My first drawer

putttn · Post by **putttn** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 11:58 pm

I'm building my first cabinet with drawers and am having a heck of a time to get it exactly square. I'm off on my diagonal measurement by 1/4". Haven't got the drawer bottom on yet and wonder if that will get me "square"? Can't imagine the drawer riding smooth being that far out.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:54 am

putttn wrote:I'm building my first cabinet with drawers and am having a heck of a time to get it exactly square. I'm off on my diagonal measurement by 1/4". Haven't got the drawer bottom on yet and wonder if that will get me "square"? Can't imagine the drawer riding smooth being that far out.

I can sympathize with you on this. It seems so easy. All you have to do is make both sides the same length and both ends the same length and the bottom square. I've watched Norm do this dozens of times. It works every time.

OK, now for the real world.

However, puttn, 1/4" off does seem a bit much. Make sure of your dimensions then attach the sides to the front and slide in the bottom (which should bring the corners close to square and attach the back. Double check for square (equal diagonals) and clamp.

Clamping WITHOUT racking is often the failure point for me. It seems so simple but a perfectly cut and assembled box can go south so fast if you apply clamping pressures inappropriately.

I wish I could tell you exactly how to avoid this but I can not. I absolutely rejoice when ever I succeed at doing this "simple task".

putttn · Post by **putttn** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:05 am

Thanks Dusty. The dimensions are all spot on and I even squared it into a exact square corner on my workbench. Triple checked the workbench corner with 3 different squares so my last hope is that the bottom will get it racked to square.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:10 am

putttn wrote:Thanks Dusty. The dimensions are all spot on and I even squared it into a exact square corner on my workbench. Triple checked the workbench corner with 3 different squares so my last hope is that the bottom will get it racked to square.

Remember, the bottom floats so if the bottom is a little small there is opportunity for some racking when you clamp.

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:27 am

OK I know tht this willl sound really dumb but if you are cutting the sides and front and back parts accurately, are you assembling them wrong?
If you are using 1/2 inch material for the sides and assembling wrong you could be 1/4 inch off. Make sure that when you cut and assemble the sides you remain consistent during assembly. The front and rear of the drawer should be to the inside of sides. If you put the front on the inside of the sides and the rear of the drawer with one corner inside of the side rail and the other corner on the on the end of the side rail you would be out of square by 1/4 inch. It is very easy to mis-align things during assembly. GO AHEAD, ASK ME HOW I KNOW.
Bill V

putttn · Post by **putttn** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:39 am

No, everything is lined up and I haven't put the bottom on yet. I have known square corner I can clamp it into and when I do it does come out square. Racking into that corner gets it square and I would assume that when I install the bottom (while clamped into the corner) it will keep it square. Using 1/2 plywood and 1/4" birch plywood bottom.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:07 pm

putttn wrote:No, everything is lined up and I haven't put the bottom on yet. I have known square corner I can clamp it into and when I do it does come out square. Racking into that corner gets it square and I would assume that when I install the bottom (while clamped into the corner) it will keep it square. Using 1/2 plywood and 1/4" birch plywood bottom.

I guess I misread your initial post. I'll just wait for the results which I am certain will be acceptable.

putttn · Post by **putttn** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:36 pm

I should have mentioned that when I checked it for the diagonals it wasn't clamped into the square corner. Once I clamped it into the corner it became perfectly "square". Another mistake, I glued it and used mortise/tenon without doing it in the square corner. Should have put it in the corner as I was putting it together and let the glue dry as it was clamped into the corner rather than just being clamped. I'm learning slowly

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:17 pm

I bought a pair of these with my Christmas Rockler Gift card.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page ... re%20clamp

They might help next time.

dickg1 · Post by **dickg1** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:32 pm

Just a rambling thought!
Is it possible that the table and saw blade were not at precisely a 90 degree relationship? Even a small amount off would have an effect on the drawer sides contact with the back and/or front panels thereby causing the racking.
Dick