Shopsmith Forums

WmZiggy wrote:Dittos on the molding glue with blue tape till set. Dittos too on a great looking chest of drawers in quarter sawn oak.

Thanks Ziggy. The plans actually called for rift sawn oak but try to find oak plywood with rift sawn veneer. Nothing like that in my area so I settled for quarter sawn.

mountainbreeze wrote:Thanks for the kudos.

Glad you asked about the drawers. I have a few concerns about them.

....I am a retired engineer and I tend to be more accurate than is typically necessary in woodworking but I'm not sure I can hit the 1/16" clearance on 7 drawers - especially since the openings are not perfectly square. They are close, but not exact.

.....The plans call for 1/32" clearance between the guide and the side of the drawer. Yet another target to hit at the same time when attaching the guides.

A final concern I have is the longevity of the guides. Will the wood wear over time thus affecting the fit of the drawer in the opening. Time will tell I suppose.

Oh - I'm used to "talking to/dealing with" mechanical engineers as I have two of them in the family. This is mostly a good thing!

For 1/16" drawer clearance, I use some of those free sample credit cards and membership cards that keep coming in the mail. (Photo included.)Some folks use business cards (I suppose they have to stack two of them to get 1/16").

To get the 1/32" clearance - you can slide a drawer over to one side and use the card for clearance on one side. Then when the guides are set you will have 1/32" on each side.

Anyway - don't rely on a ruler/tape. Feeling and fitting is much more accurate and less frustrating.

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Beautiful work so far!! I would not think of taking on that project. I do have some repair work backed up that will be dealing with repairing guides. I wonder if repairs will be harder than starting from scratch.

I think your jointer will let you get down to the tolerances needed for the runners.

I have an old chest of drawers where the sides of drawers are riding on the opening (not sure of wood type) and it is wearing the opening. with your runners spreading out the contact surface and being hard maple I would expect them to last a very long time.

mountainbreeze wrote:...
A final concern I have is the longevity of the guides. Will the wood wear over time thus affecting the fit of the drawer in the opening. Time will tell I suppose.

Yes, wood drawer guides will wear down over time, but don't hold your breath. I have replaced (re-made) drawer runners on my neighbor's chest of drawers. Only one drawer had worn the runners. The chest was an antique. Age? About 50 or 60 years.

I think the guides started to wear from removing and replacing the drawer at an angle and forcing it. Then the wear just grew from there.

I think rubbing paraffin on the sliding wood parts will lessen wear and make them easier to move.



Mylar scotch tape will also work.(as long as it stays 'put')

A couple of things. I seldom use metal glides anymore when you can make your own in wood that will last a lifetime. Home Depot sells some nice Popular 1/2 thick material that makes excellent slides and case material and it's cheaper when you consider what you waste when you plane your own. I like 1/2" for drawer sides as it looks less clunky than 3/4" material and it's easier to dovetail. I use bee's wax to smooth the running. Here is a picture on my latest drawer fitting



There is a video available from Fine Woodworking entitled "Dovetail a Drawer with Frank Flausz". Just watching this guy cut hand cut dovetails is worth the price, but he also fits drawers to a desk he is building and that is worth watching. I would think you can find it at the Fine Woodworking web site.

Finally, when I took a woodworking class a few years back I remember the instructor laughing about the relatively new penchant for cutting wooden pieces accurate to within several thousands. He thought it got started by several tool manufacturers who sell equipment, and he saw it as needless and foolish. The old masters cut by hand and eye. The credit card assist is a good one. But know too, unless it is really awful and out of place the human eye will take subtle differences and blend them in. Just look at hand turned spindles in a hand rail, they will all be different but when viewed they all look the same. As long as you are close to 1/16" you will be just fine.