been looking into investing in a proper setup to make them quickly and efficiently myself .
I live in Massachusetts, and I've had more than one client ask if my drawers are solid wood dovetailed also a couple building contractors. I sourced them out a few times, and it's only slightly more expensive than the prefinished plywood drawers i was building , but boy, do I hate when the bill comes in . I have one of those old really heavy-duty Porter-Cable 24" dovetail jigs , I set up a dedicated router, and I do it myself now Keeping the work to myself ....
For this method it’s ideal to use half inch simply because there is no joinery or dados . It keeps the rigidity and strength needed. For 1/4” bottoms is recommended to dado out the bottom of the drawer sides , then slide it in . If that makes sense ..
Actually this isn’t really helpful in that regard. We have a finisher who sprays all our product . We spray them clear conversion varnish but any clear coat would work well. This was focused on the assembly aspect of it but I agree if someone can’t spray themselves it’s not too helpful.
I’d like to point out that glue will degrade over a long period of time. The drawers will then in use come loose and probably fail. Even the nails will degrade and loosen. But you will get between 5 to 10 years out of them. The usage sliding back and forth makes the glue fail faster than something that just sits. But hey, this is what the world wants. Fast and cheap. Great video.
My house is 33 years old and the drawers are cheap melamine that are glued and Brad nailed together. They are pathetically cheap yet they are still working just fine. Dovetails are an unnecessary luxury. Spend the money elsewhere where it matters.
@@erikstewart3448 Your observation of one house is anecdotal. I can show you where glue deteriorates, but the glue joint still holds because it’s a solid dovetail joint. A man wiser than me once said nails only hold themselves. At least use a screw.
Ha ! Yes . I do have a porter cable dovetail jig so that does the job . This was more of an entry level type vid just to show people a super simple way that , while not glamorous does work
So basically you make flat-pack cabinets but you put them together for people. Oops- even flat-pak uses dado's and finger joints, so basically you make high school shop cabinets. Er- I think they even teach better craftsmanship in high school shop....
I will never understand the use of sarcasm to appear superior. It was clearly stated on several occasions that this was a simple and adequate method for making drawers, not the only and not even the best method. Adequate! There are a myriad of reasons for using this method. I see no reason for arrogant criticism. I appreciate the risk of being mocked by some to offer help to others. Terrific video! Thanks.
How refreshing to see somebody using common sense to build the drawer. Very nicely done and it was obvious. to see your skill and talent. Well done, Brother!
Thank you ! Much appreciated
Your dove tail drawer was indeed beautiful and clearly you have some mad crazy skills....BUT....This is a fabulous video for those of us who are new to building our own cabinets and drawers. You did a fantastic job of explaining what this drawer was good for, and why you would use it. Please IGNORE the arrogant, idiotic comments that some people posted in an effort to make themselves feel better about the methods that they use for a DIY. I hope you keep posting videos for the everyday person who is not making heirlooms. Most of us are just redoing our kitchens, and other living spaces and just need a strong drawer for storage. By the way, I did build 8 of these drawers for a pantry cabinet and they work perfectly and each holds 75 pounds....THANK YOU!
Thanks , you get it !
I really appreciate you making this video. I always get confused with drawer box measurements and I built 8 drawer boxes today for a vanity build with zero mistakes and finally have a method I can keep using.
Appreciate it.
Also…I may or may not be copying one of your white oak vanity builds. Just wish you had plans as I’ve had to watch it 100 times and screenshot a million times to figure everything out 😂.
Your field dressing on your finger is a classic !
The only way!
That's a very good design. quite simple drawer and seems very strong. 👍
I have watched 100 drawer build videos , IMO yours is most suitable for a beginner like me. I'm gonna build a cabinet with some drawers to hold my hand tools at home.
I'm not a woodworker but a mechanic, years of experience has given me some degree of intuition to gauge strength in a design.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Good design, excellent execution. Your technique of attaching the bottom to the front panels that's just wow! Simple way to achieve precision! You're truly an engineer 👍
I'll build the side-mounted slides version
Great to hear , thank you !
Thank you so much for this video! I just built my first 2 drawer boxes with this method and have confidence to use it for the rest of my kitchen cabinet projects.
This is a great method. Fast and tidy. Thanks for sharing
Fast and tidy is key! Thanks
This is a great way for me to build drawers for my shop. Thanks
Excellent work and I don't know anybody that explained it like you did.
Excellent walkthrough and break down of your process! I learned alot and will definitely apply these methods to my own process!! Thank you for sharing this videos!!
Thanks Jason ! Glad you liked it
Love your step by step instruction.
Glad it could be helpful!
