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I'm totally a novice at woodworking but I built myself a tool cabinet with drawers. I used 3/4'' plywood and made double sure everything was square. The measurements were 62 by 25 by 22 deep to fit a space in my workroom. Made my drawers and everything was square and as close to perfect as I could determine. Measured the hypotenuse and each side and front and back all came dead on. Built my drawers and again did the hypotenuse came out dead on. Put on Gliderite 18" glides on the drawers and mounted it all up and the drawers didn't fit! As I pulled the drawers out the glides came apart and the front of the drawer dropped down and completely off the track. It was as if the front of the cabinet somehow grew wider!! After shimming the glides it works ok but it's really not right. What am I missing?

putttn wrote:I'm totally a novice at woodworking but I built myself a tool cabinet with drawers. I used 3/4'' plywood and made double sure everything was square. The measurements were 62 by 25 by 22 deep to fit a space in my workroom. Made my drawers and everything was square and as close to perfect as I could determine. Measured the hypotenuse and each side and front and back all came dead on. Built my drawers and again did the hypotenuse came out dead on. Put on Gliderite 18" glides on the drawers and mounted it all up and the drawers didn't fit! As I pulled the drawers out the glides came apart and the front of the drawer dropped down and completely off the track. It was as if the front of the cabinet somehow grew wider!! After shimming the glides it works ok but it's really not right. What am I missing?

We are missing pix!;)

Typically, drawer slides need 1/2" space beteen the side of the drawer and the side of the opening for the drawer. It sounds like the front of the opening for the drawer is more than 1" wider than the drawer itself.

putttn wrote:I'm totally Made my drawers and everything was square and as close to perfect as I could determine. Measured the hypotenuse and each side and front and back all came dead on. Built my drawers and again did the hypotenuse came out dead on. Put on Gliderite 18" glides on the drawers and mounted it all up and the drawers didn't fit! As I pulled the drawers out the glides came apart and the front of the drawer dropped down and completely off the track. It was as if the front of the cabinet somehow grew wider!! After shimming the glides it works ok but it's really not right. What am I missing?

It is my guess that you over measured too much. Sound funny, I know, but it is easy to measure wrong. A little parallax - a little looking at a rule and assuming it gives just the measurement you want - using the hook end of a tape measure - are all things that can really screw up things.

When drawers are concerned, they need to be "fitted". Seems like the shims did the trick for you. If it fits and works properly with the shims that is the way to do it.

Another thing that can screw up measurements is thickness of the wood. In your case maybe the smaller thickness of the plywood had something to do with the error.

In the fitting of drawers, a story stick is a better way to go rather than a measuring tape.

I allowed the 1/2 inch between the sides of the drawers and the mounting plate for the slides and what really got my attention was that I had exactly 1/2 inch on each side to work with. So, to me, my measurements seemed like they all came out the way I'd planned. One thing I did have to do because of space considerations, is assemble the cabinet on its' side and then once done I uprighted it to get into the little tool room that it resides in.

I'd suggest you double check your measurements now that the cabinet is completed so you know for certain what caused the problem.

You could cut a slat of wood to the exact width of the opening at the front of the cabinet and then see how the slat fits at the back. The fit should be identical. Then compare the slat to the width of your drawers at the front and back. Again, overhang of the slat at both the front and back should be the same. That overhang should be 1" total if you're using Blum-type slides that mount to the bottom of the drawer. The Blum slides require that you allow 1/2" on each side of the drawer for proper fit and operation.

Pennview...great idea, that will help me figure out what I did wrong. The slides were Gliderite and mounted on the sides of the drawers. Thanks for the help here guys.

pennview wrote:...
You could cut a slat of wood to the exact width of the opening at the front of the cabinet and then see how the slat fits at the back. The fit should be identical.

Can't over-emphasize this. I built a new bathroom vanity based on the front dimensions of the space. I had to use a rubber mallet to fit it in as the back was 1/4" smaller. Then the door jammed. SO, being the smart fellow that I am, I admitted my error, spent several hours getting the '^$#@*&^' thing out again without damaging anything, and planed the sides at the back. Luckily, the trim hid the mess. Lesson learned!:rolleyes:

Yesterday I spent some more time doing some inside measurements and found that the cabinet somehow bowed a bit in the middle after I got it in place and righted. I don't know how that's possible because it's 3/4 plywood and the back is 1/2 ply and attached with screws and glue!!??

Hey I have that happen and finally determined walls aren't always flat or square. Some years ago we needed to replace a sink and counter top in a tiny bathroom. As the house was going on the market we decided on a Formica counter. I was thrilled with the decision as I could sand the backsides of the corner to get a perfect fit. The person who bought the house commented they were thrilled to see a perfectly square corner behind that counter. Somehow I managed to remain silent. Which I was not the night I tried to fit that sucker into place. Jim