How to Build a Drawer

Ian's design

I devised a repeatable method to build a drawer that I have been using for years. The resulting drawer is simple but strong, has hidden sliders with 100% extension, and is easy to build and install.

I use Hettich Quadro Extension Runners for my slides. Click here to go to their web site.

Step 1: make the drawer fronts

The first step is to make the drawer fronts. I use hardwood and make them 3/4" wider and 3/4" taller than the drawer opening. Sand and varnish the drawer fronts.

Step 2: cut the drawer pieces

Cut the drawer sides and back from 1/2" Finnish plywood. The height of both is 5/8" less than the drawer opening and the side length is 1/2" longer than the slide length. The drawer back is 1 1/4" less than the width of the drawer opening.

Cut the drawer bottom from 1/4" hardboard. In width it should be the same as the length of the drawer back and in length it should be 3/8" less than the length of the drawer side.

Step 3: Prepare the drawer pieces for fitting

Using a dado blade on the table saw, dado a centered tenon on the front edge of the drawer sides which is 3/8" long and 1/4" thick. This will be inserted into the mortise to be cut into the drawer front using a 1/4" router bit. It will be necessary to trim about 1/4" from either end of the tenon so that it fits into the routed mortise without showing any of the mortise.

Set the dado blade for 1/4" and cut a slot 5/8" from the bottom of the drawer sides and back to receive the drawer bottom.

Cut a 1/2" by 1/4" rabbet on the inside end of each side piece to receive the back. Cut a 5/8" x 3/4" notch at the bottom corner of each side of the back to receive the tail of the sliders.

Step 4: Finish the drawers

Assemble the drawers by gluing the back in place and tacking it with brads. I do this with the drawer bottom in place so that the drawer remains square.

Use a 1/2" roundover bit to round the top edges of the drawer. I know that you are supposed to move the router so that it doesn't "climb", but I do that anyway (carefully) because if you do it the proper way, the Finnish plywood has a tendency to split off, damaging the drawer.

Step 5: Build the jig

Prepare the jig which will be used for routing the mortise on the drawer front. Once made it can be used for any future drawers and can also be used if you use different sliders (to get the mortise in the right place, you will have to make different spacers with the proper widths depending on the slider).

The jig is simple: You start with an MDF board that is wider than half the width of the widest drawer you're ever likely to make and higher than any drawer will be high. You permanently install along the bottom, top, and one side, hardwood guide boards in a U-shape that are exactly at right angles. These guides must be thick enough (mine are 3/4" wide x 1" high and screwed onto the jig from the back) so that they will guide your plunge router base while it rests on the drawer front when it sits in the jig.

Make three spacers (dimensions below) using scrap MDF that is not thicker than your drawer fronts. These will separate the drawer from the guides so that your router will cut the mortise the correct distance from the edge and bottom of the drawer front.

Note that the size of the jig must accommodate over one half of the drawer front within the space bounded by the guide strips and spacers. My jig, for example, is 16" high and 24" long, which is more than enough to make a 12" x 36" drawer.

Step 6: Cut the mortise on the drawer front

The routing object is to cut a mortise in the drawer front that is H-shaped. The two sides of the H will receive the drawer side's tenons and the bar of the H will receive the drawer bottom.

The first cut on the drawer front (remember we are cutting the back of it!) will make the sides of the "H". This cut is 7/8" from the edge of the drawer front, 7/8" from the top and 7/8" from the bottom. So you must have spacers that will cause your 1/4" router bit to cut at these points. My router has a 5 3/4" base, so my side spacer is 1 7/8", which results in a cut 7/8" from the side. My bottom spacer is 1 7/8", which stops the router 7/8" from the bottom of the drawer front. For the top stop, I just mark the drawer front and plunge the router at that point to start the downward cut.

Clamp the drawer front in the jig with the side and bottom spacers in place so that you can cut the left side. I make two passes because the 3/8" depth is too deep for one cut. You must be very careful to maintain pressure against the guide blocks, as the router will want to drift.

Once that's done, you need to replace the bottom spacer with the one needed to make the bar of the "H". For my router, this spacer is 1 3/8", which results in the required cut 1 3/8" from the bottom of the drawer front.

When this is done, turn the jig 180 degrees and put the other end of the drawer front in it to complete the other side.

Step 6: dry fit and glue up

Dry fit the drawer into the drawer front to make sure everything is lined up and the mortises and tenons fit properly. When you are satisfied, apply a bead of glue to the moritise "H" and, using a brush, make sure that it is evenly covers the mortise. Spread glue on the tenons but not the drawer bottom and put the drawer together. Clamp the front onto the drawer until the glue has set.

Step 7: Install the sliders

Put the slider in place and mark the spot where the hook needs to grab the back of the drawer. Drill a 1/8" hole almost through the drawer back and you can now install the slider.

Step 8: Install the drawers

To install the drawer, you need to have a spacer inside the dresser casing such that the slider support bracket can be attached making it even with the drawer hole. Since I build face frame cabinets, I try to design my drawer hole such that I can use a 3/4" plywood strip to do this.

Using a level, mark a line for the top of the slider bracket and screw it in place. When both sides are done, install the drawer and check for fit. In my experience, most of the time there is a little tightness in the drawer slide caused because the support brackets are too far apart. This can be alleviated with shims. I use washers in between the slider bracket and the casing sides, held in place by the fastening screws.