# What's the best joinery for plywood drawers?



## SeaQuest

I'm looking for opinions on the best joinery for plywood drawers? I'm using 3/4" plywood for drawers in a project and 1/2" plywood for some smaller drawers. The plywood will be edged with real wood to hide the fact that it's ply. I'm wondering what the best joinery is to use in joining the drawer face and back to the sides? I'd appreciate any input.

By the way, please don't give me a hard time about using ply for the drawers instead of real wood. Thats not the question being asked here. I have several very valid reasons for choosing baltic birch ply on this project.


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## Loren

Drawer lock joint is not too much trouble to make and very tough.

I usually rabbet, glue and nail because ball bearing slides remove a lot 
of strain on drawer boxes. I have a drawer lock cutter but it ruins
thin edgebandings more often so you have to do the edgebanding
over on the part.

Dovetails are strongest traditionally but they can be ugly in ply and 
with modern glue and slide quality they are not needed often.
Modern box joints are probably stronger than dovetails if closely
spaced due to the quality of today's glues and the accuracy
of machined joints.

If you can accept screws (pocket screws are intensely strong in 
drawer applications but make big holes) or nails, steel fasteners
with glue are the toughest. While you're at it, glue the bottom in.


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## vikingcape

I used pocket screws on my workbench drawers. They are loaded down with huge amounts of nonsense and they are holding great. Screw and glue. It isn't pretty but for me it works because its just my workbench. I wanted it to look nicer I would rabbet and nail it, and glue it.


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## scotsman9

Box joints are proven in tests to be stronger than dovetails….I know that statement will draw some ire, but it's fact. Dovetails are pretty and very strong, but not in plywood.

The Swede makes a good argument, pocket screws and glue are tough, fast and easier to conceal the use of ply.


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## bigblockyeti

I too use drawer lock joints when I can, much quick to cut than dovetails or box joint. With a good glue they can be very strong. I usually use a couple of brads to position everything before clamping.


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## Gene01

+1 on the lock joints for BB drawers.


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## NiteWalker

Tongue and dado.
Quick and easy.


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## PurpLev

For a while I was using box joints - but unless these are small drawers and a small number of them I found that box joints just takes too much time and effort to make on large projects (many large drawers) and now either use pocket screws with or without glue (drawer slides really take the majority of the weight so even glueless pocket screws are plenty strong enough), or rabbet joinery if I still want to put some effort into it and avoid the use of screws.


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## Nygiants77

Alot of people have already mentioned drawer lock joints but sometimes people call things something else. Are drawer lock joints the same as the tongue and dado joint nitewalker posted? I know them as tongue and dado joints as well. They have been very successful in my experience.


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## mnguy

+1 on the tongue and dado joint posted by NiteWalker. I have dovetailed baltic birch drawers, and I was happy with the results because they look nice, but I don't think I would do it again; too much set up time, fighting tear out, etc. With the tongue and dado, on either the table saw or router table, you have one setup and one spacer (1/4" for 1/2" ply, etc.), and you are good to go.


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## moonie

Try this good old scerws and glue.


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## tefinn

Nygiants77 - The drawer "lock joint" and "tounge and dado" are very similar. The lock joint goes one step further so it's a bit more complicated to make and with more glue surface a little stronger.


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## Charlie5791

Nobody asked what kind of project so I guess I will,

What kind of project?

Drawers for utility like a workbench, even a nice workbench, don't necessarily need to be pretty. Sounds like you're building drawer boxes where the front IS the drawer front and there are no attached fronts beyond that. The strength of the tongue and dado means the end grain of the drawer side will be visible in front. If you edge it with solid wood (not edge banding) then you could lose some of the strength as the edge would be into the front. So, how thick are you planning to make the edge pieces? Attaching a drawer front to the box makes this a moot point as the drawer front would hide the edge grain of the sides.

The lock joint as shown hides the edge grain of the sides. Not a terrible joint to make. A bit more complicated in terms of setup, but doable on a table saw.

A little more info about the project might help get a more narrowed down answer


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## TheDane

I used lock rabbet joints (cut on the tablesaw) when I built the cabinet for my workbench … 

That was four years and a cross-country move ago, and they are still in great shape. Granted, I was not using plywood, but IMHO the joint would be just as strong had I chose to go that route.


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## ClintSearl

Glue and screw butt joints. 3/4" is way overkill.


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## gfadvm

I do mine like NiteWalker suggests and his link is where I learned it.


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## BJODay

I've made many drawers with 1/2" ply and rabbet joints. I used to add brads for extra holding but now I use only glue. I have never had a joint fail in a drawer. If using ply, buy a better grade.

BJ


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## dschlic1

I used mortise and tenon joints on the drawers for my entertainment center. The drawer boxes are made out of 1/2" Baltic birch plywood. These are working great and look very good also. They look like but joints without the fasteners. You can see the drawers here.


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## AlaskaGuy

My opinion

3/4'' plywood in over kill and looks bulky.

Taking the extra time and material to edge band 3/4'' is a waste of time. It will still look like plywood if you can see the sides.

1/2" BB plywood with a lock miter makes a nice looking strong drawer, no edge banding, just round the edges a bit. Doesn't look bulky.

A simple rabbit joint with glue and some brads would work also.

You don't say what the project is, could possibly have a different opinion if I/we knew that information.


