# Joinery for plywood drawer boxes.



## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

I have a few shop projects that I need to build drawers for, and I honestly do not want to spend a ton of money on them, so I am thinking plywood for the drawer boxes. But that begs the question of what to do for joinery on these boxes.

While I know it is theoretically possible, is it a good idea to dovetail the joints here? I just cringe when I think of dovetailing plywood visioning blowing out tons of material and coming out with lousy joints. The other thought is to use locking rabbets, which is great to resist pulling forces, but lousy for sideways / torsional forces…

These drawer boxes need to support a fair amount of weight as they will be for tool related cabinetry, specifically a drill press stand cabinet that will house all my bits, of many various shapes, sizes and formats… I have other related projects in the queue that will be a while, but I will likely be using the same techniques for building them. They are….

#1. Full cabinet base filled with drawers for a workbench base. 
#2. Full cabinet base / workstation for my Ryobi BT3100 table saw / wide table kit. I will include a router wing in this…
#3. Second full cabinet / drawer setup for misc shop storage including supplies. This is to replace my Strong Tie workbench and Rubbermaid totes.
#4. Lathe stand cabinet.


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## nwbusa (Feb 21, 2012)

I'd use a reinforced rabbet joint, myself.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

A well setup lock miter is a pretty darned strong joint when properly glued.
Bill


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## JBfromMN (Oct 19, 2010)

I have my Drill press on a cart with a couple drawers on it myself. One drawer for drill bits and one for driver bits. Both use locking rabbit joints with 1/2 prefinished plywood. If I can remember, I will take a pic tonight and post it tomorrow.


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

1/2" BC ply with glued and nailed/screwed butt joints is all that's needed. Mine is 16 feet wide.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Clint, you are on to the right idea, but I have no space to work that big. Subtract 10 feet from that sucker and you'd have the cabinet / bench I want along the wall, subtract 2 more feet and you'd have the base for my workbench…

Screwed / glued butt joints is something I was hoping to avoid. However, yes, 1/2" BC ply is on the materials list…

Your drawer fronts look like they were cut from 2 full sheets of plywood. Very interesting look, I like it…

The locking rabbet sounds like what I was thinking. I just wasn't sure it would be strong enough…

What are you guys using for drawer bottoms? I am thinking keeping with the motif and going with 1/2" BC ply bottoms as well…


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## Granddaddy1 (May 16, 2012)

The drawer lock joint will probably work, but my first choice for plywood drawer box construction is box joints. It's almost as strong as dovetails without the blowout problems. I've built several projects this way, with the biggest being a bedroom set with 32 drawers. I set it all up and cut the box joints in one session.

As for the drawer bottoms, that depends on the size of the drawers and amount of weight to be stored inside. I would think the norm would be 1/4" plywood. If the drawer is larger than normal, or will carry a heavy load, go with the 1/2" material.

Good luck!


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I rabbet and nail them. Edgeband before rabbeting.

I have a drawer lock cutter that I've used sometimes
but it chews up a veneer edgeband so I use the
rabbet usually.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

If it's just for a work bench, pocket holes and glue. I have test pieces in my shop that I JUST pocket screwed together and also that I pocket screwed and glued. They're amazingly strong. I wouldn't use them on furniture or cabinets for others like a kitchen or something…. ok maybe a kitchen…. but for my workbench? Pocket holes and glue and move on to something more important


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## Kookaburra (Apr 23, 2012)

LOL Jonathan - a join can never be too strong!


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

I tried dovetailing ApplePly for our kitchen drawers, and got major blow-outs. Tried taping, backer boards, just couldn't make it work.

Eventually settled on Dominos to do loose tenons for the joints, but biscuits would probably work equally well. Although as others here are pushing, box joints or rabbets should be fine. Especially: You're using plywood so you don't have to worry (much) about humidity changes: you could glue in plywood drawer bottoms, back up your edge joints with pin nails, and they'll be close to indestructible anyway.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Yeah, Dominos aren't going to happen in my budget unless Harbor Freight starts selling Lamello tools…


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Tongue and dado.


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## LeeInAZ (Aug 16, 2011)

I built all my shop drawer boxes from 1/2" baltic birch with mostly 1/4" bottoms. I used pocket hole screws on the drawer frame and just glue and staples holding the bottoms on. It is fast, easy, and solid.


