Inset Drawer gap?

Dan,
I use 1/16 which is just about the thickness of a piece of Formica. Good luck.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Yup, 1/16” looks sharp. You might want to consider summer vs. winter humidity as well. Being summer, err on the side of too little gap (i.e., too much wood). When you see how much things shrink down in the winter, you can shave more if necessary. Not sure how much that matters in OK, but up here in MN we get quite a swing between the humid summers and dry, forced-air-heated homes in the winter.

-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

Hi Dan;

I have to agree with Tom and Dave. While I’m a precision nut, like I know Tom is, and I imagine Dave is, but to go closer than that is looking for something to repair later!

Better to get it right the first time.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Dave has a point though. Check the moisture charts for your area. Here on the high desert our winter moisture content(of the wood) will run as high as 12% while our summer content will be around 8%. This is due to the fact that we get almost no rain from the first of June to the 15th of September or even the first of October. Well, we don’t get much the rest of the year either. Somewhere, maybe, FFW, had chart for the whole US. I always wonder what will happen if one of my pieces goes back east. I allow for at least 1/8” but who knows.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Hey, Tom’s weather is backwards! Or is mine? I hadn’t even considered that the seasonal humidity change would be reversed in desert areas.

The chart that Tom mentioned is in FWW #187 (Dec 2006).

A couple of of additional points: Expanision / contraction is not much of a concern with venereed plywood, but is with solid wood. Solid wood moves parallel to the grain, so it’s the gaps above and below the drawers that you will be concerned with (assuming grain is horizontal). The expansion is in proportion to the height of the drawer. Tall drawers can move a lot, short drawers less so. Not sure if Dan’s drawers are ply or solid or both.

Expansion also varies by the type of wood. The magazine referenced above also has a chart that shows the relative stability of several wood species.

-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

Whoa, I don’t want to get into Dan’s drawers!!!! Scarey!!!! Make sure ya warsh yer drawers, Dan, in case yer in a accydint.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

OK Tom – you owe me for that set up!

-- Dave J. Oakdale, MN

OOh no, you defiantly don’t want to get in my drawers! Thanks folks it looks like 1/16th of an inch it will be (maybe…) I am going to lookup the article and see what it has to say too. The drawer is 1/2 Baltic birch sides and a solid 3/4 inch red oak front and the grain does run horizontally. Thanks to all. I’ll post pics in my blog so you can see how well I do.

-- Dan in Central Oklahoma, Able to turn good wood into saw dust in the blink of an eye!

Well I have read the FWW article and looked at the map and it seems that in central Oklahoma the moisture content stays right at the same level summer and winter. So I am had at fitting the drawers, overlay drawer fronts are sure easier than inset drawers.

Thanks for the help!

-- Dan in Central Oklahoma, Able to turn good wood into saw dust in the blink of an eye!

Dano,

1/16” is typically what I use. Anything less for an inset drawer and your eye can begin to see any variations in the gap. At 1/16” the slight variations are not as noticeable. If you go much more than 1/16” then (in my eyes) it starts to look less like it was hand crafted and more like it was mass-produced. at 1/16” of gap you should not have any problems with expansion/contraction in most parts f the country. I live in Upstate NY with fairly humid summers and dry winters and with this gap, the pieces I’ve built seem to be surviving fine without any binding in the summer. One note of caution, if you are building in a moist time of year you may want to err a bit on the narrower side for the gap (for the long grain parts of the drawer). Because the wood will be already expanded along the grain, the gap will only get wider in the summer.

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com