Bragg Cabinets 036

Comment

Comment by Jay Boutwell on September 15, 2011 at 9:37am

I can't tell but is the drawer boxes just simple butt joints just nailed or stapled together? Quality build drawer boxes should have strong joints in the construction.  As in a motion in a drawer is more severe that just someone slambing a drawer shut.  Most drawer failure comes from the items stored withing the drawer as when it is opened any loose item in the drawer will put its pressure against the back of the drawer and when it is shut jut the opposite.  Content pressure pushes against the drawer front.  In all my cabinet construction I use dove tailed joints for this reason not just to make it look pretty but to securely hold the joint together.  At the very least the drawers should be locked together using a drawer joint sock that will give the joint strength with wood to wood contact and not by just the nails or staples.

In poor plywood selection time will age the wood and the ply become brittle and come apart leaving you a very weak material for anything requiring repeated movements like that found in a drawer.  My preference is either a solid wood or a 11 or more ply baltic birch which is a non void stable plywood.  The tops are not left square but bull nosed or radiused over, canded and finished.  While talking about drawers, is the bottoms inset into the drawer box or jus nailed or stapled to the bottoms?  What type of slides does it have?  In custom work it is best to use ball bearing extension slides either side mounted or bottom mounted.