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

I like the drawer lock bit, mitre lock bit or finger/glue bits for quick drawer assemblies. Either of those bits can make a real strong, quick join. Dovetails both through and half blinds are great too, but a bit more time consuming.

Biscuits work great for these also. I have used a slot cutter and some bisquit stock to put a few drawers together for a planting table someone wanted built. They worked great and are still holding up after 5 years in place.

My favorite is using Finger joints made on a router using a finger joint bit. These are really quick and really strong for this type of application. The setup is easy and the bits don't cost an arm and a leg, but they get the job done with a pretty strong join.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I use box joints for 90% of my drawers. Ply does tend to tear out when cutting box joints without a backer board. For the record box joints were stronger then dovetails when Wood Mag tested joinery methods. I use 1/4" ply for the bottoms but put a stiffener under it if it is a really big drawer or one that holds heavy items. I have some shop drawers with 3/8" cardboard bottoms as an experiment. They are very stout and held up well.


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## nwbusa (Feb 21, 2012)

I guess I overbuild my shop drawers. 3/4" Baltic birch sides with 1/2" BB bottoms in a dado. I pin the side rabbets with either dowels or brads, depending on how lazy I'm feeling. I do tend to load my drawers up with lots of weight, though.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

I am with Clint, in the sense that glued and nailed butt joints are markedly better than you can believe. Good glue, close fitting joints, and nails. Will they last a hundred years? Don't know, but who cares. They will outlast you, knowing your skills. I have plywood boxes that have been subject to all kinds of abuse over 35 years old…....still solid that I built that way. If you are building it for sale or for legacy, that is one thing, but for practical use…...totally different deal. Just be practical.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Bottoms usually 1/4" ply glued in a groove 1/2" up with glued and
nailed quarter-rounded blocks 2.5" long nailed on at an 
angle, usually 2 or 3 on each drawer edge so 8-12 per drawer.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

I am building for two reasons.

#1. I need the storage space.
#2. I need the practice making decent drawers.

Sadly, thus far, no legacy to build for aside from Nieces and Nephews… And most of them except for one wouldn't give two hoots about workshop fixtures. My BIL Frank's boy Derek though, I think he's going to follow his Dad, and grandpa into the auto repair business… LOML and I haven't given up on that, but at this point it will take some divine intervention, or a really good doctor…


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## JBfromMN (Oct 19, 2010)

I forgot the damn pics. The lock rabbit that Nitewalker has the directions to linked above is what I went with. 
That would give you a solid joint and one that can be used for drawers that do not get a lot of abuse. There you would want solid wood and dovetails.

However pocket holes would be the fastest and easiest for a shop.


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## Tupperwayne (Jul 4, 2017)

What is a good fabrication process for drawer boxes. I am fairly new at woodworking?


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

> Tongue and dado.
> 
> - NiteWalker


For quick drawers for the shop, I use 1/2 baltic birch ply with this same tongue and dado on the drawer front, and a full dado on the back. Leave about an inch at the back for strength. 
I tend to use 1/4" ply for the drawer bottom. 
Once you set up your table saw to make this cut, you can bang out a bunch of drawers really fast. And they are very strong. I have never had one fail.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

> What is a good fabrication process for drawer boxes. I am fairly new at woodworking?
> 
> Lots of practice.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

My observation has been that the major
weakness of drawer boxes is the front.
If the slides are good quality and properly
installed, the front will be a lot less likely
to get pulled off.

In old nailed drawers with wooden slides,
carpenter-built in older homes, the fronts
tend to pull off. Modern ball-bearing slides
make it so drawers don't really need to
be so robust. Of course cabinetmakers
of old dovetailed drawers precisely to keep
the fronts from pulling off.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I plead the 5th


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Butt joints are fine but I wouldn't use 1/4 drawer bottoms for weight.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

> I rabbet and nail them. Edgeband before rabbeting.
> 
> I have a drawer lock cutter that I ve used sometimes
> but it chews up a veneer edgeband so I use the
> ...


This ^. You can use 1/8" dowels if you're averse to nails.

Pre-scoring cut line always help with xcuts in ply.


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## PPK (Mar 8, 2016)

My 2 cents: I use baltic birch plywood and half blind dovetail it with a porter Cable dovetail jig. I do not get any tearout. The trick is to us a cutting gauge (marking gauge) to score a line on the pins board before routing. Works like a charm. Pretty quick too. A glued half blind joint in Baltic birch is INDESTRUCTIBLE.


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