Beautiful work I love how you explained it...
Thanks !
I would like to see the process for applying the finish. I would also like to learn about sourcing the maple plywood material and/or good birch plywood. Thanks for a good video. Very helpful.
Thanks ! Glad you found it useful. We source our plywood from a local hardwoods vendor , Moore Newton hardwoods in San Leandro ca.
as far as finishing I am a bit spoiled in that I have a trusted finisher who sprays Gemini conversion Varnish on all our work . I personally am not an expert in finishing but there’s definitely a lot of clear coat/ varnish options out there.
Encouraging. Selecting the correct thickness of the parts is the key-and well done here-so that one part strengthens the next part and the result is exponentially greater strength than the individual parts. This is a well thought out way of making drawer boxes, it seems too simple to be true. Do you know how hard it is to do 'simple?' Simple actually requires considerable skill.
Well done. Enjoyed the video. 💪😎
Thanks , glad to hear it !
Great instructions! One thing I never understand is how can people work with inches and get precision without having a melt down? I measure 5 1/2 and 3/4, -1/8 of an inch. 😂
Great Job 😉👍🏽🪚📐✏️🔨For Edge Bands You Can Use Aluminum Foil To Cover The Iron So No Glue Sticks To It If It’s The Only One In The House 🤣
Nice tip! 😂 and thanks !
I made the tool drawers in the back of my van with glue and brads, they’ve had heavy use for 3 years and have held up brilliantly
Great to hear ! They do hold up better than most would think
You mind sharing specs of your tool drawers? Like wall widths of the walls and width of base? I'm going to build some drawers and such for my van I use for locksmith work.
I’ve had good luck with pocket screws on my drawers. I use 5/8” poplar for the box & 1/4 plywood for the bottoms. All prefinished material with titebond melamine glue.
Ah yes that would work . Many different ways !
I have made about a half dozen kitchens, and all of my drawers have been built just like this and I have never had a problem. Until, that is, my most recent one. I decided to use double sided prefinished maple this time..... thinking I was smarter. Problem is, I cut the hundred+ pieces to be simple butt joints, but with the double-sided finish one of the surfaces isn't virgin wood and the wood glue simply doesn't work. This would have made a rabbet joint a much better option. Instead, I had to painstakingly sand through the finish on each end of about 50 pieces, being careful just to sand the 1/2" end of the long side of the butt joint and no further into the visible area of the box.
Yes, I tried other adhesives....and the ends didn't justify the means. I trust wood glue, I didn't trust these adhesives....especially after gluing together some test scrap piece joints and watching them break pretty easily.
Moral of the story - if you don't have prefinished sheet goods this method works splendidly. If you do, I'd recommend a rabbet joint so that the pre-finished piece is rabbeted and accepts the wood glue much better. Wood glue is truly some amazing stuff, IF it's used wood-on-wood. It was helpless on these joints and simply flaked right off as it couldn't penetrate the fibers and apparently has very little bonding strength to other non-wood surfaces.
The bottoms were 1/2" as well and I was content just using a bunch of brad nails with some 8 gauge 1 1/2" narrow head trim screws on some of the wider drawers. If I had to sand off the entire 1/2" perimeter of each bottom I'd still be sanding.
Exactly! Well said ! And I did say in the vid that this only works with unfinished material, thats important bc the glue won’t bond the pre finished wood. This is one of multiple ways we make drawers depending on price point , due to their simplicity I wanted to share this first . I have other methods including dovetail which I’ll be showing in a future vid . Thanks for the comment !
This is so much easier than I have been making drawers. Thanks for this video!
Love the videos. 1 question tho when you make the drawers for pullouts that don’t get a drawer front what do you do to make the front of the drawer a little more attractive?
I attached solid hardwood fronts to those . Same as I would a drawer front and just call it a pullout front . I match the outside wood of the cabinet . Either painted or stained the same color to match . They look really nice like this .
@@cabinetwise so do you set the drawer slides back a little? Otherwise they would hit the door when it closes.
@@kennethgreenwood1362 yes exactly I set them back an additional 3/4”
Great video. Not so sure it's saving money that's the biggest take away as is saving time and aggravation! If using 1/2" thick sides is length of the drawer fronts the same 1 11/16" less then the opening?
Jason @ Bourbon Moth does a cool video on testing all the joinery methods for strength and was surprised to see that dovetails weren't stronger
I saw that vid. I wonder if he hung weights from the joint if the numbers would have been different...
Possible, but it’s so outside the use condition for furniture/cabinets so as to virtually ensure us that it’s not going to fall apart
I'd love to know what brand your belt sander is . I have a small shop too and I am shopping for a sander like yours.
and great video ..thanks
Thanks , it’s a porter cable belt sander
@@cabinetwise thanks so much !!