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## Nygiants77

ok i see now Tom thanks


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## Jim Jakosh

A lock miter will work! And be real strong!.......................Jim


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## HillbillyShooter

Personally, I prefer 1/2" BB with dovetails cut with my Leigh jig. However, I do this for my own enjoyment and time expediency is not my primary concern. If speed were my main concern I'd probably use the lock drawer joint.


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## whitebeast88

i just built a couple drawers using rabbet and dado about 1/2" from bottom all around to install the bottom.i used glue and brad nails.so far holding well,don't know if this is a proper way but it works.


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## SeaQuest

This is a shop cabinet that will be holding tools ie Routers, turning supplies … lots of hairly heavy stuff which is why I'm using 3/4" ply.


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## EEngineer

How long do you want them to live?

Here are my router drawers - 10 years old, lotsa use, no problems…










3/4" front, 7/16 sides, 3/8" rabbitt, 18 AWG nail and Titebond II glue.

More strength? Try this…










3/4" front, 1/2 sides, inlet into 1/4" dado, 18 AWG nail and Titebond III glue ( I got more concerned about moisture in the shop!)...
Again, lotsa use, 8 yrs old and going strong.

I ignore a lot of the rules working with modern material: bottoms are 1/4 " plywood - glued in place. For anything less than about 24" wide, that's all you need and plywood doesn't move much with seasons. All of these drawers are in an unheated (mostly) shop and get lotsa use. Drawers are a PITA to build, don't get any more complicated when building shop stuff!


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## bilyo

I also like the tongue and dado in plywood. It is one of the first joints I learned to do. However, I suggest one variation or modification. Because of the plywood laminations, the outboard "shoulder" left after making the dado tends to be weak and, in my experience, is easily broken off either during cutting and/or working to get it glued up. Actually, this is also true even when cutting the joint in solid wood. My suggestion is to make the dado narrower rather than 1/2 the thickness of the work pieces.


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## PresidentsDad

Hey all, 
I know this is an old thread, but it seemed most relevant to my question. I've never built drawers before and would like to try the quarter, quarter, quarter (QQQ) method, which is essentially a locked rabbet joint.

My 1/2" BB plywood is really about 15/32", so setting up for 1/4" rabbets and grooves would not work as the front rabbet would be more than 1/2 the thickness, making the tongue too small).

There are 15/64" router bits, which would essentially be the "undersized" QQQ method. That would make a rabbet for the drawer front that has a 15/64" tongue to go into the 15/64" groove on the side panel. Each would be approximately 1/2 the thickness of the plywood, which is what the QQQ system does using 1/4" grooves on 1/2" (actual) plywood.

My question is this. Would it be worth my time to use a 15/64" "undersized" plywood bit to do this instead of a 1/4" bit or a dado stack??

For those that aren't familiar with the QQQ method, here is a link.


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## Redoak49

Thanks for the link and a reasonable way to make strong drawers.


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## therealSteveN

Not even going to try to figure who came up with the quarter, quarter, quarter type system, but the posthumous poster from the article shows it in 2014 IIRC.

I was doing these in 1969, it had been around a long time back then. It is the best down and dirty way to get a drawer box done with extremely good holding power, provided you think about which way you orient the cuts, Just remember you PULL the drawer out, and even lessened with drawer slides, you can still pull a drawer face off if your joint has no holding power. That is always why DTs were the choice for a dressed drawer.

This guy shows it on video, and he mentions the deceased in his notes.


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## JackDuren

My better plywood drawers use Baltic Birch ply with blind dovetails on the front and a dado in the back about 1/2 from the back. Dado the drawer bottom. Solid shoot well there the same with a ply bottom…
I'll see if I can find a picture later…


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## PresidentsDad

I know there are many methods to making drawers. For this, it's just for shop furniture, but I want to do something more than butt joints. My main question though, was since the 1/4" rabbet and groove won't work for less than 1/2" plywood, would the smaller 15/64" bit (which would be exactly half of the undersized 1/2" plywood) work for that application. I know I'd had to do a different groove in the bottom of the drawer for the actual 1/4" plywood.


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## LeeRoyMan

Use whatever bit you have and match the tongue to it. Portions don't have to be exactly even.


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## PresidentsDad

> Use whatever bit you have and match the tongue to it. Portions don t have to be exactly even.
> 
> - LeeRoyMan


I was just trying to make it a one setup and run all the parts through kind of thing.


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## therealSteveN

The 1/4, 1/4, 1/4 thing makes it easier to see, all cuts are 1/2 of the thickness.

They need not be 1/2" stock, or for that matter even same sized stock.

All of these are done with 2 different cuts, even if they are same sized for ease of figuring depths. First cut is into the fronts and backs, then you need to match that cut to fit into the sides, so your corners are dead square, and the parts fit snugly, not too snug. But not sloppy.

Disregard any statement that they HAVE to be exactly half, or the parts HAVE to be the same thickness.

*I should point out the pic below, the FRONT is on the RIGHT side. This is what I was saying earlier about pulling the front off a drawer if they are not held mechanically.










Note some people cut the drawer bottom after the joints, but before assemble. I cut mine in before I cut the joints. Doing them, you will find what works best for you.


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## mamell

Resurrection of a long old thread, but I like tongue and dados.. Just be a bit careful on the front part if you're using faceplates or you may find yourself trying to fill in the gap between the drawer and face plate at the last minute which is..uhmmm. Not as fun as seen on TV..


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## mamell

I only know that because a drawer fairy told me..


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