Very soon I am going to build a lot of drawers for all the various mobile stands etc I've built for my new tools. I know that often people don't use any finish on the inside parts of a drawer, but I'm wondering if anyone ever does, or has a recommendation for something simple which enhances the look, and makes them easier to keep clean. I don't want to get fancy with it, and keeping things easier to clean, stain free, and easy to dust would be my main thoughts. I was thinking maybe some type of oil or something? What do you guys do? Leave the wood naked or do you put something on it?
To anticipate someones inevitable question, during one of my lumber shopping trips I ran into a bunch of 12' boards of perfectly clear and beautiful southern yellow pine which I will be using for most of my drawers. Seems a shame to cut such long beautiful boards into little pieces, but that what I bought it for.
Assuming you mean the inside of drawers, I finish them with a quality flat acrylic interior paint, topped with waterborne poly - two coats each. Not the outside.
When I have made shop drawers, I make the drawer side stock in 4-6 ft lengths with the groove in them. I then finish all of these with either shellac or water based poly. I typically use two coats as the first raises the grain so I sand them quickly and put a second coat on them.
I finish the insides of my drawers with wiped on shellac before I assemble them. This makes cleaning up glue squeeze out quick and easy (probably less important for your shop drawers).
Thanks for all the answers, the water based poly sounds like the best bet as I am familiar with it and have some here. My father used to use shellac all the time, but in my entire life I only used it one time when I was young, and for some reason it never seemed to dry hard. It was always sticky, which was a pain considering I had made a little book rack for my paper back books. The books wanted to stick to it and bits of paper became part of the rack. Any ideas why that happened?
Since I'm asking about drawers, I have another question. I was going to try and dovetail all the drawers, but I was watching some videos I downloaded and saw how someone else made drawers and decided that method looked really easy. They cut finger joints on a table saw with a dado bit using a jig that looked like a cross cut sled with a small square peg inserted strategically for positioning. You would cut the first finger, than walk the fingers across the board by sliding them over the peg. Anyone know a name for that jig? I wouldn't mind googleing up designs to get more ideas before I start construction.
I use whatever i have on hand. Any time i haven't i end up with rust on tools. The finish seals the moisture in the wood preventing it from rusting my tools.
Amen to the expensive commercial, I think the I-box is one of those things I get spammed for every week, but anything by incremental tools is crazy expensive. What I saw was super simple, effective, home made, and would be a snap to build. Just thought I would like to see what other options are out there. Always a good idea to see several viewpoints on how to build something rather than copying the first thing you see. I have seen the other options like dado, rabbit, etc, but since eventually I may want to make more delicate furniture, I wanted to practice making the type joints you would find in those applications. I'm sure I will dado some of the joints, but I have a bunch to make so am looking at something more simple. The finger/box joint jig really looked perfect.
I usually just finish them like the rest of the case. Sprayed lacquer in my case.
If I am using aromatic cedar drawer bottoms I have a different finishing schedule… sprayed shellac on the drawer sides, and no finish on the drawer bottoms.
My drawers are loaded with tools and clamps. I used simple rabbits for the front and rear. Glue and a nail or two and they are good to go.
I have other thing I want to build, so shop stuff is usually pretty simple.
FYI. Last summer I dismantled my workbench I built in 1988. The drawers were assembled with glue and butt joints. I had to beat them apart with a four pound shop hammer!
What you have here, Whiskers, is a cool opportunity to try out several finishes and compare them not only for ease of application and number of coats (apparently) required, but also for durability over time.
Pick four from the above list and give them your best shot. Label the drawers so you'll recall which is which.
When someone asks this same question downstream, you'll be the guy with the best post!
A follow up on my own question, in case anyone uses the search and stumbles on it. I like the shopnotes jig in volume 8, but it looks complicated and maybe something I should think about doing some day in the future. Googleing this was a terror on dialup, cause mostly I ran into jerks trying to sell me stuff. Than I ran into this gem.
Yep. The key is that the dado stack, wooden key, and space between the key and dado are all the same.
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