# Preferred Wood for Drawer Sides



## Dano (May 12, 2007)

Although I haven't Blogged about the entertainment center lately I have been doing enabling projects and I am ready to get back to the task at hand. Looking down the road I will need to construct 4 drawers to hold DVD and remotes etc. I was going to use metal drawer slides but the more I think about it I think I want to build everything from wood so the first question is what is your preferred wood for the drawer sides and back. I plan on using dovetail joinery on the oak fronts. Then what wood would you make the runners out of? Maple, Poplar???


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

Maple or Oak


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## Max (Sep 13, 2006)

I agree with Dennis, Maple is the right choice….


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

I heard someone say at one point in time that you should never use the same species for the drawer and the drawer slide. That the same wood species don't work well together.

No experience on it though.


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## Dano (May 12, 2007)

Maple it is then, now the 64k dollar question. What is the difference between soft maple and hard maple? Is soft maple considerably softer and would it suffice for drawers?


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## Dorje (Jun 17, 2007)

Here - I'll throw a wrench in the mix: you could use poplar, alder, white pine, birch…but maple sounds like a good choice too!

On the soft maple vs hard front, I found this and this.

Looks like soft maple is about the same hardness as cherry, twice as hard as poplar, and only 25% softer than hard maple…

Sounds like it would be a-okay for drawer sides and backs!


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## dewoodwork (Jul 27, 2007)

Another vote for maple.


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## Max (Sep 13, 2006)

I believe that the soft maple would work just fine for the drawer sides. I also believe that you will find it to be less expensive. At least it is here in my market..


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## Dano (May 12, 2007)

Dorje, thanks for the links and to everyone else for the comments. I found the local shop that I buy from has soft maple for $3.50 bf. They also have poplar and red oak which I usually use. I think that I am going to use soft maple for the drawer sides. Now, I need to investigate what Karson has heard about the same type of wood rubbing together causing problems, I guess it would be like galling of metals. Has anyone any experience with this?


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## pmulry (Jul 13, 2007)

With the contents of the drawers as you described above, I wouldn't worry too much about galling-type problems. It doesn't sound like these drawers will be that loaded to cause much problem. You might want to run some beeswax on the drawer runners to minimize the friction and that should take care of any sticking problems that you might have. Good luck!


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

I have always used oak for drawer sides and runners. But that's just me.


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## bbrooks (Jan 3, 2007)

I guess it depends on what type of slide or support you are going to build, and how tight the tolerances will be. I would think using the same woods would be ok, if there is enough space to allow for the wood movement. It seems a lot of people use poplar in these situations, since it will save money and not be seen. They save the maple for the drawer front, table, etc.


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## Jimster (Jul 29, 2007)

The Jimster prefers 1/2" baltic (russian) birch plywood. It is a nine-ply, extremely stable and warp-free material that is perfectly suitable for drawer sides.

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## Dano (May 12, 2007)

Jimster, I have a full sheet of Baltic birch sitting in the workshop (garage) but was having second thoughts because I want to try my new Porter Cable dovetail jig out and from what I have read it splinters quit a bit. Any one have any experience with it? I was also thinking about backing it for machining with quarter inch hardboard to see if it would keep the plywood from splintering.


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