A few months ago I built a closet organizer for my wife. I left a
space for a built-in dresser and now have some time to get it built.
I have already designed the face frame and am trying to figure out how
to build the drawers. I would like to make the drawers with a glass
panel so that you can easily see what is inside the drawer.
After considering several designs, I decided to go with a flat panel
drawer front (but instead of wood, I will use a piece of glass for the
panel). When I have built drawers in the past, I would simply built
the drawer itself and screw a piece of solid wood to the front. I
can't do this with this drawer since I want to be able to see the
inside of the drawer. I also want the drawer to overlay on the face
frame for a clean look. Based on these requirements, I believe that
the right solution is to use a 1/2" half-blind rabbeted dovetail.
I have a PC 4112 dovetail machine that is capable of doing 1/2"
half-blind rabbeted dovetails. When I was reading the instructions,
it mentions that the maximum depth of the drawer is 10.625". The
depth of the drawers that I am planning on building will be 20". Does
anyone know why they state that the depth of the drawer should not
exceed 10.625"?
The slides that I am planning on using are 20" full-extension
Accurides. In the instructions it says that the drawer width should
not exceed slide length. The drawer width of two of the drawers will
be 32" (the slide is 20"). Is this just to keep the drawer from
wedging when it gets pushed in?
I have looked through a couple of books that I have that discuss
drawer construction and it provides some guidelines but nothing along
the lines of what I found in the instructions. Are these just
guidelines or am I going to run into some insurmountable problem if I
don't follow these notes?
If anyone out there has built drawers like this in the past, I would
certainly appreciate any tips that you would provide.
Thanks.
John
Seattle, WA
John Gehlsen wrote:
>
> I have a PC 4112 dovetail machine that is capable of doing 1/2"
> half-blind rabbeted dovetails. When I was reading the instructions,
> it mentions that the maximum depth of the drawer is 10.625". The
> depth of the drawers that I am planning on building will be 20". Does
> anyone know why they state that the depth of the drawer should not
> exceed 10.625"?
>
> The slides that I am planning on using are 20" full-extension
> Accurides. In the instructions it says that the drawer width should
> not exceed slide length. The drawer width of two of the drawers will
> be 32" (the slide is 20"). Is this just to keep the drawer from
> wedging when it gets pushed in?
>
Sounds to me like two different dimensions are being discussed here. The
dovetail machine probably has a limit on the width of material it can
accommodate, resulting in a maximum 10.625" deep (top to bottom)
drawer. The length of the material is limited by the distance from the
top of the machine to the floor, but would still result in one long
(front to back) drawer.
Are you really planning on making 20" deep (top to bottom) drawers? Or,
did you mean that you were planning to make 20" deep (front to back)
drawers?
On the slides, I suspect that, again, you are comparing two different
dimensions. The 20" slides should be used on a 20" or less piece of
wood, meaning that the drawer will be 20" deep (front to back). The side
to side dimension of the drawer is irrelevant.
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:qteSb.6041>
> Neither do I. But (according to the OP) that's how the directions for his
> drawer slides referred to it. Can you wonder that he was confused?
Very confused...
In article <[email protected]>, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I got what you are saying but his misinterpretation should have been
>corrected.
As far as can be seen from the original post, it's not *his*
misinterpretation. He was describing what the instructions for his router jig
and drawer slides said. And I think that my response, in which I explicitly
referred to the relevant dimensions as 'top-to-bottom' and 'front-to-back',
was quite sufficient to clear up any misunderstandings that the OP may have
had.
>I don't ever recall the width of a drawer being the measurement from front
>to back.
Neither do I. But (according to the OP) that's how the directions for his
drawer slides referred to it. Can you wonder that he was confused?
--
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (John Gehlsen) wrote:
[snip]
>I have a PC 4112 dovetail machine that is capable of doing 1/2"
>half-blind rabbeted dovetails. When I was reading the instructions,
>it mentions that the maximum depth of the drawer is 10.625". The
>depth of the drawers that I am planning on building will be 20". Does
>anyone know why they state that the depth of the drawer should not
>exceed 10.625"?
They're talking about the top-to-bottom dimension, which is probably limited
by the size of the jig.
>The slides that I am planning on using are 20" full-extension
>Accurides. In the instructions it says that the drawer width should
>not exceed slide length.
Read "drawer width" as front-to-back dimension.
--
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
In article <[email protected]>, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:rI6Sb.5772
>
>
>> Read "drawer width" as front-to-back dimension.
>
>LOL... Now you have me confused..
Go back and read the original post.
>
>Read "Drawer Depth" as front to back.
Not in the context of the original post.
>
>Drawer Width, side to side...
>Drawer Height, top to bottom.
I agree that this is more reasonable terminology, but, again, _not_ in the
context of the original post.
>
>I'm sure that is what you meant to say..
No, it's not. I said exactly what I meant. Did you read the original post? I'm
guessing not, otherwise you would realize that the OP was the victim of some
pretty confusing terminology in the instructions he was reading.
The OP said that he had a dovetail jig with instructions that said that the
maximum "drawer depth" (their phrase, not mine) that could be made with said
jig was 'x'. Clearly in this context "drawer depth" refers to the length of
the dovetail joint, which is the top-to-bottom dimension of the drawer,
exactly as I said. Not front-to-back. There is obviously no restriction placed
on front-to-back dimension by a dovetail jig, only top-to-bottom.
He also said that he had drawer slides with instructions that said the "drawer
width" (their phrase, not mine) could not exceed 'y' (where 'y' is the length
of the slide). Clearly in this context, "drawer width" refers to the
front-to-back dimension of the drawer, again exactly as I said. Not
left-to-right. Again, there is obviously no restriction placed on
left-to-right dimension by a drawer slide, only front-to-back.
--
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:rI6Sb.5772
> Read "drawer width" as front-to-back dimension.
LOL... Now you have me confused..
Read "Drawer Depth" as front to back.
Drawer Width, side to side...
Drawer Height, top to bottom.
I'm sure that is what you meant to say..
>
>
>
>
> --
> Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
>
> How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for
Miss America?