Nice video....1 question ..You used 3/4" ply front and back but when you screwed the slide brackets to the 1/2" bottom you mentioned that they were 5/8" from the front edge. Why not 3/4"?
How much you charge per lineal foot?
I don’t actually bid by linear fit . I do a material and labor breakdown so I can be precise but I’d say it ends up being pretty near to 350/ ft
Dovetails and box joints are objectively better in every way, but it's not necessary and it requires expensive machinery to make them. You gotta be making a lot of drawer boxes to justify it. I used make all kinds of arguments for why a jointed drawer was unnecessary, but then started making them and would never go back. Assembly easier, visual quality is better and actual time it takes isn't way more. Looks like you've got a good shop and if you're making lots of drawer boxes, I highly suggest integrating a platform to make a jointed box. You won't regret it.
Good points ! I agree . We sell both to clients but I’ve been outsourcing dovetail to save time but have been looking into investing in a proper setup to make them quickly and efficiently myself .
I live in Massachusetts, and I've had more than one client ask if my drawers are solid wood dovetailed also a couple building contractors.
I sourced them out a few times, and it's only slightly more expensive than the prefinished plywood drawers i was building , but boy, do I hate when the bill comes in .
I have one of those old really heavy-duty
Porter-Cable 24" dovetail jigs , I set up a dedicated router, and I do it myself now
Keeping the work to myself ....
Is it okay to use 1 1/4 inch nails instead of 1 1/2 inch nails? The nail gun we have only allows up to 1 1/4 inch nails. Thanks!
Yes that would work . The glue is what’s most important anyways.
Thank you!
Can I use 1/4 inch on the bottom ? 1/2 feels too heavy
For this method it’s ideal to use half inch simply because there is no joinery or dados . It keeps the rigidity and strength needed. For 1/4” bottoms is recommended to dado out the bottom of the drawer sides , then slide it in . If that makes sense ..
Ty!
What about finishing the drawers?
Actually this isn’t really helpful in that regard. We have a finisher who sprays all our product . We spray them clear conversion varnish but any clear coat would work well. This was focused on the assembly aspect of it but I agree if someone can’t spray themselves it’s not too helpful.
@@cabinetwise Unfortunately, most of the videos about making drawers and cabinets, dont really cover finishing and the tips and tricks of finishing.
That’s definitely a video idea for me to do then. I could explain that and do know how even tho I don’t do it professionally. Interesting to hear
I’d like to point out that glue will degrade over a long period of time. The drawers will then in use come loose and probably fail. Even the nails will degrade and loosen. But you will get between 5 to 10 years out of them. The usage sliding back and forth makes the glue fail faster than something that just sits. But hey, this is what the world wants. Fast and cheap. Great video.
My house is 33 years old and the drawers are cheap melamine that are glued and Brad nailed together. They are pathetically cheap yet they are still working just fine. Dovetails are an unnecessary luxury. Spend the money elsewhere where it matters.
@@erikstewart3448 Your observation of one house is anecdotal. I can show you where glue deteriorates, but the glue joint still holds because it’s a solid dovetail joint. A man wiser than me once said nails only hold themselves. At least use a screw.
Drawers in my kitchen are stapled melamine. Zero issues, 17 years old.
@@markolmstead4709 oh dear, staples.
@@donhuffer5167came with the house, I didn’t make them.
this made me realize how lucky i am to have a dovetail machine
Ha ! Yes . I do have a porter cable dovetail jig so that does the job . This was more of an entry level type vid just to show people a super simple way that , while not glamorous does work
👍🏿👍🏿
Great and informative video, but I'm surprised you still have thumbs... made me nerveous pushing through like that
Yes I need to use a push stick !
Use a push stick
113/4 and add a 16 it’s 11 and 13/16 😅
😂
No
So basically you make flat-pack cabinets but you put them together for people. Oops- even flat-pak uses dado's and finger joints, so basically you make high school shop cabinets. Er- I think they even teach better craftsmanship in high school shop....
Your video on drawer construction is so much better! Oh wait….
I will never understand the use of sarcasm to appear superior. It was clearly stated on several occasions that this was a simple and adequate method for making drawers, not the only and not even the best method. Adequate! There are a myriad of reasons for using this method. I see no reason for arrogant criticism. I appreciate the risk of being mocked by some to offer help to others. Terrific video! Thanks.
i would like you to make a video to show us your skills .
uh.. it's a drawer, not a work of art, most likely to go into a kitchen, not a family heirloom
You’re a fool!